Isolation in Ministry, Part 2

Last time, I talked about Elijah isolating himself because he was disconnected from God. He was busy being zealous for God but was not personally connected to the life-giving source of the Spirit. So, he ran off and is now hiding in the mountain of God, Horeb.

Here is what 1 Kings 19 told us:

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

Amid Elijah’s emotional state, he believes he is the only one who serves God. He believes that his life is meaningless. He is tired of doing ministry.

What does God do in this situation?

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Elijah is about to have an encounter with the living God.

The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.”

Wow, don’t you wish the Lord would say to you, go out, and the presence of the Lord will pass over you?

I love what happens next, there are three events that most of us would expect to be signs from God.

Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind.

After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake.

After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire.

A Windstorm, an earthquake and a fire, but God was not in them… Listen to what happened next.

And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave.

God spoke in a gentle whisper, not in a loud demonstration of His power, but in a quiet voice. Psalm 46:10a says, “Be still, and know that I am God.”

What did the voice say? God asked the same question as before. Do not mistake the three events; they had a purpose, and they were to remind Elijah of who God is and His power. I think God had hoped the demonstration would serve as a way for Elijah to grow in his confidence and faith in who God is.

Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

In other words, Elijah, have you now found hope and purpose once again?

Elijah, unfazed, replies with the same answer as before, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

Sometimes, when our mental health pushes us into isolation, we lose sight of who God is and His power. Sometimes, everyone around us will remind us of how great God is, and deep down, we know that truth. But that knowledge does not remove the dark shadow of gloom.

Elijah heard God’s voice and felt the earth move, yet he was unmoved from his mental state of depression and feeling lost.

The Lord responds to Elijah’s heartfelt answer with a few action steps to restore the prophet and reassure him that God is still in charge. He tells Elijah to go and appoint two new kings over the divided Israel. He told him to go and anoint Elisha as his successor (future replacement).

But, then, God addressed one primary concern or feeling in Elijah’s answer - I am the only one left. Elijah felt alone and had no hope because everyone had turned to worshiping false idols.

Look at what the Lord says in verse 18, “Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.”

This is a critical theological point: regardless of how we feel and how things might seem, we never know what God is doing in other people’s lives. God had reserved or kept 7,000 who had never worshiped a false Idol. Elijah, you are not alone!

Isolation can make us feel all alone but look to Christ, and you will see Him and His church with arms wide open. Trust Him; He has you and thousands of others just like you. You are Not Alone!

TTFN

Isolation in Ministry Part 1

In 1 Kings 18, the Prophet of God has just demonstrated that the true God of Israel is more powerful than the false god Baal. Elijah put 400 prophets of Baal to the sword. In the text, he is bold and taunts the other prophets, saying, ““Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” 28 So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed.”

Wow, this man of God stood up to the enemy with boldness and in the power of the Lord. Verse 46 says, “The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.”

Yet, when we turn the page to chapter 19, everything changes. Verse one says, “Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

That should mean nothing to a man full of the Lord who just demonstrated God's power over the false god Ball. But that is not what the text says in verse 3a: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.”

Then the text tells us that “He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.”

Do you hear Elijah’s words, “I have had enough, Lord.” Then he laid down under a broom brush and fell asleep. I would say from the text that Elijah is struggling with depression.

But how could that be, considering everything that just happened? How could he feel this way when he saw God's supremacy demonstrated so powerfully in chapter 18? Because he lost being with God in doing for God.

We have been studying Emotional Healthy Discipleship in church. The key to the study is that we have become so busy doing church, teaching people about God, and serving Him that we have lost our personal connection with Him.

That is precisely what happened to Elijah and many people today who are involved in ministry. They become burned out from too much doing and not enough being with God. I know from personal experience that we can be so busy doing that we have no time for being in His presence, and then we begin to decline mentally.

Notice that in the middle of Elijah’s crisis, he fled and isolated himself from everyone, even his servants. When we become spiritually drained, we withdraw as the depression sets in.

But in the midst of his torment and depression, God stepped in. Verse 5b says, “All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” Verse 7, “The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.”

God sent help when Elijah needed it the most. The key is for us to recognize when God is reaching out to help us. We have to set aside our pride and be willing to accept His help.

Then Elijah goes on a long journey. 40 days and 40 nights of walking to reach Horeb, the mountain of God. But, even in this moment, after God has feed him twice, Elijah is still in the pit of despair.

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.”

Next time, we will see how the story ends… See you then.

TTFN

Planning Without Counting the Cost

The other night before we went through the Panama Canal we watched a movie about the building of the modern marvel. The movie was a very old NOVA Documentary “A Man, a Plan, a Canal - Panama.” In the movie the early concept of a canal linking the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, via a 50 mile stretch of land in Panama was discussed.

A Frenchman named Ferdinand de Lesseps, had just be celebrated for his work in constructing the Suez Canal, and now desired to create a similar canal through Panama. Around 1882 his company began the arduous work of building the canal. Lesseps did not understand the land or the barriers that Panama would present those who undertook this expedition.

What he didn’t know was that Panama has two seasons, dry and wet. The river that ran across his path for the canal would raise 40 feet during the rain season. Furthermore, the dense jungle, saw grass, poisonous snakes, and disease were not foreseen as barriers to the completion of the project.

At that time medical science had not discovered the cause of Malaria and Yellow Fever to be linked to mosquitos who swarmed around the stagnant pools of water. During the Spanish-American War medical science discovered the link between the insect and the disease, but for Ferdinand de Lesseps, it was not in time to save the project or the men.

Between the Yellow Fever, snake bites, and rough conditions over 20,000 people died in the first few years of the work, with little progress on the canal. It is said that out of the eight nuns who worked in the hospital only two survived. The environment wrecked havoc in so many ways.

On top of the huge loss of life, the company went bankrupt long before a quarter of the canal was complete. Lesseps would spend his last days at home, a laughingstock of France due to the failure of the Canal. The word “Panama” became used to describe a swindle of failure in France.

Why do I mention this historical fact about the Panama Canal because it illustrates an illustration once given by Jesus in Luke 14:28-30. Jesus said:

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’”

Do you see the parallel between the man Jesus mentioned and Ferdinand de Lesseps who failed to properly plan the project? Both failed due to poor planning. Both were ridiculed because of their failure.

Yet, Jesus is not talking about building literal buildings, while this does apply, but about spiritual foundations, rooted in Christ Jesus himself. The bigger picture of Luke 14:25-35, Jesus speaks of the cost of discipleship, and heavy cost of following him. The assessment according to Jesus is that we examine the cost to follow him, commit to that cost daily, and press on even when the going seems impossible. This cost assessment explains the deep personal toil each Christ follower must pay to be a disciple.

For Ferdinand de Lesseps the cost was financial, human life, and reputation. Many years later, the Americans would overcome the struggles of the French and complete the job.

Tomorrow, we will explore the cost for us to bridge the gap between us and Jesus.