Don’t Grow Weary

Don’t Grow Weary By Tamara Haygood

When I look at the prophet Elijah, I think it’s important to realize that although he is a well-known prophet of God, a man of God that had done many extraordinary things with the help of the Lord and by the word of the Lord - It’s important to remember that he was just a man, a human being. That’s important to remember no matter who it is or what we see them doing in the name of the Lord. The fact of the matter is that we are all humans, there is a frailty within us. 2 Corinthians 12:9 says,” Each time he said, ’No. But I am with you; that is all you need. My power shows up best in weak people.’ Now I am glad to boast about how weak I am; I am glad to be a living demonstration of Christ’s power, instead of showing off my own power and abilities.” God understands and He deals with humans who are frail, who are weak and who have limitations. And He doesn’t expect us to do things on our own. Let’s look at the life of Elijah going back to chapter 17 of 1 Kings. We see that Elijah was called on to warn wicked King Ahab that there was going to be a famine coming into the land. There would be no dew or rain for several years until God decided to allow it again. We see often times with the prophets of old that they had very hard messages to deliver from God. Typically, they were not looked at with love and adoration. As their messages were most of the time were of correction and warnings from God.

After this particular warning was given Elijah went away to hide. God directed him to a widow woman who was ready to cook the last meal for her and her son. She was obedient to the prophet and God provided for all of them during the time of famine. But then in the midst of that time she lost her son, he died. She became angry and felt that she was being punished when she had been faithful and obedient. So, in the midst of this time while Elijah was believing every day for God to provide for them, now his faith was stretched even more as he had to believe for a young man to be raised from the dead. I believe that sometimes when we read the stories from the Bible, we forget to consider that those who were standing in faith, trusting God for the miraculous wasn’t an easy time, and that things did not happen quickly. Even though it is not something that they could do on their own or have any control over. It was and is still a stretch; it can be an emotional stretch and a stretch of anyone’s faith.

Many times, there may be intense prayer that goes into this and it can be tiring. I know in my personal life, I have had to pray and believe for a long period of time or for something that is very serious it is emotionally and physically very taxing. We see that God did answer Elijah’s prayer and the young man was brought back to life. Then the Lord spoke to Elijah again and told him that it was time to go back and tell King Ahab that he was going to send rain again. So, let’s take into account that basically Elijah has been in hiding during this time. King Ahab and Queen Jezebel would love nothing more than to have his life destroyed. So, it was no little request for him to have to go back into their presence and convey a message to them again. The last message that he had sent her brought severe famine to their land. Not exactly a message that brought them any joy. As he shows up, they are blaming the famine on him, and he tells them that they are the ones that have brought the famine to the land because they have refused to obey the Lord and chose to worship to Baal instead. In chapter 18, Elijah challenges the prophets that were worshiping false gods. His challenge is: whichever God can bring fire from heaven and consume the sacrifice, would be the true God. Try as they may, they went through all types of ways in their worship of Baal and Asherah could not get their gods to answer. Now it was Elijah’s turn, he had them dig trenches around his altar and pour water on it, saturating it and then putting the sacrifice on it. The pressure is on, he begins to pray and believe for God to do what God said that he would do. I believe this was again a time of great strain on him. He has to completely rely on God coming and doing this miracle. All the while he is standing in the midst of people who hate him and want to kill him. When I think of how incredibly difficult that would be it amazes me. God had to have given him the grace and strength to stand surrounded by evil and such immense pressure. God did come through! He amazingly consumed the sacrifice and every bit of the water that had been poured on it. Elijah then called for all of the false prophets to be put to death. In fact, it says he’s the one that slayed them. Again, when I think of the scope of what he did, I don’t think any of us could begin to understand the emotional and physical exertion that must have taken. Now he has told them that God is going to send rain. Elijah is looking to the sky for a sign that God is going to bring the rain as has been promised to come. As he looks there are no billowing rain clouds, he is on his face crying

