One bad day… those three words are typically the catalyst for almost every superhero story that we have ever enjoyed over the years. Bruce Wayne was living a fairly unexciting life until one bad day irrevocably changed the trajectory of his destiny forever and led to his life of vigilante justice as Batman. Matt Murdoch was just a normal boy until an accident stripped him of his natural vision and led to his enhanced senses as the blind yet super-humanly protector of the streets known as Daredevil. Tony Stark was living a billionaire’s dream life until one bad day nearly ended it at the hands of his own devices, and Iron Man emerged from the rubble with a newfound sense of purpose and destiny. But the opposite is also true… one bad day has also led to the tragic creation of entire leagues of supervillains who were driven mad by some form of tragedy or loss, or they experienced an accident that left them in a condition that mutated their world into a horrific nightmare. These “bad days” came for all of them, and how they chose to react to these circumstances redefined them in ways that would irrevocably change the course of their destiny.

This juxtaposition of similar tragedies resulting in a binary choice to become either a superhero or a supervillain becomes even muddier when you add in a character like Frank Castle, who seemingly chose both paths as his “one bad day” essentially ended the normal life of Frank and replaced him with “The Punisher”. And nowhere is this conundrum more clearly articulated than when Matt Murdoch’s Daredevil and Frank Castle’s Punisher faced off in both a physical and mental battle of ideologies… as Matt Murdoch and Frank Castle physically fought over the correct response to the darkness of the world surrounding them, Matt pleaded with Frank to maintain his moral compass despite his pain. But Frank’s response was as cold as the form of justice that he had chosen as his new calling in life when he responded, “You know you are one bad day away from being me.” And that has been the dividing line between almost every superhero and their greatest villain, that at their core they are not so dissimilar and in a different multiverse they may even switch roles or become friends… they just chose to make a different choice than their counterpart after one really, REALLY bad day.

Even as followers of Christ, we are not immune to the tragedies and losses that everyone experiences in life… throughout the Bible we find countless stories of those who have hearts for the Lord and still had to come face-to-face with “one bad day”. From the horrific attacks by the enemy on Job that left him childless, broken, financially ruined and physically damaged to the tragic loss of her husband and family members that left Ruth widowed, homeless, and at the mercy of handouts to prevent starvation, every member of the “faith hall of fame” has experienced a series of “bad days” that changed the course of their lives and attempted to redefine them in this new broken state. And in our grand finale in this series about how to respond to a “broken season” in our life, one of the most encouraging examples of what the Lord has to say to us when we are at our breaking point can be found in the story of one of the mightiest men of God who ever lived and experienced his “one bad day” immediately after the day of the most incredible breakthrough of his life. Elijah didn’t experience a “season of brokenness” the way Job, Ruth, Joseph, or many others did… he went from the mountaintop to the bottom in just one day.

1 Kings 18:17-24 Then it happened, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said to him, “Is that you, O troubler of Israel?” And he answered, “I have not troubled Israel, but you and your father’s house have, in that you have forsaken the commandments of the Lord and have followed the Baals. Now therefore, send and gather all Israel to me on Mount Carmel, the four hundred and fifty prophets of Baal, and the four hundred prophets of Asherah, who eat at Jezebel’s table.” So Ahab sent for all the children of Israel and gathered the prophets together on Mount Carmel. And Elijah came to all the people, and said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow Him; but if Baal, follow him.” But the people answered him not a word. Then Elijah said to the people, “I alone am left a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. Therefore let them give us two bulls; and let them choose one bull for themselves, cut it in pieces, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it; and I will prepare the other bull, and lay it on the wood, but put no fire under it. Then you call on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the Lord; and the God who answers by fire, He is God.”

