Exhausted
“Trust in the Lord, and He will provide a way.”
1 Kings 19:1-9a (NASB)
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.” And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he 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 asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there.
Reflection
A snack and a nap can work miracles for a person’s mood, but in today’s reading, God gives Elijah so much more than just that. God hears Elijah’s cries of worry from the wilderness and gives Elijah the provisions he needs, both physically and spiritually, to carry out his calling.
When we read today’s passage, honestly, the situation seems bleak. Elijah has just angered the most powerful and wicked woman in ancient Israel – Queen Jezebel. Looking at the situation from his perspective, Elijah has every right to be fearful. It’s easy to empathize with Elijah and maybe even understand his wanting a quick death instead of enduring the horrors that Jezebel surely has planned for him. He is alone, tired, hungry, and hiding in the wilderness with an entire army hunting him down like a wild animal. In short, he is exhausted. But the difference-maker in this situation is God.
When the Lord hears Elijah’s cries, God knows that Elijah has reached the limit of what he is able to bear. In this moment God gives Elijah everything he needs to carry out what God is calling him to do. (I would imagine that a nap and a loaf of bread prepared by God would be extremely revitalizing!) In Elijah’s moment of weakness where he doesn’t even want to live anymore, God comes to him with comfort and supernatural nourishment. This equips Elijah’s body and spirit to carry out the next step of God’s plan in his life.
We all have moments in our lives when we want to give up on what God is calling us to do. Our time, money, and willingness to speak to others, especially when it comes to strangers, can easily be areas where we become overwhelmed and feel like we can no longer do what God is asking of us. But we see in scripture and in the testimonies of so many fellow Christians that when we can no longer carry on through our own means, God is there to meet us. Trust in the Lord, and He will provide a way.
Action Steps
Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your willingness to work with me and all my imperfections. In every area I am lacking, Lord, You are abundant. Your faithfulness gives me hope and bravery. Your grace empowers me, and Your mercy provides me a way to continue through my failures. God, I look to You for guidance and provision because You have demonstrated Your willingness to meet me in my shortcomings. I open my heart to You and devote my life to Your purpose. I do this in Your name Jesus, amen.
Now Ahab told Jezebel everything that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more so, if by about this time tomorrow I do not make your life like the life of one of them.” And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he 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 asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat; because the journey is too long for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Then he came there to a cave and spent the night there.
Reflection
A snack and a nap can work miracles for a person’s mood, but in today’s reading, God gives Elijah so much more than just that. God hears Elijah’s cries of worry from the wilderness and gives Elijah the provisions he needs, both physically and spiritually, to carry out his calling.
When we read today’s passage, honestly, the situation seems bleak. Elijah has just angered the most powerful and wicked woman in ancient Israel – Queen Jezebel. Looking at the situation from his perspective, Elijah has every right to be fearful. It’s easy to empathize with Elijah and maybe even understand his wanting a quick death instead of enduring the horrors that Jezebel surely has planned for him. He is alone, tired, hungry, and hiding in the wilderness with an entire army hunting him down like a wild animal. In short, he is exhausted. But the difference-maker in this situation is God.
When the Lord hears Elijah’s cries, God knows that Elijah has reached the limit of what he is able to bear. In this moment God gives Elijah everything he needs to carry out what God is calling him to do. (I would imagine that a nap and a loaf of bread prepared by God would be extremely revitalizing!) In Elijah’s moment of weakness where he doesn’t even want to live anymore, God comes to him with comfort and supernatural nourishment. This equips Elijah’s body and spirit to carry out the next step of God’s plan in his life.
We all have moments in our lives when we want to give up on what God is calling us to do. Our time, money, and willingness to speak to others, especially when it comes to strangers, can easily be areas where we become overwhelmed and feel like we can no longer do what God is asking of us. But we see in scripture and in the testimonies of so many fellow Christians that when we can no longer carry on through our own means, God is there to meet us. Trust in the Lord, and He will provide a way.
Action Steps
- What is the hardest thing God has asked of you lately? How might He provide for you in this situation.
- Ask a fellow Christian who you look up to about a time when God asked more of them than they felt they were able to do. Ask how they saw God work in that situation.
Prayer
Lord, thank You for Your willingness to work with me and all my imperfections. In every area I am lacking, Lord, You are abundant. Your faithfulness gives me hope and bravery. Your grace empowers me, and Your mercy provides me a way to continue through my failures. God, I look to You for guidance and provision because You have demonstrated Your willingness to meet me in my shortcomings. I open my heart to You and devote my life to Your purpose. I do this in Your name Jesus, amen.
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