God's Response:
Elijah replied, "I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your alters, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too."
1 Kings 19:10
Our Takeaway:
Elijah thought he was the only person left who was still true to God. Lonely and discouraged, he forgot that others had remained faithful during the nation's wickedness. When you are tempted to think that you are the only one remaining faithful to a task, don't feel sorry for yourself. Self-pity will dilute the good you are doing. You may feel alone right now, but be assured that even if you don't know who they are, others are faithfully obeying God and fulfilling His call for their lives.
God's Challenge:
Since we are surround by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us.
Hebrews 12:1
Big T's Thought To Ponder:
I can't relate to the Elijah and the loneliness and deserted feeling that he is describing in I Kings 19:10. One of the greatest blessings and gifts that Jesus Christ has given me are the neighbors He puts in my path, the daily relationships that He allows to surface and develop on this incredible journey.
When I gave this some thought this morning, I just sat back and praises Him for the relationships in my life and how un-alone I truly am.
Starting with my relationship with my wife, which at one time was broken and empty and now God not only restored it, but He continues to hone it and strengthen us in Him daily. Deeper than strengthening, as he has planted Himself around us and blanketed us with His love and passion, it is as if we are joined together as three. The relationships with my children are blossoming in love, trust and understanding through intentional investment of time, communication and being there to nurture and help them find their way by explaining Gods greatest desires and purpose for our lives.
I am blessed to still have both of my loving parents and three brothers, all of which are beautiful treasures in my life. I was raised with a core value of that "family" is our greatest gift in life and should always come first.
My relationship with my Pastor and church family are joyful beyond measure, constantly developing and growing as time and transparency are invested. There is no other place I would rather be than at my church with my family - our Sundays are our greatest treasure.
The relationships in my men's groups are especially wonderful, C-12, Wednesday Group, Crossroads, my Emmaus Family - Wow... I can't begin to tell you or describe to your how important these relationships are in my life. To have all these brothers in my life is completely overwhelming to me - they give life purpose, they bring me strength and they define what being a man is all about. These men are greater then friends, they are my mentors, they are my confidants, they are encourager's, they are truly one of the greatest blessings in my life... These men are Gods children and together my family and His body.
Again, if real estate is all about localtion...location...location, then God our Heavenly Father is all about relationship...relationship...relationship!
Our greatest gift is each other... The relationships God plants in our life. We have a choice to allow Him to grow and blossom these relationships or to allow them to wither and fade away with time and grow lonely.
Value others... God sees us with the eyes of a Father. He sees our defects, errors, and blemishes. But He also sees our value. What did Jesus know that enabled Him to do what He did? Here's part of the answer, He knew the value of people. He knew that each human being is a treasure. And because He did, people were not a source of stress, but a source of joy.
Galatians 5:13-14: "My brothers and sisters, God called you to be free, but do not use your freedom as and excuse to do what pleases your sinful self. Serve each other with love. The whole law is made complete in this one command: Love your neighbor as you love yourself".
Hebrews 10:24: "Let us think about each other and help each other to show love and do good deeds".
1 Peter 5:5: "In the same way, younger people should be willing to be under older people. And all of you should be very humble with each other. God is against the proud, but He gives grace to the humble."
John 13:1, 4, 5, 15: "Jesus knew His hour had come to leave this world and return to His father. He now showed the disciples the full extent of His love. So He got up from the table, took off His robe, wrapped a towel around His waist and poured water into a basin. Then He began to wash the disciples' feet and wipe them with the towel He had around Him. John 15:13 - "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done.
In my opinion, this one of the greatest illustrations of a relationship in the eyes of God. The entire scriptures are about relationships so what can be greater?
Take time today to ask God to help you repair, grow and develop all the relationships He has blessed you - Relationships are our greatest gift from Him!
Our greatest gift is a direct relationship with Jesus Christ...
