God's purpose shall be accomplished
in the earth. He does not need anyone or anything
to aid him in the completion or execution of his will. He
can neither be turned from his purpose nor can his timetable
be delayed by anything that the creature may desire to do, fail
to do, or imagine. The God of heaven and earth is
not like the gods of the heathen, which have eyes, but see not,
and ears, but hear not. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever he hath pleased. When God uses men to
accomplish His intention, He does so out of choice and not
necessity. It is a great privilege and honor
to be called and equipped by him to carry out his purpose
in the earth. Elijah was just such a man upon
whom the Lord bestowed great gifts and power. He is without
rival in the Old Testament as a man who boldly confronted the
enemies of God and demonstrated the power of God in numerous
miracles. He wrote no books, yet he left a legacy as a man
called up in the glory of God. He is one of only two men in
the scriptures who were honored by escaping death and being translated
into the heavens in bodily form. He appeared with Moses and the
Lord Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. He is the very one in whose spirit
and power John the Baptist came. Yet with all these gifts committed
into his hands, he was yet a man with many weaknesses and insecurities,
so much so that he fell into a sea of self-pity which was
so severe that he considered death a better alternative to
life. It is a very common thing for
men to engage in pity parties when things don't turn out like
they want, or great obstacles are placed in their path. Suicide
is the ultimate end of self-pity. Most of us don't go to that extreme,
yet we enter into a path that leads to that end each time we
start feeling sorry for ourselves. None of us have been given the
calling of Elijah, yet each one of us are given a calling by
the same God who empowered Elijah. We're each one prone to act as
he did when things don't come to pass like we expect. Perhaps
we can learn to avoid this pitfall if we examine what caused his
slide into self-pity. Elijah began to listen to the
writings of Jezebel and became fearful of her power. Here was
a man who had stood toe-to-toe with 850 prophets of Baal and
the groves cowering in fear because the president of the woman's
club threatened him. How often have we seen men who
claim to believe the Bible and sent to proclaim it not preach
the whole counsel of God for fear of what men will say or
do as a result. We should not be concerned whether
or not men approve of that which God has sent us to do. His approval
is all that matters. Elijah forgot that the power
in which he walked at Mount Carmel was not of himself. He became
fearful when he tried to protect himself, thinking that he was
the one whom Jezebel hated. The enemies of God often vent
their anger against his people, but the object of their hatred
is God himself. Our success or failure is contingent
upon his power and not our own. Oh, woe is me is the language
of those who abandon this truth. Elijah abandoned the work he
was sent to do and became idle. He laid down under a juniper
tree and wanted to die. Quitting something is the easiest
thing we can ever do. God's children are never characterized
in the scriptures as quitters, but rather as overcomers. When
we become idle, we have time to reflect on our need for sympathy.
Someone has rightly said, a dog in the hunt does not know he
has fleas. Elijah lamented a lack of apparent
success. He said, I'm the only one left.
How true it is that men judge success by those things that
they can see. Results are the basis upon which
many determine whether or not something is of God. But God's
rule of success is in the accomplishment of what he sets out to do, whether
it's the opening of men's eyes or the closing of them. Noah
was a successful preacher, even though no one listened to him.
Elijah focused on what he had done and lamented the fact that
he was not appreciated. Self-righteousness lurks around
every corner of our life. We are so prone to set our sights
on the great sacrifices we have made in our quest to do the Lord's
will. We have a tendency to keep score
and look with glowing satisfaction at those things we have accomplished.
The Lord taught us that our prayers and our giving are to be done
in secret because of our inclination to self-pity. Because our service
is unrecognized by men is of no consequence at all. Rejoice
not that the spirits are subject unto you, but rather rejoice
because your names are written in heaven. Whether therefore
you eat or drink or whatsoever you do, do all to the glory of
God. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.