Let’s set the stage… Elijah was a prophet of God who had been sent with a message to the wicked King Ahab of Israel that there wouldn’t be any rain until Elijah called for it. Then he disappeared for three years… three years of drought while King Ahab unsuccessfully attempted to hunt Elijah down. Finally, the Lord told Elijah that it was time to confront not only Ahab but the entire nation of Israel and the pagan religious system they had installed that led to the drought in the first place. The showdown may be the most epic visual recorded in the Bible, and I can practically hear Michael Buffer announcing it on the microphone… “In this corner, weighing in at approximately 158,000 pounds, stands the tag team of King Ahab, the 450 prophets of Baal, and the 400 prophets of Asherah… and in this corner is the challenger, weighing in at 185 pounds, the scourge of Israel, ELIJAH. Let’s get ready to RUUUUUUUMMMMBLLLLLLE!”

Elijah chose a means of battle that was both symbolic as well as practical… two alters, two sacrifices, no fire, and the God who set their alter on fire would be known as the real one. (If you never fantasized about controlling fire or manipulating the elements at some point in your life then you and I had WILDLY different childhoods). If you know the story, then you know that the false gods were revealed by their silence and the one true God answered by fire from heaven at Elijah’s prayer of faith, and the crowd went wild. The false prophets were all executed, the Lord sent the rain, and Elijah experienced one of the most incredible days of victory ever recorded. But Elijah’s “one bad day” was lurking in the shadows of his greatest achievement…

1 Kings 19:1-4 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 tomorrow about this time.” And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”

Right on the heels of his best day ever when he literally called down fire from heaven, took out almost one thousand wicked prophets, outran a chariot, and ended a nation-wide drought through a massive rainfall, Elijah hit rock bottom hard and fast. He fell from the highest of highs to giving up on life in just one moment… his one bad day erasing all of the victory that he had just experienced and replacing it with utter hopelessness. But the Lord did not condemn Elijah’s depression, nor did He scold him for his emotional response to this threat on his life… instead, he sent him on a journey to teach Elijah a lesson that was as important for him to hear then as it is for us to understand now. Three very specific things that Elijah needed to hear in his moment of despair… three encouragements that some of us may need to hear during the “broken seasons” we are enduring as well.

1 Kings 19:11-18 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice. So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because 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 to take my life.” Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria. Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Elijah was on the run from a hostile enemy attack that came after him right after the Lord had provided the most visceral victory Elijah had ever experienced… a tactic that the enemy of our souls still uses on each of us. Our enemy is on a mission to steal, kill, and destroy (John 10:10)… but the Lord in His grace has an answer for each of these attacks if we will get alone with Him in prayer to hear His still, small, voice guiding us through this storm. First, He reminded Elijah that he still had more missions left to fulfill… Jezebel and her scheme to destroy Elijah would NOT be successful, and the man Elijah anointed (Jehu) would actually be the one to end her reign of terror (2 Kings 9). Second, He sent Elijah help in the form of Elisha, a mighty prophet who would follow Elijah and learn from him until it was time for Elisha to continue Elijah’s prophetic legacy and take his place (2 Kings 2). And third, the Lord reminded Elijah that he was not alone… as a matter of fact, there were THOUSANDS more people just like Elijah and he simply wasn’t able to see them from his current vantage point. And as we reflect on how the Lord contradicted the enemy’s plan to destroy Elijah’s life and legacy and instead confirmed His continuing plans despite this “one bad day”, a few realities become clear for each of us who have either experienced similar setbacks or are enduring a potentially life-defining tragedy of our own.

Just as the mighty man of faith Elijah showed us in his moment of weakness, we are all “one bad day” away from a faith-shaking attack by the enemy of our souls… satan comes to steal our “happily ever after” (Ruth), kill our God-given dreams (Joseph), and destroy our very lives (Job and Elijah). But the good news is we don’t have to FEAR these attacks, we simply have to be prepared for them to come and place our trust firmly in the Lord who has already overcome them (John 16:33). These attacks WILL feel intensely personal and life-threatening, and it is the devious nature of the enemy that brings the fiercest attacks immediately after our moment of greatest joyful triumph… all designed to take good men and women and turn them into broken, hollow versions of who they once were. Even the crucifixion of Christ came just a few short days after what is known as His “Triumphal Entry” into Jerusalem (John 12)… the same crowds that were singing His praises in a ticker-tape parade would turn the tables a few nights later and assemble to chant “Crucify Him”. One way or another we will ALL face the attacks of an evil adversary who has come to break us… and in the Lord’s response to Elijah we can all stand firm on the solid rock of His grace and the same promises that He STILL has a plan for us, He WILL send us help, and we are NOT alone.

