Try, Try, and Try Some More

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
~1 Kings 19:4

Life is hard. It's hard for all of us. No matter what we do, no matter how hard we try, we all get discouraged and feel like we want to quit. The same is true in 1 Kings 19 as we read about Elijah. He was tired. He was ready to give up. And he was ready to die. Why? Because he felt like he had failed. He had done everything that he felt like God wanted him to do yet the two people, Ahab and Jezebel, that he wanted to see turn their lives around, turn their lives over to God, and change their evil ways, did not. Instead they ordered Elijah to be killed.

When we have prayed about something, and believe that God has given us an answer, it's easy to get discouraged when we don't see any fruit from our labors. When we pray for something and we don't see an answer, or hear from God about what the answer might be for that prayer, we can get discouraged.

Being discouraged can cause us to give up. Being discouraged can cause us to be depressed. Being discouraged is a natural emotion that we all experience at one time or another, but it can also be
an emotion that causes us to cave in and give up.

We have to be watchful, and alert as 1 Peter 5:8 tells us, "because our adversary the devil prowls around like a lion seeking whom he may devour." Negative emotions can allow openings for the enemy to come in and magnify the things that we perceive to be wrong in our lives. And many things do go wrong in our lives.

We're going to lose jobs. We are going to lose friends. We are going to watch loved ones die. We are going to see our children get into trouble. We are going to be broke, living paycheck to paycheck. And all of this will happen probably while we watch others around us prosper. It's easy to be focused on our circumstances, and to get discouraged about the things that we don't see, rather than the things that we do see.

God never promised that we would not experience loss, sorrow, or discouragement in our lives. That's part of being human. But He did promise that He would always be there no matter how rough it gets.

"These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world (John 16:33)."

Looking at our circumstances instead of looking at the One who is in control of our circumstances diminishes what Christ did on the Cross. If we say that we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, yet continue to look at the circumstances and problems that we have in the world around us, then we are lying to ourselves and we are lying to God.

Being strong and courageous is not something that we just hope for, it's an order. We are commanded to be strong and to be courageous no matter what we are facing.

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go (Joshua 1:9)."

We may not face the same type of enemies that Elijah or Joshua did, or the types of battles that fill the Old Testament. We may not face the types of problems that Paul did in the New Testament, facing imprisonment for the things that we say or do, at least not yet, but we still face every day life. And every day life is messy and full of trouble. It always has been and it always will be.

Our part is not the battle itself, because God handles the battle for us. Our part is in how we face the battle, and how we stand while going through the battle.

"Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand (Ephesians 6:13)."