Frustrated or Faithful Followers

for a time to our reading in 1 Kings. 1 Kings chapter 19. We're going to have a look at the

1 Kings 19 · chapter mention

section that we read, verse 1 to verse 18, but we can read again at verse 9.

There it says, there he, Elijah, came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the

Lord came to him, and he said to him, what are you doing here, Elijah? And he said, I have been

very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant,

thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. And I, even I only,

am left, and they seek my life to take it away. Are you a frustrated or a faithful follower of Christ?

Next, as we look at the life of Elijah and the experiences that he went through,

you find in his own life, a mixture of many different emotions, many ups and downs along the

way. And we are reminded as we read this account, and as we look at our own lives, and we look at

what goes on around us, how quickly our emotions can change, and how situations and circumstances

can so quickly change the way we're feeling. You see it happening in many different walks of life.

You see the emotions involved in sport. By one minute, people are on a great high. The next minute,

people are on a great low. You see it among every level of life and every walk of life. You see it with

rich and famous and powerful people. People who, in one minute, have everything at hand,

and in the next, because of some scandal or wrong decision, they are left with nothing. All the

different ups and downs. It happens to every one of us. Our lives are often filled with so many

contrasting emotions, emotions of joy, emotions of sadness, and so it goes on. But you may say the

Christian life is different. The Christian life is a life that's stable, secure. You're settled.

You're sure of everything. No worries. No anxieties anymore. Nothing changes our emotions as Christians.

If I was to ask you if that was the case tonight, I'm sure you would all say, well, that's just not

true. We all know that we are not immune to all these different ups and downs in life. We are indeed

fearfully and wonderfully made, and the Lord knows every emotion that we go through. The reality of the

Christian life is one of ups and downs along the way. But one where we have a Lord and a God,

and the one who does not change, and that we can be sure of him and sure in him. And that's what we learn

in Elijah's experience here. His experience reminds us of the highs and lows that come of being a follower

of God, of being a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. There were times when he was faithfully following

with joy the Lord. Other times when he was frustrated in his following of the Lord. And it's these two

lessons that we want to think about this evening. Frustration and faithfulness in following the Lord.

If you go back to the previous chapters, chapters 17 and 18, and you can maybe just look over it later

on, and you see what's happening there in this overall story of Elijah's life. There was a time of

severe drought in the land, and yet God had miraculously provided for Elijah. He had provided

also for the widow who looked after him and her son. And even when tragedy struck that home and her son

died, Elijah, through the power of God, brought him to life. Then you read on and you see Elijah facing up

to the followers of Baal, those who challenged him to see if he could call down fire onto the altar.

And again, you see there God's awesome power. The prophets of Baal destroyed, Elijah's prayer answered,

and how God miraculously sent rain. And you would think here is someone who is strong in the Lord and

all is well. Things are going well for him, faithfully following God. But then you come into chapter 19,

and here we see a different side of Elijah's life. Here we see how a threat surrounds him.

His very life was under threat here. And in all the highs that he enjoyed, now we see the lows that he

experiences. There are times when we will be frustrated too. We all experience frustrations in our life, frustrations

with ourselves. How often we let the Lord down, how often we let others down. We're often frustrated with

ourselves. We'll be frustrated with others. We'll be frustrated with things that are going on around us.

We'll be frustrated with the way things are going around us. Maybe even in church, there can be

frustrations that so easily creep into our hearts. Things aren't going the way we would want them to be

going. Things aren't moving as quickly as we want them to move. There are so many different kinds of

frustrations that come in. And perhaps even we become frustrated with God. What is he doing?

Why isn't he acting? Why isn't he working as quick as we would want him to work? No one is immune to

frustration. But we remember in all our frustrations that God is never far away. He is never far away

to help. And he reminds us to be faithful, even in our times of frustration. God calls us to trust him.

And that's what we are seeing with Elijah here. There is an element of frustration in the way in his experience

with the Lord here. But the Lord is saying, be faithful. And remember, I am with you. And remember, you are not

alone. When everything seems to conspire against us, we remember God is faithful. And that's the lesson we want to see

from Elijah here this evening. In the midst of frustration, a call to faithfulness. There's two

ways we want to look at this. The first thing we see is Elijah's problem and God's provision.

