Arise and Eat
“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.”1 Kings 19:4 (KJV)
Some mornings you wake up wanting to quit everything. You can’t think of one good reason to get out of bed. Elijah knew that feeling. Right after his greatest victory, he ran into the wilderness, “sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough.”
God didn’t lecture him. He let him sleep. Then “an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.” And when Elijah lay down again, the angel came “the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.”
Sometimes the next faithful step is very small. Get up. Eat something. Remember who and what your work is for. Then take the next step.
Paul wrote, “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” Cast down is not the same as destroyed.
Read it yourself
Read 1 Kings 19:1–8. How far did Elijah go in the strength of that food?
When you feel like quitting, what is the smallest faithful step you could take?
Lord, when I want to give up, meet me like you met Elijah. Help me arise and take the next step. Amen.