HAVE YOU noticed that a piece of tapestry is perfect on the outside and messier on the inside?
The believer is like a knitted work—conflicts on the outside and fears inside.
We are cracked and chipped from our afflictions on all sides, but they do not crush us. We are bewildered at times, but we do not give in to despair. (2 Cor. 4:8-9)
We are still standing!
The Narrative
WHEN KING AHAB told his wife, Jezebel, what happened and how Elijah killed the prophets of Baal, she sent a messenger to the prophet.
"May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them." (1 Kings 19:2)
One would imagine that Jezebel would rethink her ways, but she was set in them.
Can you trust God?
ELIJAH feared for his life. So he ran to Mount Horeb.
Finally, after travelling a day's journey, he got to a broom brush, where he sat down and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord," he said. (1 Kings 19:5)
Have you given up on God?
ELIJAH had given up on God, but God hadn't given up on him.
When a train goes through a tunnel and gets dark, you don't throw away the ticket and jump off. Instead, you sit still and trust the engineer – Corrie Ten Boom.
God is our engineer. When we are faithless, He is faithful. God's arms are wide open, waiting to embrace us.
Do you know that God cares?
AS HE slept, the angel of the Lord touched him. Get up and eat," the angel said. (1 Kings 19:5)
So, he got up. He ate and drank.
I pray that in your difficult hour, God will make you a hot spiritual meal—a word that will change your perspective.
How do you know a friend?
A FRIEND is not known in prosperity. An enemy cannot be hidden in adversity - Jack Hyles.
God encouraged him when he sent an angel to feed him for the journey ahead. He is a friend who sticks closer than a brother. (Prov. 18:24)
Every storyline in your life is God's design
What are you doing here?
THE LORD asked him a question that should resonate with many of us—what are you doing here?
"I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too," he replied. (1 Kings 19:10-14)
He sounded like many of us—we make things much about ourselves and forget that it's about God.
Every despicable act is a cry for help – Zig Ziglar.
Are you lonely?
LONELINESS is much less about being alone but more about feeling alone. However, it's out there for everyone to experience.
God addressed his disconnected feeling to manage his anxiety.
God told him that he had seven thousand people in Israel who had not worshipped Baal. (1 Kings 19:18)
It was bruising to his ego but soothing to his spirit.
You must know that when you face challenges, there are others like you, and when God shows you things, he is likely showing the same to someone else.
Loneliness is much less about being alone
Do you know that God is in charge?
WHEN Elijah felt that he had lost the battle, God was still in charge. So God told him to anoint Elisha as a prophet to succeed him. (1 Kings 19:16)
At the end of the affliction, he was still standing. What the enemy meant for evil, God turned around for good.
Whatever challenges you face, let the promises of God shine on your problems - Corrie Ten Boom.
My prayer for you is that the glory of God will swallow your troubles, and your hallelujah will be unto Jesus.
Bringing it Together
ADVERSITY has a way of shaping people's lives and not leaving them where it met them.
Many saints learnt their lesson in the crucible of difficulty, and they left us notes in the scriptures where they were still standing.
The greatest things that will ever happen to you will either be birthed in difficulty or shaped in it—and never forget that every storyline in your life is God's design.