Grace at an unlikely Time

There's a new Prime Minister in Canada and when you woke up Tuesday morning you were either ecstatic or disappointed, but however you feel about the new Prime Minister the Bible tells us that we have an obligation as Christians to pray for Prime Minister Trudeau and may I suggest for Mrs. Trudeau and their children as well.

And if you could deliver a message to the Prime Minister what would it be?  I have already contacted our member of parliament and asked him to relay my message to his boss. And maybe some day I will have the opportunity to let him know in person.

This is week three of our Moments of Grace series.  In week one we introduced the entire concept of Grace and how Paul developed a theology of Grace based on the evidence of Grace in the Bible and his own experience of Grace. In week two we saw how grace took Rahab from the brothel to a place in the genealogy of the Messiah.  That would be Jesus.   But not only does Grace appear in the most unlikely places it also appears at the most unlikely times.

3000 years ago God decided to confront the King of Israel over some problems that he had with him.  The king’s name was Ahab and this is what the Bible had to say about him

1 Kings 16:30-33  But Ahab son of Omri did what was evil in the LORD’s sight, even more than any of the kings before him.  And as though it were not enough to follow the example of Jeroboam, he married Jezebel, the daughter of King Ethbaal of the Sidonians, and he began to bow down in worship of Baal.  First Ahab built a temple and an altar for Baal in Samaria.  Then he set up an Asherah pole. He did more to provoke the anger of the LORD, the God of Israel, than any of the other kings of Israel before him.

Now that’s saying something because there had been some pretty awful kings before Ahab.

So whom did God use?  The prophet with the biggest following in Israel?  Some sharp, well spoken, well dressed, high profile guy who was known and respected in all the right circles?  Of course not, that’s what we’d do.

 Instead God reaches down to a little town Tishbe in Gilead and pulls out a prophet named Elijah.  Kind

And in reading through the Bible we discover that Elijah was just a human as we are.  Nothing special he was just regular people. 

The only real description we have of him comes in 2 Kings 1:8  They replied, “He was a hairy man, and he wore a leather belt around his waist.”

Now I don’t know about you but when I was growing up anyone who had all kinds of hair and wore leather belts was called a hippie. 

Elijah is seen by some as an Old Testament John the Baptist, but I suppose to put it into proper perspective, John the Baptist was a New Testament Elijah.  The last mention we have of Elijah in the Old Testament is in 2 Kings 2:11  As they were walking along and talking, suddenly a chariot of fire appeared, drawn by horses of fire. It drove between the two men, separating them, and Elijah was carried by a whirlwind into heaven.

That’s kind of neat.  The next time Elijah is seen is in the New Testament when Jesus went up to a mountain top with Peter, James and John in Matthew 17:3  Suddenly, Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus.

And maybe you are thinking “Denn that was like 900 years later, that’s impossible.”   For us, yes, for God, well you know what the Angel Gabriel told Mary in Luke 1:37  For nothing is impossible with God.”

That’s a little back ground, the entire story is found in 1 Kings and happened during the time that Israel was ruled by the wicked king Ahab and his equally wicked queen, Jezebel.  It was Jezebel who introduced Baal worship throughout the kingdom and immorality ran rampant.  It was during those dark days that Elijah stood out as a beacon of righteousness in a sea of degradation.  His speech was characterized by boldness and his ministry was marked with miraculous deeds.  It was Elijah who challenged the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal and then prayed down fire and then rain. 

And if the story stopped there none of us would be able to relate to Elijah and yet we are reminded by the brother of Jesus in James 5:17 Elijah was as human as we are.  And so we have to conclude that the type of experiences that we have that he would share and that we would share his experiences as well. 

Elijah is a prime example of Herbert Freudenberger’s contention that “Burnout is the let-down that comes between crisis or directly after ‘Mission Accomplished’.”

Elijah was a successful, high achiever type “A” personality.  He had spent a pile of emotional, spiritual and physical energy in the show down at Mount Carmel and as a result he saw the people of Israel turn away from their idol worship and turn back to God.  He then prayed for an end to a three-year drought and it rained.  When that prayer was answered he ran 30 kms from Carmel to Jezreel and at that point he was certain that Queen Jezebel would fall on her knees and repent.   Instead she threatened to have him killed.  He was expecting more success instead he was rejected and threatened and his joy turned to fear.  1 Kings 19:3 Elijah was afraid and fled for his life.

Existing on a physical and emotional high, he was caught off guard.  Emotionally and spiritually he was depending on his own strength and when that failed he ran instead of prayed.

