Have you ever been in such emotional pain that your heart felt like it was literally aching? The worst pain in this life is not always physical.
Dale Pollard
Have you ever been in such emotional pain that your heart felt like it was literally aching? The worst pain in this life is not always physical. Often times it’s the emotional pain of saying “good bye” that can drive us to our knees. It can make us lash out in anger. It can make the toughest man alive break down in tears, and it can crush a young person’s spirit. Why would a God of love and compassion let such a thing happen? If He cares, but He can’t do anything about it, wouldn’t that mean He’s not all powerful? If He doesn’t care, but He has the power, doesn’t that mean He’s cruel?
If you’ve got “heart pain” in your life, the best thing you can do is draw closer to God. Don’t isolate yourself from the only true source of comfort and healing. Don’t throw your head up to the sky, as if looking for some eye-contact with God. Rather, let your head fall to the scriptures. God will tell you that His ways are perfect, His word has been tried and tested, and He is the shield for those who decide to take refuge in Him (Psalm 18:30).
He would also tell you that if you are a righteous individual, He’s going to deliver you from any trouble (Psalm 34:19). As a loving Father, God would tell you that He understands what you’re going through (Isaiah 53:3). God would tell you to hang in there because while there is suffering, heartache, and pain here, there is a place prepared by Him where none of that exists (John 14:2-4). God would ask you to draw near to Him, because if you do He will draw near to you (James 4:8).
We can’t always think of the appropriate words to say when someone is going through grief, but God always knows the right thing to say and He is perfect in all His ways. Bring Christ your broken life. He’ll fix it for you.
Have you ever experienced a spiritual mountaintop moment only to have it followed by a deflating feeling of letdown? That was certainly Elijah’s story. Following the resounding victory over sin, where God displayed His power through him, he suddenly became a man on the run. While his circumstances were more dramatic than ours, we can see both the cause and cure for the spiritual letdowns we experience while trying to serve God by reading 1 Kings 19.
HE FACED BACKLASH (1-3). We call it “blowback.” His triumph over the false prophets caused Jezebel to erupt in vengeful hate. She put a bounty on his head, and he had to flee. Sometimes, by doing good and right, you may face some sort of persecution (1 Pet. 2:19-20; 4:15-16). That’s deflating!
HE WAS FILLED WITH FEAR (3). If the queen’s threat was the cause, fear was certainly the effect. He runs for his life. Elijah was a spiritual giant, but he was only human. Doing right and suffering can make us terrified, but God encourages us not to “fear their intimidation and do not be troubled, but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts…” (1 Pet. 3:14b-15a). That’s the proper solution, but we may initially respond like Elijah and choose flight over fight.
HE WAS DRAINED AND DEPRESSED (4). In those first two symptoms, Elijah tries to cope on his own. It’s finally in this stage of his discouragement that he calls out to God. He cries out to the Lord. It’s interesting that he’s basically telling Him, “I’ve had enough, I’m done.” But he’s still calling out to him. He does so from utter physical and mental fatigue. He wants God to take his life and end his misery. We cannot call him suicidal, looking at the text, but he does ask God to end his life. That’s discouragement!
HE WAS PHYSICALLY SPENT (5-9). As soon as he appeals to God, we see God go to work. What a great God we serve! God begins to provide the remedy. His most immediate issue is that he’s fatigued and famished. So he rests and eats until he’s able to go on. God brings one to Elijah to satisfy these needs. In His providence, God continues to do that for us today.
HE FELT ALONE (10-14). Elijah’s fundamental issue, feeling alone in standing for God, is still unresolved in his mind. The people he’s ministering to are unrighteous. No one is standing alongside him in fighting evil. He also felt threatened and targeted. Today, we call it the “Elijah complex.” God gently, but firmly, corrects Elijah’s misconception. But, notice from God’s response in the rest of the chapter that God listens and hears His servant. Take comfort in that today!
HE LOST A SENSE OF PURPOSE (15-21). Elijah needed a new Mount Carmel, a new mountain to climb and conquer. God graciously supplies that threefold. He sends him to anoint Hazael king over Aram (15), Jehu king over Israel (16), and Elisha prophet in his place (16). God will recompense the evil of the land through these three appointments (17). He also encouraged Elijah with the truth that there were 7,000 faithful Israelites still in the land (18). With that, He corrects Elijah’s distorted view of reality. Discouragement distorts our proper view of things.
This chapter has helped me many times over the years in trying to serve God. It’s easy to succumb to self-pity and want to give up. It can skew our picture of reality. It can make us withdraw and stop working for Him. But this account is so helpful to showing us how we get into those caves of despair and also how to return to the mountaintop again. The next time you get down trying to do God’s will, have a visit with Elijah and remind yourself of all the ways God can get you “back in the game.” Then, do it!
