Elijah, a very courageous prophet, defiantly spoke against Ahab, the wicked king of the northern kingdom of Israel for his idolatrous practices. He even executed Ahab’s Baal prophets when they lost in a ‘fire consuming sacrifice’contest to Elijah on calling upon the true God at Mt Carmel. Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, was incensed and determined to kill Elijah without further delay when she heard of the extermination.
When news of this reached Elijah, he immediately fled for his life to Beersheba, and into the wilderness. He was totally exhausted, hungry, thirsty and in great fear of his life. In that state of gross physical deprivation and severe mental depression, and presuming that he was the only prophet of God left in the land, Elijah uttered these desperate words: ‘It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life’ (1 Ki 19:4 ). No wonder, the Apostle James wrote ‘Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are’ (Js 5:17 ). This is a common natural response of all men who have reached the end of their tether in trying circumstances. We, today, are no different.
Moses was appointed by God to lead two million Israelites out of bondage in Egypt to the Promised Land. Overworked and burdened, attending to the needs of the people daily despite delegation of responsibilities, Moses continued to be overloaded with the problems of the Israelites. Yet, the ungrateful people constantly murmured, and some even rebelled against his leadership. Not only were they not satisfied with the plain manna diet which God had provided, but they lusted for tasty meat. When Moses heard that the people wept over this matter, he was seized with great frustration that he cried to the Lord: ‘I am not able to bear all this people alone, because it is too heavy for me. And if thou deal thus with me, kill me, I pray thee, out of thy hand, if I have found favour in thy sight; let me not see my wretchedness’ ( Num11:14,15). Such was the immense burden on Moses’ heart that he sought death from the Lord.
Jeremiah, a prophet, was called by God to speak to the sinful nation of Judah. He fearlessly warned the people of the impending judgment of God upon them. God would deliver them into the hands of the Babylonians. Jeremiah pleaded with them to forsake their sins, repent and return to God. The people, however, rejected his message. He was even persecuted by his own family, the people of his hometown and reviled by the religious leaders for preaching the truth! Pashur, the chief governor of the Temple, had Jeremiah subject to be whipped and then put him in stock without proper trial and hearing. As a result of the physical torment and state of deep depression and agitation within his heart, he succumbed to the infirmity of the flesh and blamed God for having raised him as a prophet and yet not stood by him to deliver him from all adversities that befell him in his ministry ( Jere 20:7 ). Jeremiah was determined that enough was enough and he must quit the work God had ordained for him ( Jere 20:9 ). He burst out: ‘Cursed be the day wherein I was born’ ( Jere 20:14 ). ‘Wherefore came I out of the womb to see labour and sorrow, that my days should be consumed with shame?’ ( Jere 20:18 ).
Men of God are subject to the same vanity of human life and vexation of spirit. They go through trials and tribulations. Under adverse circumstances, further aggravated by anxiety and insurmountable tasks, despondency, frustration and mental aberrations, especially depression, would often be their lot. Restless and troubled, they would loose their focus on the all-sufficient providence of the Almighty God and thus become careless in not bridling the tongue by the utterance of absurd and foolish words in moments of thoughtlessness and sin.
This is one precious lesson that we can glean from their accounts. However, we thank God that He has given us a faithful servant in Paul whose godly response to diverse adversities is a crowning example for us all to emulate. We do well to learn much from Paul’s unwavering faith. What was Paul’s response to adversities? His off-quoted testimony: ‘We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed; Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body’ (2 Cor 4: 8-10 ). To Paul, no hardship of any degree or extent would have much impact on him. Why? He viewed all these extenuating circumstances in his life in light of the pain and sufferings of our Lord. What pain and sufferings could he or any man had gone through that would be considered to be on par with what our longsuffering, persecuted and crucified Lord had experienced? Paul’s adversities paled into insignificance when his mind became filled with what Christ had done for all men. Paul had made it as if it were a mandate, that even in trying circumstances, he would point men to Jesus through his faithful testimony and Christ be glorified. What a man! What a testimony! Truly, a spirit-filled and spirit-controlled man of God. It is our great blessing if we would only emulate this great servant of God especially in the midst of tribulations. Paul, having fallen under man’s wrath many a times, was still the object of God’s love. And this is all that mattered to him.
We are also reminded of Paul’s statement regarding the thorn in the flesh: ‘My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me’ (2 Cor 12:9 ). Yes, though Paul was strickened with an illness that greatly inconvenienced him, he realized it was God’s will that this malady stayed with him. Did he blame God for being so merciless as not to remove it from him even as he was faithfully serving the Lord? We often harbour this presumption that God must ensure our well-being in every aspect and to channel us into comfortable zones especially when we are ‘serving You, God!’ This must never be our expectation, nor even a thought to entertain. While we serve Him, it is our great honour and privilege for we are servants of the one and only Almighty God and King. His will for us is the best for He makes no mistake and He does all things well. So may we never harbour any unholy feelings against God. May we, in whatever circumstances, be like Paul to have that gratitude of heart and spirit to realize and thank God that we are so blessed, for we have the manifold grace of God that help us to persevere in adversities. May we like Paul stand firm and be assured that God has promised that all things work together for our good (Rm 8:28 ). It is faith in this aspect that undergirds Paul’s unwavering stand in the Lord’s providence which enabled Paul to run the race and fight the good fight of faith.
So too are pastors who as spiritual leaders are subject to like passions as we are and as the prophets of old. Called and ordained by God to feed the flock with spiritual food, to watch over their souls, to warn them of the deception in these days of great apostasy make their task a very onerous one. They bear grave responsibility towards God and the flock and their accountability before God is great. With virtually little time for leisure or recreation, their family life is understandably inevitably affected. Add to that, frequently they are targets of Satanic attacks and even have to face false allegations from members who hardly appreciate the work of our pastors nor realize their burdens.
Pastors would surely appreciate all the encouragement and assistance they can receive to aid their diverse ministries. We should remember them in our prayers, for like all the servants of God mentioned above, they too go through emotional and physical duress and vicissitudes in their ministerial work in our midst. Their burden is ours too and so is their well-being our concern for they are God’s ordained servants. Conversely, it is our God-given responsibility too, to obey the truth in God’s word and maintain the sound doctrinal stand. We ought to submit to their leadership as God’s anointed and to respect them with affection and trust (Heb 13: 7 , 17 , 24 ). Moreover, we should also ensure that the material needs of their families are adequate so that they may concentrate on God’s work and not be troubled by any basic deprivation. May we continue to co-labour with our spiritual leaders, and remain stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, as we see the day of the Lord fast approaching. Amen.