By Chuck Griffin
LifeTalk Editor
1 Kings 19:1-8: Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life like the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” Then he was afraid; he got up and fled for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongs to Judah; he left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a solitary broom tree. He asked that he might die: “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my ancestors.” Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, “Get up and eat.” He looked, and there at his head was a cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and lay down again. The angel of the Lord came a second time, touched him, and said, “Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.” He got up, and ate and drank; then he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb the mount of God.
In stressful times like these, we sometimes are going to feel down. We may get so down that we think we cannot get back up. If we recognize that reality, our chances of coping when the time comes will improve dramatically.
Our verses above are just a small part of a long story in 1 Kings about a struggle between God’s prophet, Elijah, and the idolatrous Queen Jezebel. Here’s the irony: Elijah’s fear and ultimate collapse occurred right after a great victory over the Jezebel-sponsored prophets of Baal.
It’s not as strange as it sounds. Elijah had been caught up in what was, for all practical purposes, a war. There was a ritual battle to call down fire from the sky. That, and the slaughter that followed, left him as vulnerable as any soldier who has just experienced fierce fighting.
“The greatest danger is the moment of victory,” said Napoleon Bonaparte of the mental fatigue and malaise that occur when soldiers have fought and then suddenly stop. Even winning doesn’t counter the collapse that can follow.
We need to remember that once this Covid-19 virus is defeated; we may have some odd reactions once the crisis is over.
Elijah ran, but in running, he did one thing right. He cried out to God. The prayer was as simple and inappropriate as “take away my life,” but at least the prophet knew to call on God. And instead of death, he received grace, in the form of angel cake and water, allowing him to be restored and hear more from God.
If you find yourself on the verge of collapse, cry out to God with whatever is on your heart. Grace will come—after all, we worship the God who poured out saving grace, the kind of grace that allows us to keep going for all eternity.
Lord, we are a broken people, but restore to us our best lives so we may serve you better. Amen.
Methodist Life 