“When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.””
1 Kings 19:1-10 NLT
Elijah has just completed a monumental spiritual task and yet the evil in the hearts of men and the spirit of jezzebel doubles down. This is shocking. For Elijah, it meant he felt defeated and scared. If this wouldn’t convince them, what would? We must note that Elijah doesn’t question God, but himself. He makes the statement that he is no better than those men of God that came before him. He asks God to take his life because he sees himself as useless to the task he was made for. It can be hard in ministry to remember that all that we can do is what God asks us to do. Even after Christ died and rose again, many people refused to believe out of the hardness of their hearts. It can be tempting to equate this with our own efforts but we shouldn’t. If we have been faithful, then we can rest in the idea that God knows what he is doing. We can know that our efforts, which may seem to amount to nothing, still carry cosmic weight behind them. Indeed, Elijah’s efforts are still preached today. They did not go unnoticed and are important touchstones for spiritual warfare to this day. We must keep our faith even if things don’t immediately go as planned.
JOSH McGARY. COM 