Thought for October 13

 History:

• 54: Nero succeeds Claudius who died of mushroom poisoning
• 1792: Old Farmer's Almanac first published
• 1843: B'nai B'rith founded
• 1864: Battle of Harper's Ferry
• 1884: Greenwich chosen as universal time meridian of longitude
• 1885: Georgia Tech founded [My son is a graduate of either the North Avenue Trade School as a Bulldog would say or he would say that MIT is the Georgia Tech of the North]
• 1941: Nazis kill 11,000 Jewish children and old people
• 1950: "All About Eve" premiers
• 1963: The term "Beatlemania" is coined
• 1971: First World Series night game
• 1982: Jim Thorpe's Olympic Gold Medals reinstated
• 1988: Shroud of Turin shown to be fake by carbon dating
• 2010: 33 Chilean miners rescued after 69 days
• 2019: Simone Biles wins her 25th medal
• Born: Jane Grey, Cornel Wilde, Yves Montand, Lenny Bruce, Margaret Thatcher, Paul Simon, Jerry Jones [Cowboys], Desmond Wilson [Sanford & Son], Pat Day [Triple Crown jockey], Doc Rivers [NBA], Jerry Rice [GOAT], Nancy Kerrigan, Sacha Baron Cohen, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, 
• Died: William Prescott [Do not fire until you see the whites of their eyes], Milton Hershey, Ed Sullivan, Stephen Ambrose [Band of Brothers], 

Thought:

Have you ever been to the point of giving up or perhaps just wanting to give up? Life has overwhelmed you, circumstances have beaten you down, you are drained and tired. You sit down or lay down and say, "Lord, I am at the end of my strength, just take me home." Well, that is where we find Elijah in 1 Kings 19:1-8. Elijah had predicted no rain for 3.5 years by the word of God. He had run to Sidon then been called back to face Ahab. He had defeated the prophets of baal and seen the rain return. Now he had run back to Jezreel and Jezebel had threatened to kill him. Notice:

• Elijah was afraid for his life because of Jezebel's threat. [19:3] Amazing! Elijah had just face the 400 prophets of baal and Ahab on Mt. Carmel. God had brought down fire at the prayer of Elijah and had restored the rain. Now, Elijah runs in fear at the threat of a woman. Sounds like Larry.  A mountain top experience, a miraculous movement of the Spirit,  prayers answered, yet circumstances cause me to run away in fear. Adversaries cause me to doubt. I try and underline every time God or Jesus says "do not fear" in my Bible. I need the reminder that if Jesus is with me, who shall I fear.
• Elijah gives up. He leaves his servant [dead men don't need servants] and sits under the juniper tree. Then he gives God instructions--take my life. Elijah who has been acting based on the commands of the Lord, now tells the Lord what to do. I need to remember that Jesus is not my servant to command in my prayers, He is my Master to obey. Notice--Elijah says, "I've had enough." Reminds me of Jesus telling Paul that Jesus will show him how much he must suffer for the cross. James reminds us that we are to consider it all joy when we encounter various trials--why? Testing produces endurance, and endurance perfects us--perfect, complete, lacking in nothing. I am convicted that sometimes I give up on a situation, a relationship, a challenge---I forget that I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Here is the issue--I can do all things through Christ, but will I allow Him to do all things through me? 
• Elijah sleeps, but an angel wakes him up. Elijah is physically tired, mentally exhausted and spiritually drained. So how does God respond:
• Sleep for his body. Sometimes we just need to rest, allow our bodies to refresh before making decisions. Often the best advice is to "sleep on it." God often answers prayers by dreams and visions.
• Bread and water from an angel. WOW! When I am giving up, exhausted what do I need--the Bread of Life and Living Water. Turn to His word. Allow His Spirit to soak into me. That's what God does for Elijah. Now notice, the second time the angel comes he says --arise and eat because the journey is too great for you. You cannot make it in your own strength, your own power, your own wisdom--but with the Bread and Water you have all you need for the journey ahead. 
• In the strength of that food, Elijah goes 40 days and nights. In his own strength-I want to lay down and die. In the strength God provides through the Bread and Water--40 days is no problem. 

Lord, we are tired, weak and worn. We are like those written about by Thomas A Dorsey. So with him we sing "Precious Lord take my hand, lead me on, let me stand . . . precious Lord take my hand lead me home."

Blessings

Larry