Day 46 – “Have You Had Enough?

“I have had enough, Lord,…” 1 Kings 19:4b

Have you ever come to the point in your life where you’re just done “adulting” for one day? Perhaps the challenges at work, or the mounting house work, or the endless “to do” list has all just gotten the better of you…and you have had enough?  Have you been there?  I would imagine many of us have had those days where you contemplated why you even got out of bed.  Some days are just life that, and it seems the entire world wants a piece of you.  Rest assured, there will be better days.  All of us have experienced bad days and even bad years.  Life is certainly challenging and it isn’t always puppy dogs and rainbows, no matter how much we wish it were.  But the encouraging thing is life, and all that happens to us will eventually pass, and we have a God who journeys alongside us.  We are never alone in our struggles…and our bad days.  Another important thing to note is that our perspective on things always makes a difference.  Having a bad day?  Will you allow it to affect your spirit and the eternal joy God has given you? I hope the answer is “no”…that we will keep on keeping on despite the bad days, the trials and the set-backs.

The prophet Elijah certainly had his fair share of bad days.  The funny thing is he had just had a monumental victorious day, when he challenged all the prophets of Baal. (see 1 Kings 18:16-46) Elijah, called down fire upon a completely soaked altar and God made Himself known thereby defeating these false prophets and their fake god Baal.  You would thing this great victory would have lasted for a while, but instead Elijah is on the run and afraid for his life.   King Ahab and wicked Queen Jezebel want him dead.  Elijah is worn and weary, emotionally and physically spent, he lays down under a boom bush in the wilderness and asks God if he could just die.   He even says to God, “I have had enough…” Imagine that!  One of the most powerful Prophets of ancient times asking to die because life had become extremely hard.  He felt defeated.  He felt alone.  He thought it would be better to be taken to heaven than live another day on earth.

We experience days like this from time to time.  Perhaps not to the extreme of Elijah…but perhaps some of us have.  When those days come, I pray that like Elijah, God will encourage you, strengthen you and remind you that you are most certainly not alone!

Prayer:  Dear Lord, I pray for those who are struggling today.  I ask that you place a hand of encouragement upon them.  Lord, I too struggle with these days, thank you for reminding me of your constant presence and that I am given strength that is not my own, but yours.  Protect me from the evil one who tries to remind me of my many failures and discourages me from carrying on.  Shine your light of hope into my life today, and fill me with your peace even amidst the many storms of life.  Thank you dear Lord for being here for me!
-Amen