4/24/14 Life in the Parkie Lane

It Is Enough                                                                                         


It is enough, Lord just take me home to heaven.  Everything hurts, I have no friends, family has abandoned me, nobody goes to my blog, nobody cares about me, I could die and nobody would even notice. Lord I have done what you wanted me to do and now look - failure.  Oh, there were a few moments, but now, pphhhtt. It is enough, kill me and just end this misery.

Depression can set in without making any sense or it may be the result of a terrible event.  I know I can feel completely contrary to the circumstances in my life - sometimes because of my Parkinson's messing with me.  In this passage, Elijah had just come through a great victory regarding the prophets of Baal.  Now he is hiding out in a cave, exhausted and depressed. He felt alone and in fear of Jezebel.

Many of us get angry with someone when they are down rather than help them.  What should we do?  God sent an angel to get Elijah to get out of bed and eat something. Then he encouraged Elijah to listen for God's voice in the unexpected quiet of a still, small voice. Eventually, Elijah recuperated enough to hear God's voice tell him to get busy again.  The Bible doesn't say how long this took.  It might have been a day or maybe weeks.  Maybe we can be a help to someone who is down with little nudges of encouragement.

"But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." 1Kings 19:4.

"And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria:" 1Ki 19:14-15.

© copyright Kevin T Boekhoff


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