Twelfth Sunday after Pentecost
Proper 14

Text: 1 Kings 19:3-5 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.  When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness.  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.

Fear, fatigue, frustration and failure

At some time, we all face discouragement.  Discouragement leads us to despair, to become depressed, unhappy, to lose hope. 

Let’s take a simple everyday example of discouragement. 
You decide that it’s time to get out into the garage and clean it up.  Three walls of the garage have shelving up to the ceiling filled with boxes of books, old electrical appliances, kids’ toys, tools, garden bits and pieces, paint cans, camping gear, extension cords, ropes, you name it – over many years the good, the bad and ugly have all ended up in the garage. 

You start the job.  When does discouragement set in? 
Not in the beginning – you have a vision of everything neat and organised with all the old stuff gone for good. 
And it’s not near the end because you are looking forward to a nice, neat garage with no junk. 

Discouragement sets in right in the middle of the job.  You’ve got everything off the shelves.  There is stuff everywhere.  It’s hard to decide what to keep and what to throw out.  The job is taking too long and proving to be harder than you expected. 

At the halfway point you realise there is a long way to go to finish the job and, what is more, you still need to get rid of all the stuff you are throwing out.  You are tired.  You are discouraged.  You give up – you throw up your hands in frustration and put everything back on the shelves and walk away.  What a waste of time!

Today we hear about Elijah.  God had done some great things through Elijah, like saving a widow and her son from starving during a drought.  (1 Kings 17).  But everything took a turn for the worse when he took a stand against those who worshipped the Canaanite God, Baal.  You see, Queen Jezebel supported and promoted the worship of Baal and so when Elijah opposed the worship of Baal this meant getting on the wrong side of Queen Jezebel – a person who was notoriously ruthless. 

As you might recall, Elijah challenged hundreds of Baal worshippers to set up a sacrificial altar on Mount Carmel and they called on Baal all day to set it alight.  Nothing happened.  (1 Kings 18).

Then Elijah set up an altar, drenched his sacrifice with water.  He prayed to the God of Israel.  We are told, “The Lord sent down fire, and it burned up the sacrifice, the wood and the stones, scorched the earth and dried up the water in the trench (I Kings 18:38).  All those gathered around fell down and worshipped God saying, “The LORD—he is God!” (1 Kings 18:39). 

As expected, Queen Jezebel is angry.  She is beyond angry.  She is seething that her religion and her prophets have been humiliated.  She promises, “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you.” (1 Kings 19:2).

What is Elijah’s reaction to Jezebel’s threats? 

Firstly, we note, Elijah is filled with fear.  This threat becomes so overwhelming, so huge in Elijah’s mind, fear sends him on the run into the wilderness without any thought of how he was going to survive out there in that lonely, unfriendly, desert place. 

Elijah knew God, but fear replaced all memory of the graciousness and goodness of God that he had experienced in the past.

This happens even to us.  We know God’s love, but like Elijah, our experience and understanding of God’s love for us disappear like a morning fog as fear and worry become all-consuming.  The only thoughts we have are, “What if this happens….”  “What if this person does this …”.  We think of only the worst.  We act as if God has left the stage.

Like Elijah, we become discouraged; we feel alone with nothing to look forward to.   

Has this happened to you?
It might be a health-related setback or a relationship breakdown. 
We hear on TV, on social media about crime, wars, out of control youth, of marriage and family breakdown, pandemics, sky-rocketing prices, increased mortgages, and all this negativity fills our minds and begins to affect our outlook on life and make us pessimistic and fearful.  We become discouraged. 

Let me ask you this, what secret fear do you have that leads you to be discouraged, become worried and anxious? 

Along with fear, comes fatigue adding to discouragement.  It’s not hard to become sleep deprived when you are fearful, depressed and discouraged.   

Elijah didn’t make his trip into the wilderness a relaxing camping holiday.  He ran for a whole day.  He’s hungry and thirsty.  He is physically and emotionally and spiritually wrung out.  He collapses under a broom tree, and says to God, “I have had enough, Lord.  Take my life.” (1 Kings 19:4).  His tired weary mind really believes this is the end of the road.  Through his weariness he can see no purpose for his life and blocks out any possibility of God helping him at this moment.  He’s done.

When we have run out of energy, sleep deprived, emotionally and physically wrung out, it’s hard to think clearly. 
When we are tired small things are blown up into big things;
we misunderstand what people say and take it as criticism;
we are tough on ourselves and beat ourselves up, or unfairly blame someone else;
we are tough on God and question why he is so silent when we pray.

