I don’t very often title the messages I give on Sunday mornings. There’s nowhere to put the title, really, and there is no need. But I wrote a title when I wrote these words, because it seemed like the thing to do.

Three things to remember when it feels like it must be the worst day of your life.

We know that feeling. Sometimes we say, “This was the worst day.”  And we know in our heads that for all the times we feel it, it’s only true once. I mean, you can’t have a hundred worst days. There can only be one. And so most of the times that we feel that this must be the worst, we are wrong.

And on that one worst day, I’m not going to be reminding you of anything. If I’m with you, I’m going to be sitting with you, saying “I’m sorry” and being more present than preachy. So this isn’t for that day. This is for all the other days we think feel like the worst day.

And the first thing to remember on that day is this: You aren’t as alone as you feel.  

One morning, Elijah stood on a mountain. God asked him why he’s there. And Elijah replies in a way that we often feel:

He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of Armies, but the Israelites have abandoned your covenant, torn down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword. I alone am left, and they are looking for me to take my life.”

It’s a message that feels like it’s been written and rehearsed and polished and revised. It’s the kind of message that, when we are working on it, is prefaced by, “If I ever get a chance to talk to God, I’m going to tell him what I think.”

Which is, of course, exactly what Elijah had been doing for the previous 40 days.

+++

I’ll tell you more about Elijah and the other things to remember on what feels like the worst day of your life this week. But for now, I’d like you to go read that story for yourself. 1 Kings 19:9-18