I want to begin today by reading you an excerpt from a diary of a Christian not at all unlike many of you, a Christian who finds themselves suffering at the hands of an antagonist. The Christian writes, "I just feel angry sometimes. Angry at the individual who is antagonizing me, angry at my family friends and coworkers for seemingly deserting me, angry at myself, and sometimes livid with God for allowing this to happen. Mostly though, I feel afraid. Very much afraid. I'm afraid of being unable to cope or control myself. Afraid of what people will say; if they believe the rumors being spread about me. And I feel sorry for myself, then ashamed when I realize I'm dreaming about revenge. That’s not me. But now it IS me. the whole thing upsets me so much that I'm obsessed with it. I get so I can't sleep at night. the longer it has worn on, the more tense I have grown. Sometimes I feel like I'm going to explode. It has spread slowly like poison to contaminate every part of my life. I'm irritable at home and work, suspicious of almost everyone. It seems as if I'm turning into the kind of person my antagonists says I am. And then the awful doubts come. Maybe my antagonist is right. Maybe I should just give up. I want to run away. I slip into depression until I get so angry I fight my way out of it. And the process repeats itself like a hideous roller coaster ride that never ends. I don't know what to do..."

Have you ever felt like this Christian? Have you ever found yourself suffering at the hands of someone who seems to go out of their way to make your life miserable; someone who seems to derive some sick joy out of watching you suffer; someone who seems hell bent on forcing you to suffer the consequences of their poor life choices, endure the drama of their dysfunction, accept their crazy as your new norm? Have you ever found yourself suffering at the hands of an antagonist? I would not at all be surprised if you have.

This world is full of broken people. Full of people whose lives are so filled with guilt and shame that they lash out in pain on the people around them. They Antagonize because they agonize. They are hoping that your suffering will somehow make their own suffering more tolerable. As the old saying goes, “misery loves company.” If you kept a diary, I would not at all be surprised to come across an entry similar to the one I just read. I would not at all be surprised if there were times when you have cried out as the prophet cried out, “I have had enough, LORD.”

Today, God offers encouragement to those who have “had enough”. Today God equips as we face our antagonists. He equips us with His providence, His presence, and His promise.

The prophet Elijah faced one of the worst antagonists of all time. Her name was Jezebel. Jezebel was a Phoenician princess who, for political reason, was married to Ahab the king of Israel. It was hoped that the arranged marriage would bring political stability to the northern Kingdom. Unfortunately, Jezebel brought much more than that from Phoenicia. Jezebel was a devote worshiper of the fertility god Baal. She led her husband, king Ahab, to join in her blasphemy. Scripture tells us, Ahab “set up an altar to Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to provoke the LORD the God of Israel to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him.”[1] Jezebel, however, was not content with her husband’s corruption. She made the worship of Baal the official religion of the northern kingdom. She enlisted 850 prophets from her home in Phoenicia in order that she might more thoroughly spread her idolatry throughout the kingdom. Additionally, she murdered as many of the LORD’s prophets as she could get her hands on. If not for faithful Obadiah who secretly hid 100 of the LORD’s prophets from her, she would have likely slaughtered them all. There is a reason this woman’s name is used as a derogatory insult still today.

To say that the wicked queen was not a fan of the prophet Elijah is an understatement. To say her opinion of him did not improve after the events atop mount Carmel is even more of an understatement. Elijah challenged the 850 false prophets to a contest that would settle once and for all which god, Baal or the LORD, should be worshiped in Israel. The prophets of Baal prayed and prayed, they cut themselves, they danced, they shouted but Baal did not (could not) answer them. Elijah taunts them, “Maybe your god is busy?” “Maybe he is off using the restroom?” “Maybe he is asleep?” The prophets of Baal shout louder and louder, but still nothing. Finally, Elijah steps forward. He calls on the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel and the fire of the LORD fell from heaven and consumed Elijah’s sacrifice, the stone altar it rested upon, and the earth around it. The contest had been decided. The people of Israel cried, “The LORD—he is God! The LORD—he is God!”[2] They seize the false prophets of Baal brought them down to the Kishon valley and slaughter them all. When Jezebel hears what Elijah had done to her prophets, she burned with anger. Scripture tells us she threatened Elijah, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”[3]

Now, I hope no one here has a wicked queen out to get them. (The only Queen I know of is Elizabeth Queen of England and if you have that sweet old lady after you then you really do have problems.) But even if you don’t a wicked queen out to get you, that doesn’t mean you aren’t dealing with an antagonist like Jezebel. It might be a coworker who is trying to sabotage your career, maybe a playground bully who is picking on you, maybe a neighbor who keeps gossiping about you, maybe your antagonist is an estranged relationship from your past that haunts you like a ghost. They may not be trying to take your life from you, but they are likely trying to make your life miserable. So, what do you do?