The entire story climaxes in 1 Kings where we read this 1 Kings 19:4 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.”

Sounds like Elijah may have been at the same place as Poet John Keats when he wrote “I am in that temper that if I were under water I would scarcely kick to come to the top.”

In Elijah’s case we see several feelings that are associated with burn out and depression.

1 Kings 19:10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”

Feelings of Self-Centredness.  Elijah came to the place where he felt that everything depended on him.  He thought he was indispensable and felt that if he didn’t do it then it wouldn’t get done.  “Oh Lord, it’s just you and me and nobody else understands the situation.  But that’s ok Lord, because I have broad shoulders, just pile a little more on.”

This line of reasoning is common among pastors who refuse to delegate because they don’t think anyone else can do as good of a job.  I knew a pastor who had gone thirteen years and never missed a Sunday in his pulpit.  Why?  Because he didn’t think that was anyone else who could do as good of a job. 

The problem is that it doesn’t take long to go from “I don’t need anyone but God” to “God can’t do it without me” to “I can do it all by myself.”  And we expect that from toddlers but not from grown-ups. 

Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 12:3 Because of the privilege and authority God has given me, I give each of you this warning: Don’t think you are better than you really are. Be honest in your evaluation of yourselves, measuring yourselves by the faith God has given us. 

Getting back to the story 1 Kings 19:10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets.

2) General Feelings of Resentment To put that in perspective in the verse before God had asked Elijah where he was and Elijah goes off on this tirade that has nothing to do with the question that had been asked.  That’s so typical, when we can’t or don’t want to answer a particular question we act like it was never asked.

I remember there was a difficult question asked on a systematic theology exam I was writing in college and a friend of mine wrote.  “I don’t know the answer to this question but I do know who the twelve apostles were.” 

And he listed them, nice try but no marks because while he may have answered a question correctly it wasn’t the question that had been asked.

The question that God asks had nothing to do with the children of Israel.  And yet that is where Elijah started.  I would hazard a guess that there were a lot of unresolved hostilities in Elijah’s life. 

In Matthew 5:21-26 Jesus explains the dangers resentments and lack of forgiveness pose to our spiritual lives. 

I don’t know how many times I have sat across from someone for counselling and it all comes bubbling out, the hate and bitterness over some hurt or slight, either real or imaginary that is literally eating them up from the inside.  And what they don’t realize is that they are still allowing those people to hurt them. 

1 Kings 19:10 Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the LORD God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.”   

3) Feelings of Paranoia   It’s not a great distance from “No one appreciates me” to “Everyone is out to get me.” 

It was Henry Kissinger who said “Even a paranoid can have enemies.”  And there was no doubt that there were those who were opposed to Elijah, but he  took one threat against him and turned it into the entire nation being out to get him. 

In Elijah’s mind Jezebel’s lone threat had become a national conspiracy against him, seeking his assassination. 

 4) Feelings of Self Pity  Did you catch the whining here?  If there is one particular emotion which supersedes all others in burnout and depression it is self-pity, “Oh poor me, I have it so bad.” 

Most people know the story of Helen Keller, who lost her sight and hearing as a small child, lots to feel sorry about listen to her words: “Self-pity is our worst enemy and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.”

Elijah was so caught up in Elijah that he couldn’t see anything or anyone else. 

And if people don’t agree with you about how bad things are then you start to detach yourself from others because at least you understand how bad things are for you.

1 Kings 19:4 . . . 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.”

5) Specific Feelings of Resentment  Sometimes it’s resentment against our spouse or parents, or friends.  In Elijah’s case it was resentment against God. 

When Elijah asked God to take away his life he was in effect saying “I am not satisfied with what you are doing in my life and it’s your fault.”  And so from the depths of despair we begin blaming God for where we are. 

Now instead of it being my problem or the result of the way “They”, whoever they were, acted now it is God’s fault.  E

lijah demonstrates his dissatisfaction and lack of trust concerning God’s control in his life.   And Elijah may have felt like he was abandoned by God, but that wasn’t the case. 

Let’s see what we can find in Elijah’s story.  Elijah has come to the lowest point in his life and he wants out.  He is showing classic symptoms for burnout and depression, so how does God deal with that? 

The simple answer was he dealt with Elijah with Grace.  He didn’t turn his back on him and he didn’t declare him ungrateful and forgetful.  And he didn’t treat Elijah justly, giving him what he deserved.  “Oh yeah, if that’s how you feel, then that’s how it will be.”  Instead we read,

1 Kings 19:5-6 Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again.

1) God Met Elijah’s Physical Needs.  Even though depression is a psychological condition some of its behaviour results in physiological problems.  

