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Do your days feel like a hike on an Appalachian Trail in winter? A struggle to place one foot in front of the other? If so, I urge you friend, hang on, hang on. Don’t give up. Help is here. It may not come in the manner you requested or as quickly as you desire, but it will come.

Assume that something good is going to happen. The door of tomorrow is unlocked from the inside. Just turn the knob and step out. The divine artist isn’t finished. The earth is his studio. Every person on earth is one of his projects. Every event on earth is a part of his great mural. He is not finished. The scripture says in Philippians 1:6 (NCV), “God began doing a good work in you, and I’m sure he will continue it until it is finished when Jesus Christ comes again.” Remember friend, you are never alone.

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The father may have thought he was walking the road to Capernaum all alone. Quite the contrary. Christ had supernaturally gone into the nobleman’s residence and not only healed the son, but also won the hearts of the entire household. Was the father’s prayer answered? By all means! It was answered in a manner greater than he had requested.

Yours will be as well. Perhaps the answer will come this side of heaven. Perhaps it awaits you on the other side. Either way, this story urges you and me to keep walking and believing in our God who is our ever-present help in trouble.

Ever-present. You’ll never be put on hold or told to check back later. Ever-present. As near as your next breath. Ever-present help. He is here to help. That’s the message of this miracle. That’s the message of the Gospel. Remember friends, you are never alone.

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The Gospel of John tells the story about a man from Capernaum who approached Jesus in Cana. “Come heal my son?” the man asked. Jesus said the boy would be healed, and the man set out for Capernaum.

Do you find yourself somewhere between Cana and Capernaum? Like the official, you begged Jesus for help. And like the official you didn’t receive the answer in the way you wanted. This is the issue of the not yet answered prayer, or the not answered in the way I asked prayer.

How should we react? I’m sorry that the job did not materialize or the cancer chose to metastasize. Life has its share of dark, dank moments. Read the Bible from the table of contents in the front to the maps in the back, and you will not find any promise of a pain-free life on this side of heaven. But you will find this assurance, “Never will I leave you. Never will I forsake you.” You are never alone.

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When we go out in God’s name, Satan makes a dash for the nearest exit. We have weapons he cannot match. What are our weapons? 2 Corinthians 10:4: Prayer, worship, and Scripture. Prayer invites God, praise dethrones Satan, Scripture discloses truth. And Satan hates the truth.

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Flee sexual immorality. Let no evil come from your mouth. Make sure the demons of hell know that you are on God’s side, not theirs. People of unbreakable courage know what Elijah knew. “The Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand” (1 Kings 17:1 NKJV).

Victims? Not on your life. Victors? You can count on it!

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Worshippers of Baal believed they could earn the favor of their god through violence or promiscuous sex. For that reason the priests cut themselves, had prostitutes in the temple, and offered babies in the fire. What would such paganism do to a culture? We don’t have to look far to know. What two themes dominate our society? Violence and sex. On average, American youth will witness more than two hundred thousand violent acts on television before the age of eighteen. Thirty-five percent of internet downloads are for pornography.

If you want to be faithful in a faithless world, dare to defy the devil. Yes, he is powerful. But you are a child of the living God! The One who empowered Elijah will empower you.

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“This is what the Lord says: ‘You will not get down from the bed upon which you have lain, but you shall certainly die’” (2 Kings 1:4 NASB).

Elijah dispatched this verdict to the king. Ahaziah reacted in fear-filled vengeance. He sent fifty soldiers to do battle with the prophet. “But Elijah responded to the captain of fifty, ‘If I am a man of God, may fire come down from heaven and consume you and your fifty’” (2 Kings 1:10 NASB). White-hot heat fell and cremated the soldiers.

Once again, Elijah does not shy away from taking a stand against sin. Take note of this lesson: steadfast faith confronts blatant sin.

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Ahab and Jezebel were dead. Their Son Ahaziah, a chip off the old demonic block, had assumed the throne. He took a fall. Maybe he was paralyzed and in pain. Whatever his malady, he sought relief.

