“And behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’ He said, ‘I have been very jealous for the LORD, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.’” – 1 Kings 19:9a-10
How would you describe frustration? How would you describe commitment?
First…frustration. Many would describe it as missing a one-foot putt for an eagle or birdie. For some it would be watching the field goal kicker miss an extra point handing the football game to your team’s hated rival. Perhaps you’d define frustration as waiting for that check to arrive in the mail so that you can pay a long overdue bill. A little closer to home, here at church anyway, frustration might be watching the growing tide against the Christian faith and the bible that’s going on in our society.
Now…how about commitment? I guess I’d say it’s sticking with golf even though you have to swing the club five times more than anyone else you’re playing with. It’s watching the game until the final seconds click off the game clock even though the outcome was determined by halftime. Commitment is sometimes seen in your selling some prized possession in order to pay a bill. Here in the church, it is seen in your praying each and every day and in your coming to worship despite all of the enticements to do something else.
Actually, frustration is an easy trap to fall into, personally, it’s my biggest temptation and the devil knows it and he’ll use that to his advantage if I let him. Being committed to something…seeing something all the way to the end no matter what, is not something that I struggle with, but perhaps that’s where you struggle and what Satan uses against you.
Frustration and commitment…two things that were at the heart of that passage from 1 Kings on the top of this page are also subjects that can often play a significant part in our own lives and that can be exploited by Satan if we are not watchful. Look at the prophet Elijah, he was so frustrated that he was at this point in his life hiding in a cave wishing he was dead. People repeatedly refused to hear and accept God’s Word and avert disaster.
It’s not all that different today in our own society. A society that has become very comfortable with its sins and rebellion, with a significant majority believing that heaven awaits everybody no matter what they do or believe…faith and religion playing no role in one’s final outcome.
Of course, those of us who know the Scriptures know this belief isn’t even remotely true. Yet, the more the Bible believing Christians try to avert folks…even relatives from disaster…the more frustrating it can become and after a while lose our commitment to serving our Lord and His Church.
Now, God doesn’t force people to believe…because there cannot be love without the freedom not to…but He does desire that all should repent and receive His forgiveness and to that end He asks each of us not to become too frustrated and He asks us to remain committed to Him, His Word, His Church, and our sharing the love of Christ with others.
Yeah, life can sometimes get a little frustrating but let us thank God that He doesn’t become frustrated with us and our lack of faith at times and our commitment to Him, but rather, that He chooses to love us and forgive us.
Until next month….
Pastor Roloff