And then the second thing we see is Elijah's passion and God's promise. So the first thing we see is

Elijah's problem and God's provision. To begin to read through this chapter, it's easy to conclude that

Elijah is running away in fear. And as he comes to this mountain, as he comes to Mount Horeb and to this

cave where he lodges for a time, that God comes and rebukes him to return to where he came from.

You read verse three there. And it says, then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came

up to Beersheba. But you can actually read that another way. And other translations will use not the

word afraid, but that Elijah saw and he arose and ran for his life. And that changes things for us.

It's a subtle change. But it changes things for us in the way that we see Elijah's life here.

What was it that Elijah was seeing? What was he seeing around him that made him run?

And run to where he went as God led him, even without his realizing?

Well, Elijah was seeing a people who were disobedient to God.

A people who were out to get him and any who worshipped God.

A people who were unresponsive to God, despite all that they had seen and heard of him.

All the miraculous things that they'd seen. Elijah calling down fire and fire coming upon the altar.

Rain coming when it hadn't rained for so long. And yet when Elijah prayed, the rain came.

And you would say to yourself, well, surely they will see God.

And yet what do we find the familiar problem? It doesn't seem to matter what we do or say at times.

Nothing seems to change people's hearts.

There is often the problem of frustration.

Frustration in seeing a people just turning blindly away from God.

Not heeding anything that we or anyone would say to them.

No matter how much you warn, no matter how much you say, no matter how much you maybe feel you're praying for them.

Nothing seems to make a difference.

I've heard people say, you have been encouraged under God's word.

How can people not believe?

And yet we know that unless the Lord opens their heart and the spirit awakes, that they cannot see.

But sometimes it's a frustration.

And that's a frustration that Elijah had here as well.

He was looking around.

He was seeing what was happening.

He was feeling alone in it all.

And he ran away.

Ran for his life.

Came to Beersheba.

And we ask ourselves, what are we to do in our situation of frustration?

Where are we to go?

Well, we are to take it to the Lord.

Elijah and his frustration goes away.

So that Jezebel might not have victory over him.

He is saying to the Lord, Lord, you deal with my life.

Don't let my enemy take it from me.

You take it.

But what we see is the Lord has a different plan.

Elijah's initial frustration may have the wrong motives.

But what it does is it has the right results.

And Elijah here, he comes away.

He comes away from the situation for a time.

And in coming away from the situation.

He begins to realize, even without realizing, God is working alongside him.

And what you see is, as he goes on this journey through the wilderness, as he comes to the broom tree, as he has all this somber feeling upon him and the frustrations weighing heavy upon him, the Lord comes to him.

In verse 5, it says, he lay down and slept under a broom tree.

And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat.

And his frustration in all that was going on.

And his frustration in all that was going on.

The Lord remembered him.

He gave him encouragement.

He gave him something to eat.

But he spoke.

He gave him a word.

In verse 7, we see the same thing happening.

The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, arise and eat.

For the journey is too great for you.

What journey, we might ask.

What journey was Elijah on?

Had he planned this?

No, but the Lord had.

The Lord was taking him to a place where he would show him who he was and give him a powerful reminder.

He came away.

It may have been in the wrong way initially, but it was for the right outcome.

And there's a lesson for that in us too.

There are times maybe when we have this sense of frustration in the way things are going.

And frustration can easily eat away.

Frustration can easily cause division.

And we have to guard against it.

And the way to guard against it is to sometimes just take a step back.

Take a step away and allow the Lord to help us get things in perspective.

When you look at the life of Christ Jesus, not that he was frustrated in things,

but you see the lessons you learn from him, that he often took time away for himself in prayer with the Father.

In the midst of everything that was going on and all the people who were crowding around,

wanting to hear him, wanting his touch, wanting his healing,

the Lord Jesus took time away to spend with the Father.

And there's a great lesson in that for ourselves too.

In our frustrations, we can easily allow them to boil over.

But instead, we are to take them to the Lord.

Elijah's problem is met with God's provision.

And God reminds us often that he provides for us in every way.

And it's no coincidence where this journey takes Elijah.

As you see in verse 8,

He arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of that food,

40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the Mount of God.

The place of God's blessing.

A place that Moses had known in his own past as well.

In Exodus chapter 3, verse 1, it says,

Exodus 3:1

Now when Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law Jethro, the priest of Midian,

he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness,

and he came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

It was a place where God reminds his people in the Old Testament of his covenant,

of his promise,

and a place where God provides and helps them to go on in his strength.

