Title: Let's move towards the future
Contents
When we let go of the bond of faith, there is one mind that comes within us that we let go and that is despair. Some people live in hope, while others live in despair. There are many desperate situations, but those who find hope and move forward will catch hope, and those who hold on to desperate situations despite many hopeful situations will fall into the abyss of despair. Therefore, despair and hope are choices, not fate. If I choose despair, I become a hopeless situation, and if I choose hope, I become a hopeful situation.
Despair can happen to anyone. One of the greatest prophets in the Old Testament was the prophet Elijah, and in today's text, we can see that he is also in despair. He was a prophet who directly performed God's power by demonstrating that God was the true god by confronting 450 people who worshiped an idol called Baal and 400 people who worshiped an idol called Asherah on Mount Carmel. Also, it did not rain for three years and six months, and when Elijah prayed, it began to rain again on the land. Also, Elijah was the prophet of power who visited the house of a widow who was about to die because there was nothing to eat in the area called Sarepta, and worked so that the bread dough bowl and oil did not dry out in the house.
This is what we need to be careful about. Despair is easy to come after success. Since I specially selected today's text, many people have been zealous for evangelism over the past two months. He devoted himself to daily prayer for evangelism, and also did his best to meet prospective believers. In particular, those who dedicated themselves to the committee came out every Friday evening to praise, pray, and experience the fullness of grace. They sincerely blessed each other and hugged each other, forming a wonderful community.
This is a really important time. When we try to build up spiritually in this way, the devil will take advantage of the opportunity to bring us down. It can lead to spiritual stagnation. You can put them to the test through the words of someone close to you. It can lead to situations where you cannot pray even though you know you should pray. All these aspects can be said to resemble the appearance of Elijah.
Then why did Elijah despair? The first is because I heard something I shouldn't have heard.
In verses 1 and 2, Jezebel was a follower of Baal and Asherah, and she said that she would kill Elijah. Jezebel's words are not to be heard. It is a word that I have no choice but to hear with my physical ears, but I have to reject it and reject it with my heart.
The second reason Elijah despaired was that he saw Jezebel's power as greater than that of God.
Almighty God, the God who worked through fire, I feel that Jezebel's power is greater than God's power because she heard the words she shouldn't have heard. Here is the law of looking. It depends on what people are looking at.
We are faced with a desperate situation in our lives, how can we get out of it? First, you must believe in a good God. God sometimes takes good things away to make us depend on Him alone. It is not a way of training to make you completely depend on God through it, not to die in despair.
Second, to overcome a desperate situation, we must eat the bread and living water that God provides.
Elijah begs him to be killed under the rosemary, but he is exhausted and falls asleep. Then God sent an angel to bring bread and living water to Elijah. Where is our rodem tree? It is a church. The place for those who are weary and fallen should come to visit is the church. When you come to church, there is food that gives you new strength, and that is the Word.
Finally, and thirdly, to overcome a hopeless situation, you must hold on to your mission.
Elijah has a way to go. Elijah still has a mission to fulfill. Those who live by their own problems, those who live by their mission, cannot escape from despair. If you live for your mission, you will be freed from despair and look at hope.