Good morning! I can't believe it's already Thursday, June 16th, 2022. Time flies, but we don't need to get caught in the hurricane of activity. Elijah's life was like an arpeggio, a journey full of fast-moving 32nd notes, but now, God will insert a fermata, a long pause in the music. Elijah didn't have a choice. But we do! Read on …
Today's Reading:
1 Kings 17,18,19; Colossians 2
Scripture
“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life … The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and spent the night.” (1 Kings 19:3, 7-9)
Observation
Elijah is my hero … indomitable and unflappable. Resolute in spirit, he controls droughts and commands rains. Although there is a bounty on his life, he remains unwavering. He defies Ahab, strikes down more than 800 demonic priests, and outruns chariots!
You could make a movie on this guy!
But, in the third verse, something seems drastically wrong. Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, is fed up with the prophet and Elijah, and the once unconquerable Elijah runs for his life!
Was it the woman? I don’t think so. What was it?
Elijah was worn down. It made him susceptible. His constant endeavors, lengthy battles, and being pursued—yet, still having an assignment to finish—wore him out. Fatigue had depleted his immune system. It got to the point where this Israelite hero became so depressed that he couldn’t eat (19:6) and wanted to commit suicide (19:40). What we call an “all-time low,” the devil calls “an opportune moment.”
Application
Each of us will hit these points in our lives, and it will be at moments like this that we must find a “Mount Horeb.” That’s the same mountain where the burning bush was located. It is the same mountain where Moses received the 10 Commandments.
It took Elijah 40 days just to reach the location. That’s a six-week journey! I wonder how long it takes me, sometimes, to find my Mount Horeb?
But it was here that God met him.
We live such fast-paced lives, we tend to think that if we take time to be with God, we may miss something in the world! We are convinced that we have too much to do, and if we hide away on a Mount Horeb to hear from God, the world will pass us by.
Let it.
Prayer
Maybe it’s time we let the world pass by to get back in step with God. Speak, Lord; Thy servant is listening!
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