It's that Monday morning feeling. The weekend was great, and now Monday is here.
Today's reading from 1 Kings starts with one of the highpoints in the account of Elijah's ministry. With great faith Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal to a showdown. He is hugely outnumbered, but his faith is rewarded and his God answers his prayers. Everyone sees that his God is the true God.
Then comes the surprise. Queen Jezebel threatens his life, and Elijah runs for his life even when he has just seen God honour his faith and obedience.
What has gone wrong? What does the Bible writer want us to learn?
The Bible is full of examples of real people living real lives with God – with their ups and downs, their successes and failures.
God provided food for Elijah, and then let him sleep. A second time God provided food for Elijah, and this time he gave him a new set of marching orders. This passage shows us that God takes very seriously the needs of our whole being (physical, mental, emotional and spiritual) – food, drink and rest go a long way in meeting our physical, mental and emotional needs. Perhaps Elijah hadn't really been looking after himself very well, certainly he'd been through a huge experience and needed replenishing.
These words from a great hymn sum up what happened next:
'Breathe through the heats of our desire
Thy coolness and Thy balm;
Let sense be dumb, let flesh retire;
Speak through the earthquake, wind, and fire,
O still, small voice of calm.'
So What?
What can you learn from God's faithfulness to Elijah in a tough situation?
What can you learn about the way God looked after Elijah?
Tim Norman
Read the Bible in a year: Psalm 78:17-31, 1 Kings 18:16-19:21, Acts 17:22-18:8
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