Where do you go when you hurt? Some people turn to alcohol. Others to opioids. Still others to a frenzied schedule. How many turn to Jehovah? Ahaziah could have. But, no, pain drove him to consult a false god, Baal.

The most insidious work of the devil is counterfeit religion. Why? The devilish cunning of counterfeit religion is that it mixes in just enough truth to make the lie all the stronger. Satan sold a bag of lies to Ahaziah. Don’t let him do the same with you.

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Psalm 23:4 (NKJV) reads, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.” God promises to come at an unexpected hour and take us from the gray world we know to the golden world we don’t. But since we don’t, we aren’t sure we want to go.

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On the night before his own death, Jesus told his friends, “Don’t let your hearts be troubled…I will come back and take you to be with me…” (John 14:1, 3 NCV). The apostle Paul announced that “Death has been swallowed up in victory…”  (1 Corinthians 15:54 NIV).

The message is consistent. We do not know the hour, nor do we know the circumstances. But an exit is scheduled for each one of us. Yet we need not fear the moment. Why? Because our Father is a good Father.

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Consider Elijah’s pronouncement of judgment on Ahab: “[God] says, ‘I am going to bring disaster on you. I will wipe out your descendants…because you have aroused my anger and have caused Israel to sin’” (1 Kings 21:21-22 NIV).

This solemn prophecy shook Ahab. “He tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and fasted” (1 Kings 21:27). God responded to this gesture of humility by postponing the penalty of killing all Ahab’s sons.

Years later the seventy remaining descendants of Ahab died by the sword of King Jehu. God sends them message after message, prophet after prophet, yet they slay the innocent and take what is not theirs to take. They forget what sustains them, and in the end they perish at their own folly.

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Elijah was depressed. Among God’s word to him were these: “Go back the way you came through the desert to Damascus. When you get there anoint Hazael…Then anoint Jehu…Finally, anoint Elisha…to succeed you as prophet” (1 Kings 19:15-17 MSG).

These assignments add up to one point: Get moving. God’s message to the prophet was “I still have work for you to do. You may think you’re alone; you’re not. Thousands will stand with you. It’s time for you to get back in the game.”

God’s message to you is this: You are more than the sum of your dark days. I bought you, and I have a destiny for you. Now, with my help, let’s get back in the game.

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When darkness descends, flee solitude. 1 Kings 19:11 (NIV): “The Lord said, ‘Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.’”

God wanted Elijah’s attention. Elijah obeyed and beheld a display of power. The roar of tempests bounced off the canyon walls. “But the Lord was not in the wind” (1 Kings 19:11). An earthquake sent tremors through the desert floor. “But the Lord was not in the earthquake” (1 Kings 19:11). Next came fire that leapt to the height of the trees. “But the Lord was not in the fire” (1 Kings 19:12). Then… “the sound of a low whisper” (1 Kings 19:12).

The soothing touch of God was needed for  Elijah’s season of sadness. Listen for it…listen for Him.

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For six long weeks Elijah had walked across the wilderness of Sinai. Finally he reached and began to ascend Mt. Horeb. Elijah was in search of God.

And, according to 1 Kings 19:9 (NKJV), “the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, ‘What are you doing here, Elijah?’” Elijah answered with a complaint. I did everything you told me to do, but your people have rejected your covenants and killed your prophets. I’m the only one left in the country, and now they want to kill me too.

Well, the Lord gave Elijah a word. According to verse 12, our Creator spoke to the prophet with a still, small voice. He will speak a word to you as well. Let his Word, living and active, speak to you. Open your Bible and listen.

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Elijah was depressed and exhausted. “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’…He ate and drank and then lay down again” (1 Kings 19:5-6 NIV).

What does God say to the sad and weary? Be refreshed. God told Elijah to eat and sleep. The drama on Mt. Carmel. The execution of the false priests. The twenty-seven-mile run in front of Ahab’s chariot. He had reason to be depleted.

