Jump Start # 1534

1 Kings 19:4-5 “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, ‘It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.’”

  The Elijah syndrome happens to many of us. In the previous chapter, 1 Kings 18, Elijah stands alone in confronting a massive contingency of Baal prophets. There are over 400 of them and just Elijah. The nation doesn’t back Elijah. They can’t make up their mind who God is. Elijah, through a mighty contest, shows that Baal is nothing. He cannot be heard. He cannot accept a sacrifice to him. He cannot even light the fire for his sacrifice. Elijah mocks, ridicules, and humiliates Baal. As the chapter ends, Jehovah sends a fire upon His sacrifice displaying for all that He is the one true God. The prophets of Baal are chased down by Israel and all of them are killed. It’s a great victory for the people of God.

The next chapter opens with Jezebel, the queen, ordering the death of Elijah. The patsy king, Ahab, seems to allow Jezebel to do whatever she wants. Elijah is scared. He runs. This is where our verse finds him. He is out in the wilderness, most likely a place where Jezebel’s henchmen would never look. But it looks as if Elijah has run out of steam. He can’t keep doing this. He states, “It is enough”. He’s ready to throw in the towel after the first round. He wants the Lord to take his life. Elijah is not suicidal. In suicide a person takes their own life. Here, Elijah wants God to end it. Just put an end to my life. Interesting, he doesn’t ask God to take Jezebel’s life. He seems tired and wants to stop running. Just end this God. Take me out of this.

This is the Elijah syndrome. When a person has reached the end of their limits and they are finished. I just want it to be over. I’m tired of dealing with this.

This is the spirit that some have in a broken marriage. The frustrations have grown into arguments, patience has run out long ago, and nothing seems to change. He continues to speak lies. Her heart has grown cold and indifferent. The weight of managing a house has fallen to one person. When it seems all the options have run out, “It is enough,” is declared. It’s over. I want out. I’m tired of all the problems. I want the problems to end. The Elijah syndrome.

This is the spirit that some parents have toward a rebellious teenager. He is spiraling out of control. He’s gotten in trouble at school. He’s been in trouble with the police. He continues to violate the house rules and seems indifferent to a path that would lead to success. There has been so many discussions that have turned ugly. There has been many nights with very little sleep. There has been counselors and therapists. Nothing seems to be working. “It is enough,” declares the parents. They are at the end. They are willing to toss him out with the hopes that he will learn a lesson once and for all. They are tired of all the problems. The Elijah syndrome.

This is the spirit that some shepherds in the church have toward a member who can’t make up his mind if he wants to be a Christian or a person of the world. He comes just once in a while to worship, but he has far too much of the world still in him. He drinks. He has a foul attitude. His choice of words are not very choice. His marriage teeter-totters. There has been so many discussions and Bible studies with this person. He either doesn’t get it or worse, he doesn’t want to get it. Just about every time some discipline takes place, he shows us and shows some improvement. But it doesn’t last. Back to his old wicked ways. This cycle wears the shepherds out. They are running out of patience with him. Like Elijah, they are ready to declare, “Enough.” The Elijah syndrome.

Elijah prayed that God would take him. God didn’t. God wasn’t finished with him yet. Elijah hides in a cave. God calls him out and gives him a job to do. In later chapters, Jezebel comes to a fitting end. But not here. Not in this chapter. Not while Elijah has had enough and is in the cave. His problem is still there. God is showing Elijah that you can’t always run from your problems. Nor, can you just wish for God to take your problems or even you away from it all. We love isolation. Isolation is being removed from problems. That is generally how we pray. Remove me or remove my problem. Put distance between me and the problem.

More times, God is interested in us facing our problems. God is in the insulation business. Isolation is to be removed from the problem. Insulation is able to go through the problem without it destroying what is inside of you. Our readers in the North understand insulation. This morning the plow truck has already been down my street. More snow. But inside a nice warm house, I am insulated from the cold. God wants to equip us with the means to go through problems and not have the problems destroy our hearts. The Psalmist wrote, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…” (23:4). That’s what we struggle with. We don’t want to walk through those valleys. Take another path is what we pray. But God leads us through the valley. It’s not isolation, it’s insulation.

Insulation would include trusting God and His word. It would include worship and surrounding yourself with quality spiritual people. It would include prayer. It would include seeing things from God’s perspective.

Leaking roofs, dripping faucets, sick pets—those all can be fixed. When you deal with people problems, those are always more complex and based upon the willingness of others to do what is right. When they don’t, that’s when we become weary. We can’t change adults. We’d like to, but we can’t. We can’t fix attitudes. What we can do is show, influence, teach and pray.

God wasn’t finished with Elijah. God was telling Elijah, “It’s NOT enough.” Get up and get busy in the kingdom. Elijah was discouraged and depressed. Those feelings drive us to our own caves. And in those caves we stay. For some, they have been in a cave for years. Sometime it takes medication to help a person. Sometimes, it’s just will power. You often have to do what you do not feel like doing. “It’s enough,” is all it takes to stop us. We have to keep going. God never asks, “How do you feel about this?” He never asked that to Noah. He never asked that to Moses. He never even asked that to Jesus. Your walk with Christ will take you to places that you do not feel like going. There will be days that you may not feel like being around others. There may be days that you do not feel like going to worship. But you will. You will, because it’s the right thing to do. The right thing always trumps how I feel about things.

You may not feel like apologizing or forgiving someone. If it’s the right thing to do, you’ll do it. You may not feel like giving your marriage another try. If it’s the right thing to do, you’ll do it. You may not feel like leaving your cave, but if it’s the right thing to do, you’ll do it.

The right thing must always come before how we feel about things. If it doesn’t, then we have put our self at the top of the list. God is at the top.

It is enough, is not enough in God’s book. Get up. Get out of the cave. Get back into the battle of things. God needs you where you are. God isn’t finished with you yet.

Tough words to a tired prophet. But it happened to be the right words.

Roger