Loss of appetite can become a vicious circle with the lack of proper nutrition resulting in a lack of energy and general apathy which causes a loss of appetite which results in a lack of proper nutrition which. . .  Well you get the picture. 

Difficulties in sleeping result in listlessness and once again the resulting apathy contributes to the ever deepening despondency and the downward spiral into depression.

God didn’t tell Elijah to go to the altar and get right with him, he didn’t tell him he needed to pray more or read the scripture.  Instead God provided the two things that Elijah needed the most. 

Good food, proper nutrition.  Did you catch that not just food but good food, proper food.  You ever notice what you tend to eat when you get into deep blue funk?  That’s right, chocolate ice-cream, with peanut butter, chocolate chips and chocolate sauce.  Or so I’ve heard. 

And then God provided Elijah with a deep restful sleep.  You ever notice how much better life looks after a good night’s sleep?

1 Kings 19:11-12 “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.

2) God Met Elijah’s Spiritual Needs.  Elijah needed to know that God was still on his throne and that things were as they should be.  In demonstrating his power God was showing Elijah that he was still in control of the situation.  In doing this he took the responsibility off of Elijah’s shoulders and assumed it himself.

In demonstrating his control over events he allowed Elijah to release some of the burden.  God set the tone for the conversation.  Elijah needed to be back in touch with God and God set the stage for that. 

3) God Met Elijah’s Emotional Needs.  God prompted Elijah to get rid of his intense feelings.   During the communication God allowed Elijah an opportunity to air his grievances.

There are a lot of people out there who are literally walking time bombs.  They have crammed resentment, hurt, bitterness and disappointments into their souls.  And because they are afraid it’s sinful to express those emotions they’ve kept them under pressure and some day it will explode and hurt a lot of people.

To get rid of those negative feelings you can’t continue to suppress them and bury them and hide them.  Instead they need to be expressed, not in a hurtful way but in a constructive healing manner. 

It is only when we expose those problems, that we can begin to see those problems realistically. It’s only when we begin to see those problems in the light of day that we can begin to deal with them and get rid of them.

And it’s not always a one off process, in the account of Elijah God had to prompt Elijah three times to open up.  It may be with a professional, or it might be with a friend who is just willing to listen. 

4) God Met Elijah’s Practical Needs Only after the physical issues had been dealt with and after Elijah had purged himself of his resentments did God give him new things to do.

A person who is climbing out of the pit shouldn’t be immediately put back into the same circumstances that had put him there in the first place. 

But they do need something to do to take their minds off the almighty “ME” they also need those tasks to help rebuild their self-respect and self-esteem.  We were created to be productive, to create and to do, we weren’t created to lay around and do nothing and so one of the needs that has to be filled in our lives is the knowledge that we are doing something. 

5) God Met Elijah’s Social Needs  As the final step toward Elijah’s recovery God provided him with something everybody on the face of this earth needs and that is a true friend.  From that point on Elisha became Elijah’s friend, fellow worker and confident. 

Do you remember what God said after he created Man?  Genesis 2:18 Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone. . .”

In 1988 when we had finished our building project in Truro I went into a slump, yeah that is a good word a slump.  For several months I literally hid in my office, I didn’t want to see anyone or talk to anyone.  A major part of my putting my ministry back together can be attributed to a student we hired that summer.

And for a year and a half I poured my life into John.  For the first four months we spent all our time together, he lived at our house and I invested myself into his training and in return he became a friend and confident. 

Elijah felt like he was alone, now that wasn’t reflected in reality,  the Bible tells us there were seven thousand other Israelites who refused to worship Baal. 

On the other hand Elijah had been very much alone, but only because like so many sufferers of burnout and depression he had brought about his own loneliness by abandoning other people.

Everybody needs a friend.

Now this wasn’t a do it yourself psychoanalysis course.  Burnout and depression are serious business. 

But God doesn’t want us to live in that particular emotional desert.  God has a great plan for your life, don’t let depression and burnout rob you of that plan. 

God’s Grace is as real in the valley’s as it is on the mountain top, remember from last week Grace is "The free and unmerited favour of God as manifested in the salvation of sinners and the bestowing of blessings."

And as Bob Goff defined it as “Grace is a painting God's still completing over our torn canvases.”  That day in the cave, God was painting on Elijah’s torn canvas and He wants to complete the painting of your life, regardless of how torn the canvas is.  But he won’t paint without an invitation.