God rested on the seventh day. The world didn’t collapse when he took a Sabbath. It won’t fall apart if you do the same. If you are depressed and feel like giving up, his word to you is “get refreshed.”

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Reading from 1 Kings 18:45-46, “Meanwhile the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel.  The power of the Lord came on Elijah and…he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel” (NIV).

Elijah, the prophet who brought down fire, is now the prophet who brings down rain.  Elijah, the prophet who knelt on Mount Carmel in prayer, becomes the prophet who descends in a flurry.

His action inspires us to do likewise.  Lift up your eyes!  Trust the promises of God.  Apart from them life will beat you up.  But armed with them, you will weather any storm.  How different our lives would be if we heeded the promises and not the problems!

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The promises of God glitter like diamonds on the pages of Scripture. Will we gather them? claim them? delight in them? pursue them?  Elijah did. He prayed, not just once, but seven times!

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Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant.  And he went up and looked. “There is nothing there,” he said. Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.” The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea” (1 Kings 18:43-44). God’s answer came as a cloud the size of a hand.  That was enough to excite Elijah.

Faith sees the distant cloud.  Faith sees promises as though they were fulfilled.  Can you see the hint of an answer to your prayer?

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Christ followers hear a language that others miss.  In  2 Kings chapter 6 we see this truth played out in dramatic fashion.  Elijah’s protégé, Elisha, followed in his mentor’s footsteps and upset the powers of the age.  The king of Aram decided to take the young prophet out.  He sent a kill squad.  They surrounded the city by night.  It appeared to be the end.

But the man of God saw what his frightened servant could not.  “And Elisha prayed, ‘Open his eyes, Lord, so that he may see’” (v. 17).  One saw through the filter of fear.  The other, the filter of faith.  Elisha learned this lesson from Elijah.  We’d be wise to do the same.

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Immediately after the Mount Carmel experience, Elijah instructed Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain” (1 Kings 18:41 NIV). But then we read that the sky was cloudless. How do we explain his announcement? I found the answer in the Hebrew word that is translated sound. Elijah was choosing to hear God’s covenant and disregard the circumstances.

The circumstances: the silent sky, the blazing sun, dearth of clouds. The promise of God, the words spoken to Elijah, said, “Pull out your umbrella.” Elijah chose to hear the “voice” of God’s promise.

What about us? Multiple times each day, we choose the message we follow. Are we reeling from the problems, or are we standing on God’s promises?

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What tragedy has rendered your life a desert? Has God allowed a season of dryness to come your way? Then learn from the life of Elijah. He trusted the promise despite the predicament.

The predicament? Drought. The promise? It appears in 1 Kings 18:1 (NKJV): “Go, present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the earth.” God had set a limit upon the predicament, and Elijah knew it was just a matter of time before the rain returned.

Do you know the same? “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning” (Psalm 30:5 NLT). The Bible never guarantees the absence of a drought, but it emphatically assures that the drought will not end in eternal defeat.

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On Mount Carmel, in full view of 850 false prophets, “Elijah repaired the altar of the Lord” (1 Kings 18:30).

Why? Why did the prophet rebuild the altar? Because it was a tool of worship. Do we long to see revival? Then let us begin at the altar.

Why does worship matter? Simple. The devil wants the top spot. When you worship God, when you publicly praise Jehovah in song and sacrament, Satan is defeated. He has no recourse to a worshipping church—none. When we sing, angels stand. When we pray, demons flee. When we look to God, heaven hearkens to listen, and hell hurries to leave. Wonder happens when God’s people worship.

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Ephesians 6:12 (NKJV) reads, “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.”

Our enemy is the devil. At the end of this age, his time will end. Until then, expect our Father to show up. He will not sit still while Satan harms his creation.

Our days are as dark as were the days of Elijah. Our God is as alive as he was in the days of Elijah. Dare we dream of a renewal that silences the stewards of Satan and reveals them for the frauds they are? Let’s imitate Elijah: Serve the Lord only! God wasn’t one of his options. God was his only option.

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