We’ve been talking about Elijah’s story. He was an absolute badass; he stood down 850 false prophets and conquered them all. Yet then, after that epic victory, Queen Jezebel’s threat to kill him sent him over the edge. So much so that he wished to die.
Elijah made some mistakes along the journey that probably didn’t help him overcome his anxiety around Jezebel’s threat.
He had to have been exhausted, battling all those false prophets. So, he carried a huge level of burnout into his new threat and reality.
He ran away, and not only ran away but did so alone, leaving the very people who were his support system behind. He isolated himself. Trying to “go it alone” is never the answer.
He didn’t do a “fact check” and remind himself of his power (in God). Nor did he try to focus on the fact that he DID have the skillset to withstand very difficult situations. He was entranced by his negative thinking spiral.
We all fall prey to those situations, right?
We try to do too much and ultimately end up completely spent.
We try to go it alone, not allowing our support system to be what it is intended to be.
We get entrenched in our negative thinking and forget that while there is bad, there is also good.
And most importantly, just like Elijah, we forget God.
God isn’t a “one-and-done” kind of thing.
God is a constant. A source of power that we cannot fathom. A source of peace that surpasses all human understanding.
So what that means is even if the things we worry about DO come true, chances are they won’t be as bad as we think they will be. Or . . . even if they are as bad as we believe, somehow, someway, the power of God works in those things and we endure them.
As Joycelyn showed as we illustrated the name of Elijah in the closing illustration on Sunday, we have to “lean in.”
If you find yourself worried, anxious, or feeling like things are adding up much bigger than you can manage. Stop and remind yourself of the story of Elijah.
See if you are making the same mistakes he made.
Then, lean in.
Allow the power of God that lies within you to fill you. To give you what you need to calm your anxious mind/heart.
Grace and Peace,
Andrea
Philippians 4:
6 Don’t be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. 7 Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.