Worry. . .Who Me – When You’ve had Enough

Joke:  One day in Heaven, Moses and Jesus was playing a round of golf when an old man asked if he could join in.  They said, “Sure”.

Moses hit first and he hit a duck-hook that went immediately towards the water.  When the ball got close to the water, the waters parted on dry land and rolled up onto the green.

Jesus was next to hit, and He to hit His ball towards the water but instead of parting, the ball hovered over the water and onto the green some 6 feet from the hole.

The old man asked himself, “How am I ever going to top those two guys?”  He took a swing, and he sliced the ball to the right, hit a tree, and bounced along the shore next to the water.  Before the ball came to a stop, a squirrel picked up the ball and started running away when an eagle swooped down to pick up the squirrel making him drop the ball onto the green which proceeded into the hole for a hole in one!

Jesus came over to the old man, looked at him for a moment and said, “nice shot Dad!”

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We’re launching into a new message series I’m calling Me. . .worry?

The title of part one today is When You’ve Had Enough.

How many of you have ever been to that place where you had just had enough?   You’ve had the situation where you just said, I’ve had enough?  Anybody?

Let me take a few minutes to set up our text and then tell you a little bit about what I’m going to talk about.

Let me ask you one more question. . .have you ever been worried about something?

If so, then this is a message series is for you.   If you’ve ever felt heavy in your spirit.   Burdened by or worried about something then there will be something in it for you.

It could be a health issue, a  troublesome financial season. It might be that you’re worried about your children, the decisions that they’re making or not making.

This series is for those of you that are worried.  Whatever that worry may be.

And I dare say most of us have had a season or two where we found ourselves worrying about something.

I’m not saying we should, but I dare say we have.

And what I want to do over the next few weeks is talk about some different aspects on this topic of worry.

As I mentioned, today I want to share about when you’ve had enough.

We are going to start in Philippians chapter 4 verse 4, and each week I will take a small portion of the text, and highlight one element in it and using other portions of scripture support what it is I’m trying to convey.

Let me give you the context, then we’re going to read from Philippians 4 not just this week but every week and my prayer is that God will calm our spirits as we cast all our cares upon Him.

The apostle Paul wanted more than anything else to go to Rome, to preach the gospel.

And Paul did make it to Rome as he was hoping, but not as he was hoping Paul was actually a prisoner, locked up 24 hours a day to a Roman guard.

And in that situation where he might have felt like, maybe even been justified to be anxious or worry more than anybody, because let’s face it he didn’t even know what his outcome was going to be.

He didn’t know how long he would be there, whether or not he would even live.

And in that place of uncertainty under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, he penned these words. He said. . .

Philippians 4:4 (NIV): Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

I don’t know about you but I’m not sure how easy it would be for me if I was in that situation to. . .rejoice.

Many of us complain if our food doesn’t arrive to our table in a timely manner.  Let alone locked up to a Roman guard 24 – 7.

But hear this church pearls are developed by irritation.  Gates of praise are built by responding to difficult situations by glowing God.

It’s easy to rejoice when you get that raise at work, when there is extra funds at the end of the month.

Paul said, rejoice always.

And then he continues and here is where we will find our phrase that we are going to focus on today right here in verse 5. . .

Philippians 4:5 (NIV): Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

There it is. . .the Lord is near.

How many of you realize that the Lord is near?  He promises that He will never leave us or forsake us, the Lord is near.

Then it continues in verses 6 and 7. . .

Philippians 4:6–7 (NIV): Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Paul said, Do not be anxious about anything

And if I’m being honest I sometimes have to question is that even possible?  With all that’s going on in the world around us I sometimes have to ask,  really God be anxious for nothing?

We have mass shootings, drive by’s, road rage, impatient people in the lane at the grocery store, bills piling up, wondering if the job is secure.   The list could go on and on

There’s so much uncertainty in the world, is it even possible to be anxious for nothing?

And what I want to do in this message today is look at an Old Testament prophet.  And like many of you, he loved God, and yet, even though he had seen the faithfulness, the power, and the provision of God, he still struggled with anxiety.

And before I go on, here is the definition of anxiety according to the Oxford Dictionary. . .feeling of worry, nervousness, or unease, typically about an imminent event, or something with an uncertain outcome.

Now, any idea who this prophet is that struggled with that?

His name is Elijah,  and in case your not all that familiar with Elijah let me share a little background.

Elijah confronted an evil king named King Ahab,

As a matter of fact Scripture tells us this about Ahab. . .

1 Kings 16:30 (NIV): Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him.

That’s not a great legacy by the way.

And so, Elijah called him out on his sin, and he prophesied a drought.

And the drought wasn’t going to last just a few days it would last a few years so you can imagine how something like that would impact King Ahab’s kingdom.

So, the king went after the prophet with all the forces of his army,  and he made his intention plain.   I’m going to see to it that your dead.

And so for three years, Elijah was on the run, hiding out, but in spite of all that. . . God was still faithful.

When you see all that God had done for him and through him you can see God’s faithfulness in it all.

