just to know you have a heavenly father who cares
you're not alone you're not fighting those battles
alone you're not walking alone in that midnight
hour when you feel so alone and it's so dark
in that room And the darkness almost smothers
you. And you become like a frightened child.
Homesick. Lonely. So afraid. You feel the hot
perspiration in the palm of your hand. The quivering
of the flesh. Afraid. Worried. Discouraged. You're
not alone. There's a Heavenly Father who's interested
in you. Concerned about you. He knows the problems.
He knows the burdens you're bearing. He sees
the falling tear. Believe me, he's there. Only
a heartbeat away, only a breath away. He's there,
loving, caring, with open arms. I promise you.
We've been talking about discouragements. One
of the greatest problems of the human spirit.
It's a practical problem. It's a problem that's
real to all of us. What to do about discouragement?
It's a hard fact of human existence. And it's
something that comes to each of us at one time
or another. And it's something you just can't
wish away. wouldn't it be wonderful if there
was no such thing as discouragement but sooner
or later there are moments of discouragement
in each of our lives and in our last little heart
-to -heart talk we were talking about elijah
his experience is such a comfort to me the greatest
saint as elijah was Oh, and the marvelous way
that God used Elijah. Some of the greatest experience
that any human being ever had. Elijah saw miracles.
The Holy Spirit used the vessel of Elijah as
he used very few people. He was strong in the
Lord. He was brave. He was challenging. And yet
there came a time in his life when he became
so human, so frightened, so insecure, that he
looked up after one of the greatest triumphs
of his life and said, oh, let me die. Really,
he ran for the wilderness. And looked up and
cried, let me die. But today, for just a few
minutes, we're not going to put the emphasis
on Elijah's discouragement. On the weakness of
Elijah. When he looked up and prayed to die.
But on the way his heavenly father took care
of it. That's what I like. Oh, to me, that's
the most precious thing. The way our Heavenly
Father took care of Elijah's discouragement.
That's what gets me. That's the part of it that
I love. Into the Heavenly Father saying, Child,
After all that I've done for you, I have manifested
my power in my person. Through your life, I've
answered prayer for you. I've accepted your challenge.
I manifested my power to the prophets of Baal.
And then to think that after everything that
I've done in answering your prayer and answering
your cry, for you to take for tall timber and
be discouraged i'm ashamed of you i'm just as
shamed of you as my child oh i wish i had not
done it for you did he do it he certainly did
not if you want to know what our Heavenly Father
is really like. You know, so many people, when
they think of God, they think of Him only in
the sense of wrath or fear, in the sense of judgment.
Whenever they think of God, they think of hell,
of brimstone. That's right. When you know him
as a Heavenly Father, so tender, so understanding,
there was not one word of condemnation in that
moment of discouragement in the life of Elijah.
The Heavenly Father knows my weakness. I'm glad
he does. I'm glad he understands it. People condemn
not the Heavenly Father. He knows us better than
we know ourselves. He knows how long Elijah had
gone without sleep. He knew how long Elijah had
gone without food. He knew that. He knew how
tired Elijah was in his physical body. He knows
our physical makeup. He knows. He's not a stranger
to you and to me. He knows us far better than
we know ourselves. And so, me thinks he said
my child is weary in body. He's tired. Check
upon yourself. I... looked at myself more than
once when I became irritable, discouraged, and
almost invariably, discouragement has come to
me when I was overworked, too tired. My body
Turning back the pages of my life, I cannot remember
an instant when I was well rested, had gotten
a good night's sleep, felt good physically, that
I had one moment of discouragement. You see,
the enemy of our soul knows exactly where to
attack and when to attack us. He knows. Look
at yourself. When you're tired physically, the
enemy will attack you. It's just like him. When
you're run down physically, he'll attack you.
He has no principle. None whatsoever. Did the
Heavenly Father condemn Elijah? For praying to
die? For crawling under the juniper tree? Defeated?
