...and it seemed to connect with many of you as well as with myself. We all can relate to Elijah at some point. 1 Kings 19:1-8 (NLT2) “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.”
We talked about how ninety percent of our lives can be going so well but that ten percent that we cannot control is chewing us up. Your percentage might be different. 80-20, 70-30, or whatever it is. Where did these people go who finally just couldn’t take it anymore? The sadness, the broken-ness, the emptiness of not arriving to that magical place of peace made them disappear into oblivion.
We talked about how ninety percent of our lives can be going so well but that ten percent that we cannot control is chewing us up. Your percentage might be different. 80-20, 70-30, or whatever it is. Where did these people go who finally just couldn’t take it anymore? The sadness, the broken-ness, the emptiness of not arriving to that magical place of peace made them disappear into oblivion.
Please tell us what are you saying, Pastor Rick. I am telling you that you are blessed but I am also telling you that you are only one phone call or attack away from a major test or temptation in your life. It may be a doctor saying you have a brain tumor, Leukemia, lung cancer. It may be a spouse who says I am done. It may be a son or daughter who is addicted to drugs. You fill in the blanks. Life changes quickly. Somewhere along the way I believe we have bought into a myth in the church that we have to be at 100% all the time and if we are not, something is wrong with our faith. Just confess the bad away!
1. I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me. Philippians 4:13 (NKJV) This has probably been one of the most abused verses in the Bible. When we process the Word of God through a gospel of prosperity…the ‘all things’ in this verse become whatever we want. If you read Paul in context, he was talking about an enduring faith that would carry him through whatever life would throw at him. Paul endured so much opposition and pain.
2. I have learned, in whatever state I am, to be content. Philippians 4:11-12 (NKJV) “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.” Please read it for what it says. I can do all things and I can be content. Our answer is Jesus!
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