Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, "May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them."
Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day's journey into the desert. He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.
All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat." He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.
The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you." So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God...
When I read this passage this morning, I spent a while puzzling over why Elijah said he was no better than his ancestors. I was thinking "but the persecution is part of being a prophet, Elijah. You know God will reward you. Just because someone wants to kill you doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong, that just proves the badness of their heart...."
But, I think I figured it out. I think Elijah says he is no better than his ancestors... because he is ashamed of running away.
But here's the thing. We, as humans, get overwhelmed. Life is tough. Sometimes too tough for us to deal with. But God doesn't expect us to be superheroes or anything like that--we just need to rely on him.
In verses 5-8 we see God provide. The angel tells Elijah that this is too much for Elijah to do by himself - good thing he has God's help, ne?
I don't really feel a need to draw this back to personal experience. I think it's self-evident that we get overwhelmed sometimes. Soo... owari.
I don't know if my posts here will become more frequent, I must say. I'm studying for JLPT N2 in December (beyond my ability), as well as uni, so I'm rather pressed for time. But it's good to start the day with God and hopefully I can continue doing that at least.
