If God Used Elijah…

James 5:17a
Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are…

James closes out his letter on the subject of prayer.  He speaks of prayer in relation to sickness, praise, and confession.  He encourages his readers to pray fervently and effectually.  As an example, he uses Elijah.  He tells us three things about Elijah.

1. He was like us.
2. He prayed and it stopped raining.
3. He prayed again three and a half years later, and it started raining.

I want to focus your attention on the first point.  Elijah was like us.  In I Kings 19, we see Elijah at his lowest point.  But through it all, God’s grace prevailed.

1. Elijah was a Wanted Man – I Kings 19:1-2
   A.  The report of Ahab – vs. 1
   B.  The response of Jezebel – vs. 2
2. Elijah was a Worried Man – I Kings 19:3
   A.  He was physically drained – I Kings 18:46
   B.  He was emotionally drained 
   “We cannot have great exhilaration without having some measure of depression afterwards” – Spurgeon
   C.  He was spiritually drained – I Kings 19:10,14
3. Elijah was a Wearied Man – I Kings 19:4
   A.  Of people – He left his servant and went a day’s journey into the wilderness
   B.  Of persistence –  He saw no end to the exhausting life he had to live
   C.  Of peril – Ahab and Jezebel never stopped wanting him dead
   D.  Of performance – “It is enough”  Just let it be over, everything, all of it.
4. Elijah was a Watched Man – I Kings 19:5-18
   A.  The messenger of God – the angel
   B.  The miracle of God – the cake and the water
   C.  The mercy of God – the strength, the conversation, the answers

We all know what it is to want to give up.  We all know what it is to be worried and weary.  We all know what it is to feel like we are all alone and no one understands.  Guess what, so did Elijah.  He was just like us and God used him to do great things.  God knows you better than you know yourself and He still wants to use you to do great things for His glory.  If God used Elijah, He can use you too.