DEALING WITH DISAPPOINTMENT

How do you deal with disappointment? What can you do to work through your feelings when things do not turn out the way you expected? The prophet Elijah knew all about being disappointed. We learn of him in last Sunday's Old Testament lesson in the well-known story of how God provided for the widow and her son the oil and flour that never ran out.

In 1 Kings 17, we hear how God called Elijah to speak His Word to King Ahab of Israel. The Promised Land had been divided into northern kingdom of Israel and the southern of Judah. Ever since King David and King Solomon, it seemed like every new king in the land was as bad or worse then the last one. 

Then along came King Ahab whom the Bible said, "He did evil in the sight of the Lord more than all who were before Him." (1 Kings 16:30) He married Jezebel, daughter of the King of Sidon and served her god, Baal, encouraging even the horrible practice of infant sacrifice. 

Ahab's behavior angered God, so He sent Elijah to speak God's Word. Through this great prophet, God showed His great power, raising the widow's son from the dead, withholding rain for three years, and then sending fire from heaven to consume the sacrificial meat, water, wood and even stones of the altar as thousands were witness.

God told Elijah to slaughter all the prophets of Baal as punishment for their idolatry. Then he ran like the wind before Ahab's chariot when the rains returned, all according to God's almighty Word. 

But Elijah was no match for Queen Jezebel. When she threatened to kill him, Elijah ran off and hid in a cave to escape her wrath. In 1 Kings 19:9, God came to Elijah asking, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" A fearful and disappointed prophet answered, "Your people have deserted You, O Lord. I am the only one left, and they seek my life."

But God reminds Elijah He is still in charge. Instead of being disappointed, Elijah should remember what God had already done through him. The dead had been raised, fire rained from heaven and all the people had shouted, "Jehovah is God!"

When you and I are disappointed in people or events, we must not hide our faces in fear, but rather remember that God is still in charge. He has done great things through us and for us. If we will trust Him rather than the leaders of this world, our disappointment will not last long. Trusting God's providence for our earthly life and His forgiveness in Jesus for our eternal life, we, too, can speak with faith and confidence, "Jehovah is God!"

"It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes." (Psalm 118:9)