And it's a reminder to us to keep coming back to the provision that God has made for us.

To keep coming back to his word.

To keep coming back to the Lord Jesus Christ.

To keep returning with, yes, sometimes all our frustrations,

but faithfully coming to God who is able to provide.

Charles Swindle, in one of his books called One Step Forward, Two Steps Back,

he says this,

Every problem is an opportunity to prove God's power.

Every day we encounter countless golden opportunities,

brilliantly disguised as insurmountable problems.

So do we see problems or do we see opportunities?

Are we frustrated or are we faithful?

If we're frustrated, we'll see insurmountable problems.

But the more we are faithful, the more we will see golden opportunities.

We take our frustrations to the Lord.

The Lord of the covenant.

The Lord of promise.

We come through Jesus Christ.

Through that place that has been opened up for us.

Through the way that is the Lord Jesus.

Elijah's problems were met with God's provision.

And so can our problems be met with God's provision too,

if we faithfully come to him.

But then we have the second lesson in Elijah's life here.

And then we see Elijah's passion and God's promise.

Having journeyed to the Mount Horeb, God then asks Elijah a question.

We see that in verse 9.

He asks him, what are you doing here, Elijah?

And again, some take this as a rebuke.

What are you doing here?

This is not the place you should be.

But rather than seeing it a question of rebuke,

you should maybe see it more as a question of concern.

That God is concerned for Elijah.

God is concerned for the burdens that he has.

God is interested in what he is doing.

And when he asks this question,

God is giving Elijah the chance to respond.

And as Elijah responds,

what we see is his great passion.

What brings Elijah here?

What is his response in verse 10?

He says,

I have been very jealous for the Lord,

the God of hosts.

For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant,

thrown down your altars.

They've killed your prophets with a sword.

And I, even I only am left.

And they seek my life to take it away.

You see here, yes, his frustration,

but also his passion.

He's hurting.

He's hurting.

He's hurting over unrepentant sinners.

He's hurting and upset over their indifference to God.

And do you read verse 10?

Do you see him complaining or compassionate?

He's compassionate.

He's concerned.

And his great concern,

he's jealous for the Lord's cause.

The Lord's cause is what is so important to him.

He wants to see God's cause flourish.

We see here Elijah's passion.

And as we do,

we ask ourselves,

is that the same passion that we have?

As we look around ourselves,

as we look and see what is around us

and the people that are around us,

do we have this passion?

Are we jealous for the Lord?

Are we jealous for the people that we see around us?

Do we see that indifference?

How they have forsaken his covenant,

thrown down his altars.

There's no worship of God.

Are we more concerned about what we want ourselves out of church

or what we are putting in?

Are we jealous for the Lord?

Do we have that passion for him?

Twice here,

you see the same question asked,

verse 9 and 10,

and then verse 13 and 14.

And each time Elijah's answer is the same.

He is jealous for the Lord's cause.

He has a passion.

And do we have this passion for the Lord's work

and the lost souls around us?

In this,

God's reminder is that he is pleasant with Elijah.

He feels alone.

He feels frustrated,

but God is saying,

Elijah,

I am with you.

Not in the amazing,

wondrous signs of the earthquake

or the fire or the wind,

but in the still,

small voice.

God is speaking.

And as somebody said,

faith can be content

with the word of God

and not with the one that assigns.

Because God's word is living and active.

God's word is powerful.

That's what Elijah is being reminded of here.

That's what we are being reminded of too.

God reminds him,

I am with you.

And he reminds him too

that he is not alone

in the question that he says,

I,

even I,

only am left.

God says,

no,

I have 7,000 more

who have not bowed the knee to Baal.

You are not alone.

And we are not alone.

We are all in this together.

As we've heard in our prayers this evening,

prayers for unity,

prayer for togetherness,

prayer for going forward together

in all of these ways,

we remind ourselves

we are together,

brothers and sisters in Christ.

bringing,

yes,

our frustrations at times,

bringing them to God in prayer

and remembering what God can do.

The missionary Hudson Taylor

went to China

many years ago.

We had a complete trust

in God's faithfulness.

And in his journal,

he once wrote this,

our heavenly father

is a very experienced one.

He knows very well

that his children

wake up with a good appetite

every morning.

He sustained

3 million Israelites

in the wilderness

for 40 years.

We do not expect

he will send

3 million missionaries

to China.