(Bobby delivered this as a devotional talk at Lehman Avenue on Wednesday, August 30, 2023. He served for several years as a shepherd, until recently. He lost Brenda almost nine months ago. They had been married for 46 years)
Hardship can be defined as severe suffering. Just take a minute and look up and down your pew; I would say, these are the ones that are very near and dear to you! My plead is don’t take these individuals or even tomorrow for granted; We know that every day people are diagnosed with some dreaded disease, and every day, people die. Disease and death are real, just like divorce, addiction, and suicide. Hardships are going to happen; you and I are not the first to suffer from hardship, and we certainly won’t be the last.
Now we know that hardships are going to happen, but what does this look and feel like? Classic examples are feelings of emptiness, loneliness, fear, anger, abandonment, and guilt.
So, if and when hardships come, how to move forward?
I have 6 suggestions:
Make a choice and decide that you don’t have to go through this life counting the months, days, and minutes consumed with these feelings.
Realize that God is not the source of our hardships, Satan is! However, after you blame God (and Christians sometimes do), keep moving through, and realize that we serve a God who cares, a God who loves! He is the ultimate source of healing.
Listen to God; get into His Word, absorb His word, Seek after God’s heart.
Now Believe and trust it, God knows what’s best.
Pray to God and petition for specifics: like healing, comfort, and deliverance.
Get to work. Turn all that energy into action; channel it for God’s work and glory. Realize there are so many others hurting from hardships. Hear their stories and allow them to hear your stories; this will help the healing process.
In summary, hardship will come to you, me, and others. But What an example we have of the Suffering Servant, Jesus Christ our Lord, Savior, and King. So, stay focus on Jesus and continue to point others to Jesus!
Remember Hebrews 12:2: “fixing your eyes on Jesus” … and Matthew 11:28, where Jesus said: “Come to me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
“persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;” 2 Corinthians 4:9
In a world that grows ever darker, there are moments where Christians can feel lonely. This isn’t a new phenomenon. Since the beginning of time, those who God chose to serve Him often felt rejected and alone.
The apostles who followed Jesus felt persecution and rejection at almost every turn. Paul especially faced difficulties in his ministry.
We sometimes fail to understand what Paul and the other Christians were being persecuted for. They were proclaiming the Word of God. Paul is trying and pressing on through this persecution, because of the message that he had to proclaim. But those who were lost by their actions were rejecting the very thing that could save them!
Paul realized the value of their souls and continued on through the persecution. Paul also realized that even though they were rejecting The Word and persecuting him, he knew he that he was never forsaken by God. Satan wants us to feel abandoned by our Father. Many struggling people have questioned where God was in their lives when they felt they needed Him most. I have. But realize this is Satan! We know for a fact that God hasn’t forsaken us. If being persecuted for God is all it takes to get to Heaven then that’s definitely a steal.
Paul says in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.” We have what can solve the world’s sin-problem, and we need to realize the importance of our commission. Jesus said in Matthew 16:26, “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” The earth has been estimated to be worth over 30 trillion dollars. To put this in perspective, the average 10 dollar bill is about 6 inches long. If we lined up 30 trillion dollars worth of ten dollar bills it would stretch over 3.4 billion miles. Our souls are more precious than this entire world. Why be afraid of persecution when we have the power to save something as valuable as a soul, even if it’s just one?
We have been promised that we will face persecution for Christ, but we can have assurance in knowing that no matter what we go through God will never forsake us.
It was in one of the lowest points in his life that David finds himself hiding in a cave praying to God. He says, “With my voice I cry out to the Lord; with my voice I plead for mercy to the Lord” (Psa. 142:1).
David describes the circumstances that have caused him to feel discouraged. He says in verse 4, “Look to the right and see: there is none who takes notice of me; no refuge remains to me; no one cares for my soul.”
How often do we find ourselves feeling this same way? It could be the people we work with that don’t see the value of our Christianity. It could be friends at school pushing us to break our Christian values. It could even be our own families that don’t care for our souls.
David felt the loneliness of desertion with his own son, he felt betrayal from Saul, and he even willfully separated himself from God when he went after Bathsheba.
Many times we find ourselves in the cave. It could be that outside circumstances have put us there, or we sinned and are feeling the consequences of those choices.
Put yourself in his shoes, hiding in a dark, desolate and damp cave feeling alone and deserted by everyone. Everyone except God. David never lost sight of God, and he knew that God would answer his prayer.
When we find ourselves in the dark, feeling deserted and alone, don’t lose sight of God. He will never turn His back on a struggling Christian. He cares for your soul.
Human connections are necessary. Though stated in the context of needing a mate comparable unto himself, God nevertheless said of man it wasn’t good for him to be alone (Genesis 2.18). Thus, God provided Adam with Eve. Elsewhere, the wise man of God reminds us of the advantages of having companions:
Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart. (Ecclesiastes 4.9-12 NASB)
Hence, even if being around many people wearies our soul, we admit it’s a blessing to have those precious few upon whom we can depend to be there for us when we emerge from our solitude.