Can you recall a time when fatigue, tiredness, has led you to the point when you can’t think clearly anymore?  The setback you have experienced has controlled every thought and you are just so worn out by it all.  Elijah felt like this and, in fact, at some time I do, we all do.

We have seen that fear and fatigue are key elements of discouragement.  The third one is frustration.  When something is more difficult than we expect this leads to frustration.  Being a prophet for God is a lot harder than Elijah had expected.  Here he is sitting in the wilderness under a broom tree alone, frustrated, powerless, wanting to die.  He believed that everyone had deserted God and him.  “All they want to do is kill me”, Elijah complained. 

Have you ever thought, “No one cares.  No one understands me.  I try my hardest, but I don’t seem to get anywhere”.  

Have you despaired over the way things have turned out, despondent over how people have treated you?  Have you felt discouraged because nothing you do seems to fix the situation?

Of course, you have.  Everyone faces these kinds of things in life at some time.  We have felt frustrated like Elijah under the broom tree, not knowing which way to turn and what to do next. 

So, we’ve seen fear, fatigue, frustration are at the heart of discouragement. The fourth is the sense of failure.  Elijah has been a faithful servant of God.  He wants to destroy the worship of Baal, but he’s hit a brick wall.  He now believes that he is no better than his ancestors.  Like them, he has failed God when the going got tough.  He’s disappointed in himself, in his failure to finish the job God had given him.

Evil has won the day.  He has been a complete failure so might as well give up and die. 

Failure is very much part of our everyday lives. 
We say, “I was foolish to even think that I could do this. 
Why did I take on this job or start this course? 
Why did I buy this? 
Why did I get married? 
We become discouraged. 

How do you react when fear, fatigue, frustration and failure land you in a muddy puddle of discouragement, despondency and despair?  We need to learn from Elijah’s experience.    

When Elijah felt alone and abandoned and helpless, feeling a total failure, wanting to die, completely discouraged as a prophet, God was right there in the wilderness with him.  Despite Elijah’s lack of trust in God, God’s love for Elijah did not stop. 

God sent an angel and provided – food, water and sleep.  Total rest for two days.  Food and rest were the first essentials needed to overcome his discouragement.  Overcoming fatigue was the first step in getting Elijah to see things in proper perspective. 

In fact, if you ever find yourself in the depth of discouragement or depression, or even wondering if you want live, the God of the universe does not leave you alone, he is with you.  He loves you.  He wants to nourish and feed and care for you in every way, to care for every need of your soul and body.  

You are not alone.  At your baptism God committed himself to you as his adopted child.  He is committed to providing everything you need to be able to stand strong under the weight of discouragement and depression. 

God is beside you when you think you are a complete failure.  He is there when the future looks bleak.  He says, (Isaiah 41:10)

“Don’t be afraid, for I am with you.
Don’t be discouraged, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you.
I will hold you up with my victorious right hand”.

Your moods and feelings make no difference to his love.  If you are discouraged, trust God to help, he is the “Father of all compassion and the God of all comfort” (2 Cor 1:3).  
Talk it over with him.  Tell him your problems, tell him your mistakes, your hurts, your disappointments, your loneliness, your frustrations, that have caused you to feel so low.  God invites us, “Call on me in the day of trouble, and I will rescue you” (Psalms 50:15). 

And even if you feel so low that you feel you can't even do that, or so angry you can only shout, remember he knows your thoughts and sighs and unintelligible muttering.  He understands us.  We aren’t alone in our discouragement.

God came to Elijah and gave him food to replenish his strength for the mission God had given him.  We heard in the Gospel reading, we have something even better than bread – we have the Bread of Life, Jesus Christ.  Jesus meets and feeds us at our point of need with his Word and through Holy Communion.  Through Jesus, the love and presence of God are revealed to us.  The Living Bread, Jesus, strengthens us for the toughest journeys that we take when fear, fatigue, frustration and failure threaten to derail us. 

Jesus will hold us up during those times of discouragement;
he will strengthen us with his presence;
and assure us that there is nothing that can overcome us. 
Jesus assures us he is our shepherd who will walk us through the darkest valleys.
He knows us inside out.  Trust that he is in control.
He says, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28).

Just as God cared for Elijah, God cares for you too.  Just as God helped and encouraged Elijah so too, he helps you in your time of discouragement. 

Come out from under the shade of the broom tree, be encouraged; God is your strength and confidence. 

The psalmist said it well, “The Lord is near to those who are discouraged; he saves those who have lost all hope” (Psalm 34:19).

© Pastor Vince Gerhardy
E-mail: sermonsonthenet@outlook.com
11th August 2024