Scriptures of Encouragement ~ It Is Enough!

I spoke with a new friend last night - a Godly woman, a builder of God's Kingdom, a servant in His Church. She's broken. Tired. Overwhelmed by life's hardships. My heart ached as she shared her story, for you see, I've been there. Chances are you've been there, too. Chances are you, too, have felt abandoned. Confused. Fed up.

Elijah felt that way.

What a mighty prophet and servant of God Elijah was. I believe he was a humble man doing his best to walk in obedience to the Lord. He certainly had God's favor upon him. But.

But, enter Jezebel.

Jezebel, King Ahab's wife, spent her days killing the prophets of God. (I believe I've met her a time or two myself. Just sayin'...) Anyway, she had her eye on Elijah and set in motion a plan to kill him.

"Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, 'So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them [the prophets killed by her hand] by tomorrow about this time.' And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, 'It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!'

"Then as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, suddenly an Angel touched him, and said to him, 'Arise and eat.' Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the Angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, 'Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.' So he arose, and ate and drank' and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far a Horeb [Mt. Sinai], the mountain of God" ~ 1 Kings 19:2-8.

Please look again at verse four: "It is enough! Now Lord, take my life..."

Oh my goodness. Elijah was so despondent, so tired and worn, he wanted to die. But, dear one, don't miss how God responded to His faithful servant. The Angel of the Lord came to feed him and minister to his weary soul. The tenderness of God met the needs of His child and gave Elijah the strength he needed for the journey.

I absolutely love that!

We live in a fallen world. Bad things happen to good people. Why? Because, for now, this earth is Satan's domain and his greatest desire is to destroy the child of God. But can he destroy us? No. We are sealed in the Holy Spirit. Can he make us miserable? Yes, if we slip into his trap and forget that God is with us.

Been there. Done that.

But the Lord has promised to never leave us, nor forsake us. Ever. He has promised that His grace is sufficient for whatever trial comes our way. He has promised that in our weakness, He is strong. For us. Always. Either we believe Him or not.

We must open our eyes to see the Lord in our midst. We must awaken our hearts to love Him, to rest in His precious Presence. When we rest in Him, though darkness swirls around us, our immediate darkness is but the shadow of His wing, sheltering us, protecting us, holding us near to His heart.

Yes, we are in this world, but we are not to be of this world. The One who made us lifts us up and carries us like a shepherd carries his lamb. He lifts us into His Presence far above the fray.

If we ask Him to.



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