In the defining moment of Marvel’s cinematic universe, there is a scene that could not be more appropriate as an analogy for Elijah’s moment of vulnerability followed by the Lord’s reminder of His Divine providence even in the midst of our most personal battles… barely standing on the battlefield, beaten and wounded, Captain America stood alone as the massive armies of the genocidal Thanos came into view. Armed only with the knowledge that he had to stand tall against this enemy regardless of the outcome, Cap tightened his battle-damaged shield and prepared himself for a battle that had no visible winning outcome for him. He was hopelessly outnumbered, physically depleted of his strength, and had already lost this battle once before. But this one wouldn’t end the way it did last time… as Captain America prepared himself to face what appeared to be a foregone conclusion against an overwhelming opponent, he heard the sound of a still, small voice whisper into his earpiece “on your left”. And as he stopped to look behind him, he saw a portal open up and a small batch of supporters arrive… followed by another portal, and another, until THOUSANDS of previously invisible reinforcements assembled with him to face the greatest threat earth had ever seen.

Like the fictional Captain America or the very real prophet Eijah, our enemy will try to break us by making us feel alone, outnumbered, and overwhelmed by their intimidating threats and attacks. But rather than permit these events to silence us or send us running to the hills, let’s tighten the buckle on our “shield of faith” (Ephesians 6:16), “assemble” together with our fellow believers in solidarity (Hebrews 10:25), and reground ourselves in our Savior who has already overcome the world (John 16:33). Our enemy WILL try to come in like a flood (Isaiah 59:19) to break our spirits, and even the mightiest people of faith are just one really bad day away from a fall if we forget that we are all only standing by the grace of God (1 Corinthians 10:12, Romans 5:2). But we can take heart in the compassionate way that the Lord neither condemned nor abandoned Elijah when his faith was low… instead, He came in as a still, small, voice to remind Elijah that He was STILL the omnipotent God who had just supernaturally answered by fire the day before, and He lovingly strengthened the faith of His child with a reminder that there was still work to be done, help was on its’ way, and Elijah had thousands of support options that he just couldn’t see yet. And in our real-world battles, we have the same choice to make… even if we already ran from the battlefield or were defeated the first time.

It can be hard to stand tall on the same field of battle that contains our greatest defeat… and when we can’t see any path to victory it is tempting to simply allow our “bad day” to become the place where all of our dreams are buried with finality. But that is why we are equipped with a “shield of faith”, placing our full defensive strategy to quench the fiery darts of our enemy in our complete belief in what we cannot see (Hebrews 11:1). And in the midst of our greatest storm, we can choose to reject the narratives that they attempt to place on us and instead allow them to propel us into the unique destiny that would never have been possible if that “one bad day” had never happened. The Lord didn’t design our pain, but He WILL take our trembling hands into His nail-scarred hands and remind us that we are NOT alone (Matthew 28:20), He will help and strengthen us through this journey (Isaiah 41:10), and we have a greater destiny on the other side of this disaster (Jeremiah 29:11). We can hold onto this promise in our darkest night, that “greater is He that is in US than he that is in the world” (1 John 4:4), and while we will all endure different levels of trials and tribulations on this planet, we don’t have to win these battles. We just have to stand tall in our armor, endure the storm underneath the shadow of His wings, and keep a tight grip on that shield of faith no matter how overwhelming our opposition appears. Let’s bring the Lord our broken shield of faith today… and bring ourselves to a place of quiet prayer with Him so we can hear His still, small voice of reassurance and find both healing and a new sense of purpose while we are still in the midst of our “broken season”. And if we submit our broken hearts and shattered dreams to Him, He will take what the enemy intended for our evil and turn it into good (Genesis 50:20).

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