Ancient Israel had the scruffy hills of Gilead, and somewhere in this rugged land Elijah came to believe in a mighty Yahweh who refused to share his glory with others. He confronted Ahab and Jezebel with a surgical strike. Baal was regarded as the god of fertility, yet Baal’s veil was about to be yanked back. Jehovah has declared a drought.

Does Elijah have some encouragement for our generation? Absolutely! The story of Elijah offers us hope. Elijah shows us that one person following a living God is greater than hundreds of people praying to a lifeless one.

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“Ahab was king over Israel for twenty-two years. Ahab son of Omri did even more open evil before God than anyone yet—a new champion in evil!” (1 Kings 16:29-30 MSG).

There’s a reason parents don’t name their kids Ahab or Jezebel. Ahab not only neglected the faith of his fathers, but he also embraced the false gods of his enemies. Yet this evil king did more—he married Jezebel.  She was vile, she endorsed a religion that promoted temple prostitution and child sacrifice, she and her husband systematically killed the Lord’s prophets. The Ten Commandments were treated as ten suggestions, and the temple of worship was a relic of history.

God, however, will not sit idly while his covenants are trashed. He will not stay silent while his will is mocked. But he will act.

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In his fine book, The Dance of Hope, Bill Frey remembers the day he tried to pull a stump out of the Georgia dirt. One of his chores as a 12 year-old was to search for stumps of pine trees that had been cut down and chop them into kindling. But there was one root system he just couldn’t pull out of the ground.

He was still struggling when his father came over to watch. “I think I see your problem,” the dad said. “What’s that?” the son asked. “You’re not using all your strength.” Bill exploded and told him how hard he’d been working. “No,” the dad said. “You’re not using all your strength.” When Bill cooled down, he asked what his father meant and the dad said, “You haven’t asked me to help you.”

You don’t have to do it alone, friend. Present the challenge to your father and ask for help. Will he solve the issue? Yes, he will.

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We can calmly take our concerns to God because he is as near as our next breath. This was the reassuring message from the miracle of the bread and fish. In an event crafted to speak to the anxious heart, Jesus told his disciples to do the impossible: feed five thousand people.

You aren’t facing five thousand hungry bellies, but you are facing a deadline in two days, a loved one in need of a cure. On one hand you have a problem. On the other you have a limited quantity of wisdom, patience, or time.

Typically, you’d get anxious. You’d tell God, “You’ve given me too much to handle.” This time, instead of focusing on what you don’t have, start with Jesus. Start with his wealth, his resources, and his strength. Before you lash out in fear, look up in faith. Turn to your Heavenly Father for help.

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God repeatedly pledges his presence to his people. To Abram, God said, “Do not be afraid…I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward” (Genesis 15:1 NKJV). God told Joshua, “Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9 NIV).

In the ultimate declaration of communion, God called himself Immanuel, which means, “God with us.” He became flesh. He became sin. He defeated the grave. He is still with us. In the form of his Spirit, he comforts, teaches, and convicts.

Don’t assume God is watching from a distance. Isolation creates a downward cycle of fret. Choose instead to be the person who clutches the presence of God with both hands. We can calmly take our concerns to God because he is as near as our next breath. And because the Lord is near, we can be anxious for nothing!

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How many disasters have been averted because one person refused to buckle under the strain? It’s this kind of composure Paul is summoning when he says, “Let your gentleness be evident to all.  The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything” (Philippians 4:5-6 NIV).

The Greek word translated here as “gentleness” describes a temperament that’s seasoned and mature.  It envisions an attitude fitting to the occasion, levelheaded and tempered. This gentleness is “evident to all.” Family members take note. Your friends sense a difference. Coworkers benefit from it.  The gentle person is sober minded and clear thinking. The contagiously calm person is the one who reminds others God is in control.

Pursue this gentleness. The Lord is near. You are not alone. You may feel alone. You may think you’re alone. But there is never a moment in which you face life without help. God is near—be anxious for nothing!

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Sometime ago I made a special visit to the American Colony Hotel in Jerusalem. I wanted to see the handwritten lyrics that hang on the wall, framed and visible for all to see. Horatio Spafford wrote them, never imagining they would become the words to one of the world’s best-loved hymns.

On December 2, 1873, he received a telegram from his wife that began, “Saved alone. What shall I do?” The ship she was on had collided with another ship and had sunk. Their four daughters drowned and Anna survived.  While sailing on the ship to bring her home, Spafford wrote the lyrics to a song that would become an anthem to the providence of God. “Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say…It is Well with My Soul!”

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In the famous lace shops of Brussels, Belgium, certain rooms are dedicated to the spinning of the finest lace, with the most delicate of patterns. These rooms are completely dark, except for a shaft of natural light from a solitary window. Only one spinner sits in the room. The light falls on the pattern while the worker remains in the dark.

Has God permitted a time of darkness in your world? You look, but you cannot see him. You see only the fabric of circumstances woven and interlaced. You might question the purpose behind this thread or that. But be assured, God has a pattern. He has a plan. The Bible says, “In all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He is not finished. But when he is, the lace will be beautiful.

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No moment, event, or detail falls outside of God’s supervision. God is the one who “causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matthew 5:45 NIV). He isn’t making up this plan as he goes along. Daniel 5:21 (NKJV) says, “The most high God rules the kingdom of men, and sets over it whom he will.”

So if God is in charge, why does he permit challenges to come our way? Wouldn’t an almighty God prevent them? Not if they serve his higher purpose. The ultimate example is the death of Christ on the cross. Everyone thought the life of Jesus was over. Jesus was dead and buried, but God raised Him from the dead. God took the crucifixion of Friday and turned it into the celebration of Sunday. Can he not do a similar reversal for you?

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Paul urges us to “rejoice in the Lord always” (Philippians 4:4). Not just on paydays, good days, or birthdays, but rejoice in the Lord always.

Rejoice in the Lord always? “Yeah, right,” mumbles the person from the hospital bed. “How?” sighs the unemployed dad. “Always?” questions the mother of the baby born with a disability. It’s one thing to rejoice in the Lord when life is good, but when the odds are against you? It’s not easy, but it is possible.

Lay claim to the promise of God in Colossians 1:17. “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Rejoice in the sovereignty of God. His throne is still occupied, his will is still perfect. Rejoice in the Lord always. God uses everything to accomplish his will.

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