During the time of the prophet Elijah,
the people of Israel had become
comfortable
adaptable
easy to sway.
A little too easy.
They began to worship both the Lord and Baal;
both the God of Abraham
and the Canaanite “Cloud Rider”,
a god of rain and storm
who (they believed)
brought fertility to both the land
and the people.
The prophet Elijah
fearlessly confronted this sin.
He challenged King Ahab
and his foreign-born wife, Jezebel.
He took on the prophets of Baal
and stood up to the Israelites
bolding proclaiming
a drought on Israel
as punishment for idolatry.
Ezekiel proposed a contest
to see whose God
could control the weather –
whose Lord could rain down fire
upon their altars.
When the priests of Baal failed,
Elijah had men pour water on the Lord’s altar
ignite the offering,
and put Baal’s prophets to the sword.
And yet,
after this display of power and purpose,
Elijah became fearful,
Dejected.
Indecisive.
Threatened with death by Jezebel,
he ran away,
fleeing to Judah,
a region outside Jezebel’s influence.
Elijah,
The man who called down fire down from heaven—
The man who raised someone from the dead,
The man who defied Ahab and Jezebel,
The man who broke the power of Baal
journeyed into the wilderness,
and sat down to contemplate death.
‘I have had enough, Lord.’
‘Take my life;
I am no better than my ancestors.’
Despite his success,
despite his call from God,
Elijah had come to the end of his rope.
He wanted to give up.
“Take my life, God!
“Take my life. I can’t go on!”
In despair and exhaustion,
Elijah fell asleep in the shade,
awaiting death.
Maybe you can relate to Elijah.
Maybe, despite your own spiritual success,
your own triumphs over evil,
your own battles with stubborn people
and wicked leaders,
and idols
who compete for attention,
there are times when you have just “had enough.”
Times when you come to the end of your rope.
Times when you want to set aside God’s call,
Turn your back on your responsibilities,
claim a nice, shady spot under a broom tree,
and let God find someone else
to do His dirty work.
“Take it, God.
I can’t move one more step.
Fight one more battle.
Take up one more cause,
Stick a fork in me,
I’m done!”
We may not find a broom tree to lie under,
but we can run away.
We can turn off.
We can step aside.
We can, like Elijah,
fall into the sin of arrogance,
believing that God’s work depends entirely on
our own efforts.
And yet,
as Elijah discovered,
God meets us in that despair.
Instead of chastising him,
Cutting him down to size,
Telling him to
“stop whining and get over yourself”
God meets us in our exhaustion.
When we are brave enough,
Empty enough,
Fearful enough to say,
“I’m done, Lord!”
God meets us
and provides for our needs.
“Eat the bread,
or the journey will be too much for you.”
Take and eat.
This is my body, broken for you.
Life is hard,
and I am Bread for the journey.
I am courage when you are afraid.
I am strength when you are weak.
I am whole when you are broken.
I am Bread for the hungry.
Even when we run away to the wilderness,
God shows up.
Even when we have nothing left to give,
God shows up.
Even when we lie down under a broom tree,
longing for death,
God shows up.
So, get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my flesh for the life of the world.
Get up and eat.
Your journey is not yet over.
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