Jesus had His close companions. We don’t doubt He loved all those men He chose to be His apostles, but He singled out Peter, James, and John to be His “inner circle.” They were His confidants. It was to these three alone He shared His true glory (Matthew 17.1ff). Peter, James, and John also went further into the Garden of Gethsemane with Jesus as He prayed (Mark 14.32-35). In addition, John refers to himself throughout the Gospel he was inspired to pen as “the disciple whom the Lord loved” (John 21.20). This same passage also shows us that John leaned against the Lord during the last Passover (Can you imagine?).
God never intended us to face life alone. As mentioned previously, God provided the foundation for the family in the very beginning. The family has often been called the “bedrock of society.” Aristotle wrote in Politics that humans organized themselves first in families that birthed villages which, in turn, gave rise to the polis (i.e. city-state). As we live in a world into which sin was welcomed, we understand people bound to us, even by ties of blood, may betray or abandon us. We see, then, the wisdom of God in giving to us the church.
It’s a sad paradox in a world of virtual, perpetual interconnectedness people feel lonelier than ever. The HRSA reveals that loneliness and social isolation is as bad for one’s health as smoking 15 cigarettes a day! 1 Just type in the words “loneliness epidemic” in a search engine and see what pops up. This isn’t a problem just for our seasoned citizens either. 2 There’s no excuse for the child of God to be lonely, however. Christ instituted the church to be God’s Household on earth (Ephesians 2.19). If we assemble as we ought, we will be stirred to love and the performance of good works (Hebrews 10.24-25). Furthermore, we encourage and build up one another in the church (1 Thessalonians 5.11; Ephesians 4.15-16).
Yes, we’re currently facing a global epidemic not physical in nature. It’s a disease of the heart perpetuated by loneliness, which focuses one’s attention inward on troubles and wants. God didn’t create you to be alone. Dismiss the foolish notion that the church is for the weak and embrace the strength it supplies the lonely heart. You’ll never find an app that can do for you what the church can.
The chilling audio from Richard “Beebo” Russell reveals an internal conflict nobody, not family, friend, or co-workers, knew was going on. The 29 year old ground worker at Seattle-Tacoma International airport took a Horizon Air Dash-8 airplane on an unauthorized joy ride, complete with complicated aerial stunts before crashing into a remote island on Puget Sound. Before crashing, he spoke with air traffic controllers and pilots and confessed to the inner turmoil. The words used by loved ones to describe him range from “warm” and “compassionate” to “happy” and “regular” (Alex Horton, Washington Post, 8/13/18).Of course, the behavior was irregular and bizarre, and it ended tragically for the young man as he fatally crashed the plane.
As we walk through this world, we meet and interact with people who may be projecting an outward appearance that is masking inward pain and trouble. It may lie behind their broad smile. That’s a disturbing thought, but what can we do? We cannot read their minds. There is no full-proof way to prevent every tragic action, but we may have more power than we think. Consider some things all of us can do with everyone in our lives.
Be kind. Look people in the eyes. Smile at them. Even if it slows you down from some important task, don’t overlook the people God puts in your path. Your helpful word might sink deeper into their spirit than you realize. Let’s be like the inhabitants of Malta, who showed Paul and his companions “extraordinary kindness” as they simply “kindled a fire and received” them all (Acts 28:2). We’re told as Christians to put on a “heart of kindness” (Col. 3:12). How will anyone know the proof of our kind hearts? We will display it.
Be concerned. We fear being nosy or busybodies. Don’t do that. But there is room for active concern. Such is more apt to listen than advise, to help and not gossip, and to do than to judge. People who are surrounded by those they know care for them have a better chance at emotional survival. Look at the example of Paul, pressured by the concern for congregations and intensely concerned for individuals led into sin (2 Cor. 11:28-29). The word Paul uses for his concern for individuals literally means “to cause to be on fire; burn” (BDAG, 899). It’s the word used to describe the heavens being on fire (2 Pet. 3:12). Paul was “inflamed with sympathy, ready to aid” (ibid.). That’s got to be us, too!
Be helpful. Our Christianity should be tangible, not theoretical. We must be attuned to needs and ready to help (cf. Titus 3:14). Let’s avoid empty words that lack the intent of action. Acts of service, doing for others, are powerful and penetrating. God tells us, “On the day of salvation I helped you” (2 Cor. 6:2; Isa. 49:8). A helper sees a need and meets it. Oh, the impression that can make on a weary struggler.
Listen, for all we know, this young man was surrounded by people who were kind, concerned, and helpful. Ultimately, each of us is individually accountable for our actions (2 Cor. 5:10). But, our neighborhoods, cities, states, and nations will be a better place when Christians are active bearers of such faithful fruits. Treat everyone you see as the eternally-bound souls that they are! Help them. We know the One who mends the broken (cf. Ezek. 34:16).
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