Tuesday, June 24, 2008

You have More Going for you than You Know!

“When the servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, behold, an army with horses and chariots was all around the city. And the servant said, “Alas, my master! What shall we do?” He said, “Do not be afraid, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” Then Elisha prayed and said, “O LORD, please open his eyes that he may see.” So the LORD opened the eyes of the young man, and he saw, and behold, the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.” (2Kings 6:15-17 ESV)

What a scary site it must have been for the servant of Elisha! They were surrounded by an enemy army whose purpose was the destruction of Elisha! Every where he looked he saw them. As a matter of fact the only thing he could see at that point was the Syrian army. He asked the question of Elisha, "What shall we do?"

There are times in our lives, when what we can see seems like we are facing overwhelming odds, and they are stacked against us. And we ask ourselves or those who are with us, "What are we going to do?" This servant could not see what Elisha saw, and therefore was afraid. But when his master prayed for him, the Lord was pleased to open his eyes, and show him that he actually had more going for him than he realized: "the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha.”

When we walk by sight, it is a very fearful thing. But when we walk by faith, trusting in the provisions of God that we cannot necessarily see, we can have peace. Truly those that are with us are more than those that are against us. We can have peace and joy knowing that we have much more going for us than we can see.

"Dear Lord, open the eyes of our faith, and help us to trust in the One that we cannot see, especially when what we do see makes us afraid."

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Is the Journey getting to Great for you?

“And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”” (1Kings 19:5-7 ESV)

There is no doubt about it, Elijah is in a bad way emotionally. First, Let's take a look and see what he is displaying in his life in this passage:
  • Fear “Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.” (1Kings 19:3 ESV)
  • Illogical thinking “And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”” (1Kings 19:4 ESV) In verse three He is running for his life, and in verse 4, he is asking the Lord to take his life! That doesn't make sense. If he wanted to die, why didn't he just let Jezabel do her thing?
  • Depression “And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”” (1Kings 19:4 ESV)
  • Exhaustion-“And he lay down and slept under a broom tree” (1Kings 19:5 ESV)
  • Lonliness-“and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”” (1Kings 19:10 ESV)
Secondly, let's take a look into his life and see what has been happening to bring him to this place.
  • A great exciting, emotionally draining spiritual victory in the slaying of the Prophets of Baal. (See 1 Kings 18:18ff)
  • The threat of Jezebel, (2 Kings 19:1-2)
  • He has been frantically running (v.3)
  • He has forsaken his servant (v.3)
Thirdly, Let's see what he needed in this condition:
  • Solitude-“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree.” (1Kings 19:4 ESV)
  • Rest-“And he lay down and slept under a broom tree” (1Kings 19:5 ESV)
  • Food and Water-“And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.” (1Kings 19:5-6 ESV)
  • Communion with God- “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”
There is much more than can be said here, but I don't have time. But to summarize, we need to realize that many times when we are experiencing what Ellijah was experiencing, if we will take inventory of our lives, we will see what brought us to that place. But most importantly, we need to see what He needed, and realize that many times that is just what we need, rest, food, solitude, and communion with God..

Friday, June 13, 2008

"Prone to Wander Lord I feel it...."

1Kings 11:9 ¶ And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.

Without a doubt, one of the most amazing stories in all of the Bible is the appearance of God to Solomon, when Solomon first became King of Israel. He could have asked God for anything, but he chose to ask God for wisdom. God not only granted him his request for wisdom, but also promised him wealth, and victory over his enemies. There was a second time that God appeared to him, and that was after Solomon prayed the prayer of dedication for the temple.

Can you imagine having the God of the universe appear to you? Do you think that after that you could ever forsake Him, and become idolatrous? If you are like me, you are thinking right now that if God ever appeared to you, and granted you what He did for Solomon, that you would serve Him all of your days. You wonder how Solomon could do such a thing! But I must say, that the older I get, the less I trust myself. I am capable of forsaking the God who has already done so many wonderful things for me. If it were not for His persevering grace in my life I would have forsaken Him long ago.

There is a warning here for us. We must not trust our passed experiences with God to keep us faithful to Him, in the future! We must depend upon Him for fresh supplies of grace to keep us faithful. Also, I believe that we must guard our intimate relationships, and be sure they are the kind that brings us more near to God, and not the kind that causes us to drift from Him!

Finally, we must see that there is a cost for such forsaking. Solomon had the kingdom taken away from His posterity. Idolatry is never free, but is always very costly.

"Prone to wander, Lord I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Take my heart Lord take and seal it. Seal it for thy courts above."