| Ever feel as if you have spaghetti for a backbone? When I feel like giving up, I think of good ol’ Elijah and our verse for today. Even a powerful prophet can discover he has noodles for knees. Queen Jezebel had heard through the grapevine that Elijah had wiped out hundreds of her prophets. So she went after his neck. And Elijah ran for his life. When he reached the desert, Elijah gave up. He didn’t even have the courage to do himself in. Instead he begged God to perform a mercy killing on him.
Do you see yourself in this picture? Whether we’re terminally ill, on our last legs, or hunch-shouldered with a bad case of the Monday morning blues, all of us sometimes say, “I’ve had enough.” There’s hardly a one of us who hasn’t at one time or another wanted to throw in the towel.
Each of us can draw comfort that we are all as vulnerable as Elijah. How did this mighty prophet surface out of his despair? God didn’t give answers; he gave himself. He ministered to the prophet, handing him food and giving him sleep. God even offered a listening, empathetic ear. The record shows that the Angel of the Lord agreed that “the journey is too much for you” (1 Kings 19:7). Then God presented Elijah with new work to do. Sometimes switching focus onto others is just what the doctor would order.
As surely as the Angel of the Lord gave the prophet a sip of cool water and laid him down to rest, the Lord touches your life through the people he places around you. People are the hands and heart of God to you. If there are no people? God will personally come through for you, giving you strength out of nowhere.
Do what Elijah did. Carve out time for rest. Watch your nutrition. Spend time with God. Seek out fellowship. Look for ways to help others. It’s a prescription to help ease depression.
God of rest and restoration, show me how to turn to you for help when I slump emotionally. Tune my heart to the ways in which you want to minister to me, and help me to be responsive. |