Scripture tells us, Elijah “3 ran for his life… 4 and prayed that he might die.” ““4 I have had enough, LORD,” he said.” I hope no one here has been driven to such despair. I pray no one here has been antagonized to the point that they are praying to die. But honestly, if you are dealing with an antagonist, I wouldn’t be shocked if the thought hasn’t crossed your mind. At the very least, I imagine you have cried out, “I have had enough, LORD.”

The LORD heard the cry of His prophet and He hears the cries of His people. He did not abandon Elijah as he faced Jezebel and He does not abandon you as you face your antagonist. The Lord equipped Elijah and He equips you to deal with an antagonist. He equips us with His providence. Scripture tells us, Elijah “5 lay down under the tree and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 6 He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. 7 The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” 8 So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.” The LORD recognizes that His people have physical needs. Spiritual needs are more important to be sure, but the thing is, if you don’t first take care of a person’s physical needs, it’s difficult to address their spiritual needs. The LORD knew Elijah needed some rest, he needed to stay hydrated, and he needed to eat a hot meal and so, the LORD provided Elijah those needs.

The LORD knows you have similar needs. The LORD miraculously provided Elijah’s needs and He may miraculously provide you yours, but chances are the LORD will choose to make use of the things He has already provided you. Your bed is no doubt more comfortable, your beverage is perhaps bubblier, and your bread is likely more elaborate. The LORD provides you bed, beverage, and bread because He knows sometimes when an antagonist is wearing you out, the best thing you can do is take a nap, have a drink, and make yourself a sandwich.

Having provided for the physical needs of His prophet and His people, the LORD addresses our spiritual needs. Scripture tells us the LORD asked, ““9 What are you doing here, Elijah?” 10 He replied, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.” 11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by.” Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 13 When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. The LORD made His presence known to Elijah. Notice there were two ways the LORD made His presence known. The first thing the LORD did was He allowed Elijah to get a few things off his chest; He allowed him to vent his frustrations. The second thing the LORD did was He spoke to Elijah, not through wind, quake, or fire, but through a gentle whisper or a still small voice.

The LORD makes His presence known to you in the same way. Through the psalmist Asaph, the LORD invites you to get a few things off your chest; to vent your frustrations when He says, “call upon me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me.”[4] Prayer, my friends, when your antagonist acts up, don’t forget about the power of prayer. Take advantage of the LORD’s presence and tell Him what’s bothering you. But be sure that you are not the only one doing the talking. Don’t forget to also listen to the still small voice of the LORD. Today the LORD chooses to speak to you not trough signs and wonders, but through His Word. Bible study, my friends, when your antagonist acts up, don’t forget to read your Bible. Take advantage of the LORD’s presence and let Him speak to you.

Let Him speak to you of His promise. Scripture tells us, “15 The LORD said to him [Elijah], “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. 16 Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. 17 Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. 18 Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him.” The LORD reminds Elijah that He has made His people a promise; a promise that all peoples on earth would be blessed through them.[5] Elijah and the thousands more who believed in the LORD were the people through whom the Savior of the world would come. No matter how antagonistic Jezebel might have been she could not stop the LORD's promise from being fulfilled.

When you are dealing with an antagonist it is essential that you remember that the LORD has made a promise to you as well. My favorite description of this promise is found in Romans 8:33-34. There the apostle Paul asks, “33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.” The LORD has already defeated humanity’s worst antagonist. With one word the LORD defeated him. “τετέλεσται”, “it is finished”, He cried. And with that one word, Satan was silenced, and God’s people were saved. My dear suffering saints, if Satan could not keep the LORD from keeping His promise to save you, what chance does your antagonist have? Indeed, your antagonist and Satan have a great deal in common. That’s why we sing, “Though devils all the world should fill, All eager to devour us. We tremble not, we fear no ill, They shall not overpower us. This world's prince may still Scowl fierce as he will, He can harm us none, He's judged; the deed is done; One little word can fell him.” When your antagonists is driving you to despair, remember they cannot keep the LORD from keeping His promise.

The LORD’s providence, presence, and promise equipped Elijah to face his antagonist. Elijah went back the way he came. He anointed Elisha as his apprentice and the two of them opposed Jezebel until the LORD brought Elijah to heaven in a whirlwind. Jezebel’s story does not have such a happy ending. Two of her own servants threw her from a window and stray dogs devoured her corpse, just as Elijah had prophesied. It never ends well for those who antagonize the people of the LORD.

Let us pray our antagonist do not share Jezebel’s fate. Let us pray they turn from their evil ways and live. But whether they do or not, we need not be discouraged. As the LORD came to His prophet He comes to His people. Be encouraged people of God, the LORD’s providence, presence, and promise are yours. Amen

[1] 1 Kings 16:32-33

[2] 1 Kings 18:39

[3] 1 Kings 19:2

[4] Psalm 50:15

[5] Genesis 12:2-3