SDfAoWOP: Elijah

Day Thirty-Two

I Kings 19:3

Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Elijah, the great and mighty prophet of God, at whose call the rain stops and whose hand the prophets of Baal are brought to nothing, finds himself threatened by the power of a shrewd and wicked woman. She is ruthless. She is vindictive. She, with her painted eyes, is what the world loves–rebellion, strength, self determination, pragmaticism, someone who can get things done. But Elijah has just seen the power of God. He has obediently carried out the bloody and difficult will of God. Surely he can keep the love of God and the glory of God as a banner over his heart and mind, withstanding evil and temptation. But no, even Elijah, great Elijah succumbs to the ordinary and overwhelming fear of death, and suffering, and the power of other people.

He runs away. He lets his feet take him far away, to the land of fear, to be alone, to grieve.

Are you afraid? Are the powerful and wicked arrayed against you? Can you not succeed in keeping The Lord always before your face? Does your anxiety well up like a wall to keep you alone and trembling?

It's not up to you to win, or have the right perspective, or trust God the way you should. In the place of your fear and your running away, there The Lord will feed you, will talk to you, will strengthen you. For when you are weak, then he is strong.