Pentecost 6 July
8, 2007
“The LORD Gives Exactly What We Need”
I Kings
14
He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant,
broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are
trying to kill me too.”
15
The LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the
19
So Elijah went from there and found Elisha son of Shaphat. He was
plowing with twelve yoke of oxen and he himself was driving the twelfth
pair. Elijah went up to him and threw
his cloak around him. 20 Elisha then left his oxen and ran after Elijah. “Let me kiss my father and mother good-bye,”
he said, “and then I will come with you.”
“Go
back,” Elijah replied. “What have I done
to you?” 21 So Elisha
left him and went back. He took his yoke
of oxen and slaughtered them. He burned
the plowing equipment to cook the meat and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he set out to follow Elijah and became
his attendant.
“Thanks. That’s exactly what I needed.” When you are working outside and without even
asking your spouse hands you a glass of water, you’d say, “Thanks, that’s exactly
what I needed.” When you are in the
middle of a frustrating day, and a friend calls innocently to just say hi, you
might tell her, “Thanks – that’s exactly what I needed.” Maybe not right away, but that’s what you’d
say eventually when you are down in the dumps and a loved one bravely calls you
on it and says, “Quit moping and acting as though Jesus has fallen off his throne!”
Today we run into someone who
had a life of soaring highs and crushing lows – does that sound familiar? - and
in the end was ready to say, “Thanks – that’s exactly what I needed. That someone is the prophet Elijah. Listen to everything that had happened
recently in Elijah’s life.
There was a severe famine in
the
Finally the LORD told Elijah
to end Ahab’s search party. He said, “Go
and present yourself to Ahab.” There was
a showdown that would happen. 850 false
prophets against one Elijah. When the
contest had ended, all 850 of the false prophets were killed and Elijah had
lived to witness an amazing and miraculous victory. And later that same day, the rains fell and
the famine was over.
Things were looking up,
right? But now it was Jezebel’s turn to
have a search party for Elijah, for she wanted him dead even more than her
husband had before. Elijah was
afraid. He ran from northern
Elijah was discouraged and
very pessimistic. Elijah was overwhelmed
and frustrated. Elijah was alone and
afraid. This mighty prophet of God was a
needy man. Granted, he had not just
experienced an easy, trouble-free stretch of life. But he sinfully brought much of this anguish upon
himself. As is often the case when
people are discouraged and alone, Elijah was centered on himself. He kept telling himself things that were not
true. “I’ve done everything right; but
everything has gone wrong. And now I am
alone and afraid and depressed. I’ve
lost hope.”
But that wasn’t true, was
it? Elijah hadn’t done everything right;
neither had everything else gone wrong.
He wasn’t as alone as he thought he was.
Nothing that he was telling himself was true. Elijah was needy, and the LORD met every
single one of Elijah’s needs. (read v.15-21)
Elijah was discouraged in a
preaching-the-truth-doesn’t-even-work-anymore attitude, and the LORD provided
someone with youthful excitement.
Picture the scene in your mind’s eye – Elijah throws his cloak around Elisha while he is in the field, and then keeps on
walking. Eager Elisha
says, “What’s this? Who’s that? Is that…Elijah? And he ran after him to see what was going
on. You can hear the energy in his
words. “Do I have time to kiss my folks
goodbye?” Let’s have a BBQ party for my 24
oxen – I won’t be needing them anymore.”
And then Elisha was ready to get to work. Elijah was discouraged, and Elisha gave him a dose of healthy optimism. Elijah had been overwhelmed – I can’t do this
anymore – and now the LORD provided someone to say, “We can do it in the Lord.” Elijah was alone, and now the LORD provided a
Christian friend. Often the voice of
experience can aid the voice of youth.
It’s easier to do something for a second time than to feel your way
through the first time. But other times
the voice of experience can grow disheartened – for they might assume
everything will go wrong all over again, even when it very well might not. Youthful optimism can be a wonderful balance
during times like that, as it was here for Elijah.
Elijah was needy, and the
LORD met every one of his needs in just the right way. That is reflected in the original
language. A better translation of the
phrase, “and Elisha became his attendant” is, “and Elisha ministered to him.”
Elisha served Elijah. In the LORD’s
wisdom and perfect timetable, he used Elisha to fill
the mighty prophet’s needs. In the end,
both men were renewed and ready to serve the LORD with all their heart. And who knows? Elijah very well may have said at some point to
Elisha, “Thanks, brother. You are exactly what I needed.”
Elijah isn’t the only one
with needs. It isn’t just the homeless
who are needy either – every person in this room is needy. No matter how high the highs are, it doesn’t
take much to come crashing down. It
doesn’t take much to doubt what the LORD has given and done on our behalf. It isn’t hard to lie to yourself and assume
the worst-case is the truth.
What a wonderful promise the
LORD gives as he promises to meet all of our needs in the best possible
way! The best way the LORD meets our
needs is when he confronts us with the truth.
In his personal pity party, Elijah was not telling himself the truth. The LORD gently rebuked him and shared the
truth with him. Not everything has gone
wrong; you are not worthless and you are not alone. Now use what I have given you to go and
serve…for I have given you exactly what you need.
The LORD has given us exactly
what we need to serve too. He has given
us lots of gifts, more than we can count, and he wants us to use them. He has given others lots of gifts too, and he
wants them to use what they have to take care of us. And he makes sure that people are placed in
our path at just the right time so that we can use our gifts to serve their
needs. What wonderful Christian
fellowship – that we can use our gifts for the LORD and for others. That is true fulfillment… knowing that we are
an integral and irreplaceable part of the LORD taking care of those who are
near and dear to him.
So the next time a Christian
friend supports you, encourages you or even rebukes you…don’t be afraid to say,
“Thanks! That was exactly what I
needed.” And you will be doing exactly
what the LORD wants you to do. Amen.