Running off into the wilderness? Like a child
running away, trying to get away from it all?
No, he didn't. He not only put him to sleep,
and I dare say that was the Best sleep Elijah
ever experienced. I've had sleep like that, and
I can't explain it. It's a different kind of
a sleep. Some nights you go to sleep and you
awaken and say, I had a good night's sleep. There
have been times in my life when the sleep was
different. It was almost a supernatural sleep.
There was a rest in my body when I awakened.
There was a rest that had come to my body that
I could not explain. Awakened from that sleep,
his sleep, the rest that he had given to me,
awakened. I felt I could lick... the whole world
and all the prophets of Baal thrown in for good
measure. And when you are awakened from a rest
like that, you're hungry. There's something about
it. You're hungry. You're hungry. Do you know
what I'm talking about? The discouragement is
gone. It's completely gone. You've forgotten
you were ever discouraged. That's the kind of
rest God gives to his child. He knows us. No
reproof. The Heavenly Father, knowing the weakness
and the frailty of the human body, Says now when
my child is awakened he'll be hungry Thirsty
and so he sent the angel to bake a cake The cake
wasn't baked in heaven it was baked right there
on the coals We expect you know A miracle from
heaven. The cake was baked right there by Elijah's
sight. Methinks the coals were still warm when
Elijah awakened. And the angel didn't forget
the water. I dare say that was the best water.
The freshest water. The cool... water that Elijah
ever drank. And he did eat and drink. And then
the Heavenly Father looked down and said, well,
he needs a little more sleep. I've got another
big job for him. He needs a little more rest.
And the scripture said, and he did eat and drink,
and laid him down again. And then after he was
fully rested and Heavenly Father knew it, he
said to him, What doest thou here, Elijah? Come
on now. It's time to go back to work. Come on.
You're rested. You're fed now. Come on. Come
on. Back. to work. If a human parent will treat
his earthly child like that, how much more does
our Heavenly Father understand His children,
understand you, and understand me? And He treats
us the same way. What to do in an hour of discouragement?
Well, I found something that's very beautiful.
The scripture says, in quietness and confidence
shall be my strength. Note two things, quietness
and confidence. Get quiet in the presence of
God. In quietness there's strength. Go away.
Just a few minutes, an hour or two, and get quiet.
There's so much confusion out there. Sometimes
we get so involved. And in getting so involved
in the confusion, in the turmoil of it all, our
minds become confused. We're not thinking straight.
We lose our perspective. And in losing our perspective,
we lose our right to thinking. We're not conscious
of his presence. He's there, but we're not conscious
of his presence. The best thing in the world
is to just get quiet. Don't say anything. And
in that quiet, Remember to whom you belong. Just
remember. Have the confidence that a little child
has. A little child for just a moment. And I
think that even little children sometimes become
discouraged maybe in their homework. Get a little
discouraged and Fixing the wheel of the bicycle.
You see, we're all just grown -up children. And
some of us don't grow up very quickly. But the
daddy comes along and says, Oh, that's all right.
That's all right. And when the daddy says it's
all right, I'll fix it. The child's entire...
attitude changes changes it immediately when
daddy comes on the scene when papa would come
on the scene why i didn't have anything to be
discouraged about i didn't have anything to fear
papa was there he'd do the fixing he'd help me
with my problems oh sure it was just like that
where i'd been crying over arithmetic problems
when papa would come my tears would all dry up
because papa would fix it he'd always come through
with the answers to my arithmetic problems be
still Be quiet, and in the stillness of the moment,
remember to whom you belong. You're not alone.
You have no cause for your discouragement. Know
that. He's there loving you, caring for you.
Know that. And in that moment, you'll be the
master of your discouragement. your discouragement
will not master you if in the moment of discouragement
you'll remember to whom you belong do that and
then after you get your second breath you'll
hear the heavenly father say to you child of
mine what doest thou here get busy go to work
there's a job to be done and i will go with thee