I have been debating what to write about today. I finally settled on this passage:
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!”
Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
1 Kings 19:1-8 (NKJV)
Here we see Elijah faced with great trouble. He had gotten a great victory over the prophets of Baal, but was now running in fear of his life. He had reached the point of exhaustion, and could not go any longer. He sat down, just wishing he could die.
We tend to get a little judgmental of Elijah, thinking “How could he act that way when God gave hime such a victory? Where was his faith?”
Yet when we get to a point when we can go no longer, we feel the same way. We don’t want to go on either, we would rather die, and the anguish of the heart is more than we can bear.
While the victory we had in the past can encourage us, and the hope of the future can encourage us, we sometimes are faced with a horrendous present. The immediate situation is dire, and the pain is so deep, so terrible, that we would welcome the end.
After this Elijah has a visitation, an angel that gives him provision. After a time of rest he recieves a second visitation, gaining further provision. Only then does he have the strength to go on again, and he goes forward in supernatural strength for forty days and nights.
After that, Elijah was able to speak with God concerning his condition (1 Kings 19: 9-14). Then God gives him instruction, and sends him to Elisha, who would be his protege. He also tells Elijah that there are others who do not serve Baal. (1 Kings 19: 15-18)
When faced with these situations, we sometimes need the same kind of help. It can be very hard, heartbreaking, and lonely. That is when we need God. We need His visitation, His provision of strength, His promise of help in the future (our “Elisha”). And most of all, we need to know that we are not alone. We need to know that God is there, and we need to know that there are others who have not “bowed to Baal” - in other words, there are those who stand with us.
To those who are faced with tremendous difficulty, I say hold on. God loves you just as much as He did Elijah, why should He not respond in like manner? And to those who are not faced with great difficulty, there is someone who needs to know that you are willing to stand with them. Don’t take it lightly when someone is in deep need, in deep anguish, and in need of assurance that they are not standing alone. That may take commitment, time, and putting one’s self on the back burner for awhile. Be willing to do whatever it takes.
Be blessed and have a great day.
