Sheryl Brady - The Expense of Moving Emotionally Empty

First Kings, chapter 19. I welcome all of you to the house of the Lord. I hope you have come today with an ear to hear and a heart to receive. Is there anybody who’s hungry? Does anybody need a word from God? I want to pick up a little where Pastor Chris left off last week. He talked to us about running on empty. Did anybody need to hear that? If you did, and even if you thought you didn’t need it last week, you should buy the CD anyway, because eventually you will need it; it was truly a word from God.

First Kings, chapter 19. If you will, let’s read about an amazing man named Elijah. The Bible says in verse 1, «And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, also how he had executed all the prophets with the sword.» Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, «So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.»

When he saw that, he arose and ran for his life. He went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came and sat down under a broom or juniper tree and prayed that he might die. He said, «It is enough! Now, O Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.» Has anyone ever just said, «Okay, God, enough»? Because, you know, life can hit you like that to the point where you just say, «Okay, Lord.» He said, «Enough is enough! Now, Lord, just take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.»

Then, as he lay there, he slept under the broom tree. Suddenly, an angel touched him. Thank God for a heavenly visitation! Yes, I said, thank God for a heavenly visitation! The angel touched him, and I said, thank God for a heavenly visitation! Have you ever had God send help out of nowhere? If you haven’t experienced that, you haven’t lived long enough, but keep living. I’m telling you, there’s nothing like it when God opens up the heavens and says, «Here, this is for you today.»

He looked by his head, and there was a cake baked on coals. Okay, number one: he’s in the wilderness, he’s in the desert, and there’s cake baking while he was sleeping. God was cooking up a blessing for him—good Lord, Jesus! He also gave him a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came back the second time. There’s nothing like a second touch! The angel touched him and said, «Arise and eat.» So now he’s eating again. He is just getting room service—or desert service, or wilderness service, whatever you want to call it. «Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.»

So he arose, ate, and drank, and he went in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night in that place. Behold, the word of the Lord came to him. What I love about God is that it does not matter where you are; you can be on a mountaintop, in a valley, or backed into a cave somewhere, but the word of the Lord will come to you. Aren’t you grateful for the word that just comes to you? The word will find you. I said, the word will find you if you want it to. The word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, «What are you doing here, Elijah?»

He said, «I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they seek now to take my life. I’m the only one You’ve got, God, and now they’re after me.» This man was really distressed; this man was running emotionally on empty. I said I was going to tag and tie into what Pastor Chris was teaching us. He talked about running on empty, and I want to talk about how expensive it is to run when you’re emotionally empty.

Does anybody know what that’s like? Just emotionally spent, caught up in a routine, going with the flow while feeling empty? You ever been emotionally spent? Things that used to move you no longer affect you anymore? Things that used to bring a tear to your eye don’t do so anymore; it’s because you’re running on empty. You’re emotionally empty. That’s what I want to discuss today.

Father, bless Your house and bless Your people. As we have gathered together in this place, we thank You for what we know and for what we feel. We thank You for Your presence, and above all, we thank You, Lord, for Your word. Your word is finding us today. Speak, Lord, and we’ll give Your name the praise and the glory and the honor. We are prepared to receive You now.