out to God. In fact, seven different times he cries out to God, until finally only a cloud the size of a man’s hand forms. And then in faith believing he informs them that they need to get down the mountain as heavy rains are on the way. Here again I believe he was travailing in prayer, I don’t think it was a simple prayer, but he is crying out to God, undoubtedly with all that’s within him. God gives him supernatural abilities to even outrun King Ahab and his chariot, to get down from the mountain ahead of the deluge of rain. I don’t know how old he was at this point, but this in itself was a miracle that his body handled this great feat. Once Queen Jezebel hears of this and she flies into it outrage and is wanting his life once again, so fearing for his life Elijah runs away to find a place to hide. So many times, when we hear the story taught, people become critical of him. But once again, I think we need to realize that although he was a prophet of God and He experienced God coming through so many times in miraculous manners. Elijah is still a human being, he still deals with the same things that you and I deal with every day. We see he had to have been exhausted as an angel had to come and feed him. Remember when you are going through difficult spaces that you too need to be fed, not just with physical food but with the Word of God. Jesus said in Matthew 4:4, “But Jesus told him, ‘No! For the Scriptures tell us that bread won’t feed men’s souls: obedience to every word of God is what we need.’” Even when the enemy came to attack him, He responded with the Word. God’s Word will always give us just what we need, when we need it. God asked him,” Why are you hiding in this mountain?” Elijah felt alone, in 1 Kings 19: 10, He replied, “I have worked very hard for the Lord God of the heavens; but the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you and torn down your altars and killed your prophets, and only I am left; and now they are trying to kill me too.” At the times where I have been despondent and weary, have been praying and seeking God and waiting for an answer, it is easy to become despondent. Sometimes that weariness can even come from just physically being exhausted with normal life. This is usually an opening for the enemy to find his way into our mind. That is the time that I get greatly attacked. When I am tired both physically and emotionally. I have learned that I must be on guard at that point because I am most vulnerable then.

Know, that even though Elijah was a prophet of God, he was no more valu -able to God than you are. You are precious in the sight of God and He is aware of all that we go through. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. He will be with us all the way to the end.

The seasons when we are going through unmanageable trials, perhaps we’ve been believing God for something that seems impossible. Or we have been praying, trusting, and it looks so bleak. Maybe we feel like we’re all alone, we are sure that no one else gets what we are going through. We question why God is dealing us a hard obstacle, that He is not there for us and does not care about us. Surely, no one would understand what we are going through. Have you been there? Are you there now? Then God did something very interesting; starting in verse 11 “‘Go out and stand before me on the mountain,’ the Lord told him. And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his scarf and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And a voice said, ‘Why are you here, Elijah?’” I know for myself when I’m struggling, looking for answers, feeling alone perhaps even feeling defeated - It can be hard to hear God’s voice. Usually there are so many voices going on in my head and it’s hard to make them be quiet. Of course, the enemy is definitely putting in his share of thoughts amongst the doubts of my own. When I come into these places, I know that is the time that I need to quiet my mind and my heart. For me, it is best when I begin to worship the Lord. Sometimes I don’t feel like it, feelings of defeat and discouragement are not always the easiest times to worship. But when I press through and get past my emotions and my feelings. And I begin to worship Him in spite of how I feel. It is like pressing through an invisible wall. After I have worshipped for a bit, I will begin to sense His presence, or find a place of peace. I will sit there quietly, patiently waiting, listening to hear the voice I love so much. That still, small Voice of my God. It’s a voice I hear in my heart. God let Elijah know that he was not alone, starting in verse 15, “Then the Lord told him, ‘Go back by the desert road to Damascus, and when you arrive, anoint Hazael to be king of Syria. Then anoint Jehu (son of Nimshi) to be king of Israel, and anoint Elisha (the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah) to replace you as my prophet. Anyone who escapes from Hazael shall be killed by Jehu, and those who escape Jehu shall be killed by Elisha! And incidentally, there are 7,000 men in Israel who have never bowed to Baal nor kissed him!’ So Elijah went and found Elisha who was plowing a field with eleven other teams ahead of him; he was at the end of the line with the last team.

Elijah went over to him and threw his coat across his shoulders and walked away again.” God spoke to him with his still, small voice. He gave him instruction of what needed to happen for his enemies to be removed. He instructed Elijah as to what to do to have others that would now come alongside of him and would help to see that God’s will was done. He also let him know that he was not alone, in fact, there were 7,000 men in Israel that had not turned their back on God. And lastly, he brought someone to Elijah, that he could pour into and this person, Elisha would eventually take his place. God knew that his servant was weary. God did not condemn him or speak down to him as if he had done something wrong or failed because he was weary . He again was faithful and answered Elijah’s prayers. God is always faithful, there is not a time in my life that I can look back and say He’s let me down. Today I want to encourage you, that you may be going through some very difficult places. Maybe it feels like you were all alone and you may feel weary. Perhaps you’ve been praying for something and it seems that God is not hearing. Or you feel so alone, that no one could possibly understand what you’re going through or even care. Know, that even though Elijah was a prophet of God, he was no more valuable to God than you are. You are precious in the sight of God and He is aware of all that we go through. He never leaves us. He never forsakes us. He will be with us all the way to the end. Trust in Him, lean on Him, take time to be in His presence. To listen to that still small voice, let Him feed you with His Word. He is faithful and He will not leave you in the midst of your storm.

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