Look at some of the things God did in the life of Elijah.

God had ravens bring bread and meat from heaven, Elijah through the power of God raised a boy from the dead.

There was one time, and this is probably one of my favorite stories about him, Elijah stood down 850 false prophets. One man against 850 and he called down fire from heaven, and his God answered but the god of those false prophets no,do much.

As a matter of fact, they began to cut themselves and do all sorts of stuff to get their gods attention to no avail.  Elijah even made fun of them as they tried all the things that they did.

And after seeing miracle after miracle and seeing the power of God manifest through him. . .one grumpy woman gets up in his business and he freaks out, and falls completely apart.

And if you don’t know the story, I told you what Scripture said about Ahab but oh, his wife Jezebel made him look not too bad.

That woman, Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, got in the picture, and essentially she said honey, if you can’t get the job done, then let a woman do it.   I will kill Elijah.

And Elijah falls apart, he literally spirals into depression and anxiety, and maybe there is someone here or watching online that’s saying you know what I’ve been there I can relate to all his anxious thoughts.

I’m going to show you the story, and as we look at it, I want you to try to pick up on a few mistakes Elijah makes.

And  maybe you might see yourself making, or maybe you have made, one of two these mistakes as well.

Let me show you the text in 1 Kings 19, we’ll start in verse 3.   As I read the text see if anything stands out to you as one of the mistakes Elijah made.

1 Kings 19:3–4 (NIV): Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.”

Notice how irrational he is, his biggest fear is that she’s going to kill him, and so now he just wants to die.

He’s struggling, and what does he say?

He said the same thing that some of you might’ve said. I’ve had enough, I can’t take anymore.

He has his Popeye moment, it’s all I can stands, I can’t stands no more.

I’ve had enough, take my life, I’m no better than my ancestors.

And maybe there’s someone here right now your in that I can’t take it anymore situation, I’ve done everything I can, I’m trying to pay the bills, then one more thing broke, and I can’t take it anymore.

Maybe it’s a relationship, and it’s at that I can’t take it anymore place.

What ever that I can’t take it anymore thing is for you.  It’s tough. . .

And Elijah couldn’t take it, and he made few mistakes.

And the truth is church, I’ve made a couple of these myself,  perhaps you have as well.

Let’s look at Elijah’s mistakes.

The first thing he did that we also tend to do when we’ve had enough is this:  we run ourselves into the ground.

That is what he did, the text says he was afraid, and he ran for his life, he ran to Beersheba, and maybe that doesn’t mean a whole lot as you read it, but actually from where he was to where he ran was about 100 miles.

He was like Forest Gump who just kept running and running.

Had Elijah ran anymore, he’d  run into the water, he couldn’t of run any farther, he ran four marathons ya all.  Four.

Exhausted, he wore himself out.

Listen God wants us to take some time to rest.   He said this in Matthew. . ,

Matthew 11:28 (NLT): Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

And some of you are there right now.   You’ve been going way too hard for way too long.   And it in your running it has caused some anxiety and worry.   In your exhaustion you haven’t been able to focus on what really God is saying and trying to do.

Elijah ran himself into the ground.  We need to take some time to rest.

The second mistake he made, that many of us do as well, is that he shut people out.

Notice what he did, he left his servant, he said in essence to his trusted friend, I don’t need you anymore, I’m going it alone and he went off on his own.

And truth is church we are incomplete without the family of God, we need the body whole.   But we sometimes do what Elijah did, he shut his most trusted people out.

The third mistake that he made, and this is probably the one many of us struggle with the most, and that is we focus on the negative.

Here’s what he said, he said I’ve had enough. I’m no better than my ancestors.

And he wasn’t the only one in Scripture to struggle with that. . .

Moses sends out spy’s to look at the promised land.  This is the land God promised it was there’s for the taking.  God was on their side.

They go and spy it out.  They even bring back a cluster of grapes that two people had to carry. That’s a huge cluster and they say yes the land is all God said it was, but. . .(talk about when our buts get in the way)

The land is all God said it was, but the people there see us as grasshoppers and we see ourselves the same way.

In the book of Judges Gideon says this. . .

Judges 6:15 (NIV): Pardon me, my lord,” Gideon replied, “but how can I save Israel? My clan is the weakest in Manasseh, and I am the least in my family.”

And that’s the very same thing that we do all too often.

We focus on the negative. My life is so hard, nobody likes me, I don’t like my job, I don’t like where I’m going, I’m always going to suffer, I’m always going to struggle, I’m always going to be broke, we’re never going be happy, nobody likes my Facebook post, oh, they like my friends but not mine and we focus on the negative.

And number four, and this is perhaps the biggest mistake of all is we forget God.

Which for any believer is crazy, but for Elijah, every step of the way through Elijah’s life God was present, God was faithful, God’s power was visible, God’s provision was real, and even though God had been faithful, Elijah did what so many of us do, he was facing his problems while forgetting his God.

Hear this church this is good news God is faithful even when we are not.

And the thing is Elijah’s name alone should’ve been enough to comfort him in the middle of his anxiety.