But he said,

if he did,

he would have ample means

to sustain them all.

going on to say then,

depend on it.

God's work done

in God's way

will never lack

God's supply.

He trusted

in God's faithfulness.

And Elijah is here

encouraged to do likewise.

As you see in verse 15,

the Lord said to him,

go,

return on your way

to the wilderness

of Damascus.

He puts him back.

He's saying,

you are not alone.

I am with you.

Yes, Elijah,

you've been frustrated.

But keep on

being faithful.

Do you get frustrated

in the work

sometimes?

Are there frustrations

that you feel even now

in the work

of the gospel?

You know,

I hope you do.

Because if you're frustrated,

it's a sign

you want greater.

It's a sign

you want greater

things from God

and you want

greater things

for God.

The day

we're satisfied

with what we have

is the day

we should be troubled.

While there are

lost people

around us,

we are to be frustrated.

We are to be jealous

for the cause

of the Lord,

praying more earnestly

to him

that he would bring

them in,

being jealous

for his cause

and in our frustrations

faithfully coming

to God.

There are so many

stories told

by God's people

down through

all the years

of time,

down through

every generation,

people who

experienced

hardships

for the Lord,

suffered

for the Lord.

You read

biographies

and autobiographies

about Christians

serving God

in all parts

of the world.

So many

different

experiences.

One lady

called Helen

Rosevia,

she was a missionary

in the African

Congo

and she was

taken prisoner

for a time

in 1964.

She suffered

much at the

hands

of those

who took

her captive.

She suffered

terribly

and she found

herself asking

the question

over these

days,

she was saying,

is it worth

it?

In all her

suffering,

she was asking,

is it worth

it?

But then

as the days

were going on

and she was

thinking through

all of these

thoughts,

she started

to count

and look at

the cost

of following

Jesus.

But she

sensed God

speaking to

her and

reassuring her.

And years

later,

she explained

it in this

way.

She said,

when the

awful moments

came during

the rebellion

and the

price seemed

too high

to pay,

the Lord

seemed to

say,

me,

change the

question.

It's not,

is it worth

it?

It's,

am I

worthy?

And she

concluded,

in spite of

everything she

had suffered,

always the

answer is,

yes,

he is

worthy.

And you

see with

Elijah here,

through all

that he was

suffering,

he's able

to say,

he is

worthy.

He is

worthy to

be praised,

for he is a

great and a

glorious God.

And as we

think of our

own way of

living here,

as we think

of serving

the Lord,

is it

worth it?

Well,

he is

worthy.

worthy.

He is

worthy of

all of

our giving.

In the

book of

Revelation,

you see

there gathered

around the

throne,

a great

crowd in

a loud

voice saying,

worthy is

the Lamb

who was

slain,

to receive

power and

wealth and

wisdom and

strength and

honor and

glory and

praise.

And that

is the

one who

we serve.

Yes,

frustrated at

times.

And rightly

so, but

may our

frustrations

be jealous

for the

Lord,

concerned for

the lost,

concerned for

his cause,

and may it

bring us to

be faithful,

to faithfully

serve,

remembering we

are not

alone.

God is with

us.

and in

this place

he has

his people.

Let us

be faithful

and passionate,

taking our

frustration to

the Lord,

being reminded

that he is a

God of

faithful covenant

promise.

May we meet

with him

day by day,

put our

trust in him

and go

forward in

his strength.

Let us

pray.

our

Father in

heaven,

we thank

you that

we learn

so much

through the

experience of

your people.

We learn

through the

experience of

your people

throughout your

scripture.

We thank you

for Elijah,

for the way

he served

you,

for the way

he was

faithful to

you,

and even

in his

frustration,

the way

you restored

him and

brought him

back to

yourself to

see your

glory,

to go

on serving

you in

his strength.

We thank

you for the

many you

have called

to serve

you.

In many

different parts

of the

world,

we have so

many great

examples to

us.

We thank

you above

all,

Lord,

that you

have called

each of

us to

serve you.

We all

have a

part to

play.

We all

have the

experience of

frustrations

in this

life.

But we

thank you

that we

are all

too called

to be

faithful to

you.

So may

you encourage

us and

strengthen

us and

help us

to that

end to

be

faithful

and to

pray to

the God

who is

able,

one who

is able to

do abundantly

more than

we ask

or imagine.

Make us

jealous for

your cause

as we ask

it all in

Jesus' name.

Amen.

We're

going

to