were destroyed, and the heavens opened
in rain! Seems like all would be well with
his soul, right? But soon threats from the
powers that be had found Elijah, and he
decided to call it quits:
And when he saw that, he arose,
and went for his life, and came to
Beersheba, which belongeth 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 juniper tree: and
he requested for himself that he
might die; and said, It is enough;
now, O Lord, take away my life;
for I am not better than my fathers
( 2 Kings 19: 3–4).
Why would Elijah turn from complete
and total faith in his mighty God to complete and utter distress to the point of desiring death? I think it must tend to be the
human condition. We see God do great
things in our families and in us, and then
a crisis comes—again—and we seem to
wilt down and peter out. I can really relate
to Elijah’s tired faith and extremely short
memory, because when I look carefully at
his story, I see my own story unfold:
1. He is physically tired (huge presentation and long marathon). I am
easily tired by my to-do list that
never ends.
2. Even after a victory, he realizes
he has to continue going strong. I
must keep fighting for the souls of
my children.
3. He believes he is the only one
not “bowing the knee” to other
gods. I sometimes feel alone in
not “bowing the knee” to public
education.
4. He becomes depressed and says
he’s no better than his faithless
fathers. I compare myself with
others and come up dissatisfied
with who I am.
5. Tiredness led to an attitude of
defeat. He says, “It is enough.” I
also go from being tired to saying,
“That’s enough.”
What was God’s response? Was God
disappointed in Elijah? No. He under-
stood Elijah’s humanity. Going back to
Elijah’s story, when he was at his lowest
point, God intervened in several ways.
Looking again in 1 Kings 18, God was
near Elijah in these ways:
1. He brought Elijah food and told
him to sleep. God knew what
Elijah needed.
2. Not only did God give him food
and rest, but He also gave Elijah
strength for the journey to meet
Him in the holy mountain.
3. God showed Elijah His glory there
in a wind, fire, and an earthquake
and then spoke to Elijah quietly
and personally.
4. The Lord assured Elijah that thousands had not given up.
5. Finally, God gave Elijah specific
direction and sent him help.
I have known God to rescue me in
the same ways that he rescued Elijah. I
just needed to sleep physically and rest
in God’s provision spiritually. After
this time of refreshment I, too, awaken
with the right perspective. I eat of God’s
Word and worship Him. I then remember He is great, and I engage in the quiet
conversation between God and man.
I am assured that I am not alone. And
ultimately, I have been given direction
and help.
From tired to triumphant—it’s what
God does.