Elijah, E-L-I-J-A-H.   His name means:  My God is Yahweh.  My God is Jehovah; the LORD God.

Here we’ve got Elijah, my God is Jehovah, my God is Yahweh, it literally means my God is my breath.

My God is my source. My God is my strength. My God is my sustainer, my God is my breath. He’s with me, that was his name alone.

It’s like we read in Acts chapter 17 that’s in him we live and move and have our being.

And yet Elijah knowing that his God is near, falls apart.

What did God do when he did that? Well, ye of little faith Elijah shame on you.  I’m going have to change your name like I did Abram’s what you think about no faith.

No, that’s not what God did.

God met Elijah in his need, and I want to show you how God revealed himself to him. Scripture says this. . .

1 Kings 19:11–12 (NIV): The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

The earth shook, but the Lord wasn’t in the earthquake. The wind howled, but the Lord wasn’t in the wind. The fire raged, but the Lord wasn’t in the fire.   Then there was a whisper and that is where the Lord was, in the whisper.

Why a whisper?  Because the Lord was near.

God was not in the remarkable, God was in the ordinary.

Acts 4:13 (NIV): When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

People took notice and were astonished when God used unschooled, ordinary men.

And here’s the truth, God will use ordinary people to do extraordinary things.

Listen when we’re hurting, when we’re afraid, when we’re overwhelmed, God doesn’t always speak in thunderous ways.

Sometimes it’s just a whisper.   Why?   He whispers because he’s close. He whispers to draw us close.

Have you ever had to really lean into someone because they were talking so softly you could barely hear them?

He whispers to draw us close.

The devil, on the other hand, shouts. . .his lies, his voice of condemnation, of accusation, saying, you’ll never be enough, you’ll never make it through. You’ll always be on your own.

God whispers because the Lord is near, he will never leave you, he will never forsake you. He says, I am always with you, even ’til the end of the age. I’m always good, I’m working in all things, nothing shall separate you from my love. . .nothing.   Neither height, nor depth, darkness, nothing will separate you from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.

Why does God whisper? Because the Lord is near. He whispers because he’s close.   All we need to do is lean into Him.

Here’s what’s funny about Elijah.   Remember the definition of anxiety. . .to worry about an imminent event.

And If you don’t know the end of this story, it’s pretty funny.

Remember  what Elijah’s greatest fear was?   His greatest fear was I’m going to die that woman wants me dead.

But if you don’t know end of his story, Elijah is walking along with his apprentice Elisha, and while they are walking alone God sends a chariot from heaven, and sweeps Elijah off the face of the earth in a whirlwind.  And so, he never tasted physical death.  He never died.

The thing he feared the most never even happened.

He was anxious for nothing.

I came to tell somebody here that the vast majority of what you worry about is not going to happen. Most of it never, ever does.

The vast majority never happens, and so we like Elijah are anxious for nothing.

The vast majority doesn’t happen, sometimes it does happen, and when it does most of time it’s not as bad as we thought. And again we were anxious for nothing.

However, there are those times that that thing you were worried about does happen, and sometimes it’s worse than we ever thought.

But even then the goodness of God always carries us through.

He’s always faithful, he never leaves us, he’ll never forsake us, because he is our breath, he is our strength, he is our source, and that’s why the apostle Paul, chained up to a Roman guard not knowing what his future holds, can say do not be anxious about anything.

He said. . .

Philippians 4:4–7 (NIV): Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Why does He whisper? He whispers because He’s close. The Lord is near.  As a matter of fact God is here.

Oh remember that negative tendency I talked about watch the next verse. . .

Philippians 4:8 (NIV): Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

If anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

That will flip the negative on its head.

Instead of woe is me, it becomes wow it’s God.

Father, we ask in the midst of our trials, our worry, our fears, and our doubts.  God let us experience a peace from heaven that passes all understanding.

For those of you who may have a burden, and you feel crushed, overwhelmed, anxious, or worried, if there’s something weighing on you, I want to invite you to take it God today.  God says cast all your cares upon Him for He cares for us.

So, God today whisper into the hearts of your children, show us how much you care.   Show us that indeed you are a friend that sticks closer than a brother.

May your peace guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Right now there may be someone here that feels low, let me encourage you to look up for your redemption draweth nigh.

Look toward heaven,  why?  Because God sent Jesus, who was God in the flesh.

And Jesus hung out with those that religion rejected, he hung out with those who were messed up, those who were anxious about many things, and he loved them exactly where they were.

Then Jesus went to the cross, why?  To become sin, for us, he shed his innocent blood in place of ours, he died in our place.

Then God raised him from the dead, so that anyone, it doesn’t matter who you are, doesn’t matter what you’ve done, doesn’t matter how dark your life is, anyone who calls on the name of Jesus would be saved, and forgiven.

And God is reaching out to you today, each of us so you can  experience the goodness of God. So you can taste and see that the Lord is good.   He is near, He’s as close as the mention of His name.

I want to encourage you to Invite Him into your situation.  I promise He will walk with you through it.