1 Kings 19:4-8 (NRSV)
Read 1 Kings 19:4-8 on biblegateway.com
Verse 4But 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." Verse 5Then he lay down under the broom tree and fell asleep. Suddenly an angel touched him and said to him, "Get up and eat." Verse 6He 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. Verse 7The 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." Verse 8He 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.
Devotion
We all have days when running feels like a reasonable option, when hiding—whether under the bed covers or under "a solitary broom tree"—seems a valid response to the chaos and difficulties of life. We all have days when, whether poetically or actually, we cry out to the Lord: "It is enough! Now, O Lord, take away my life..."
Such was the plea of Elijah. After running from the murderous rage of Jezebel, the prophet Elijah sat beneath "a solitary broom tree" and lamented over his condition. What was he to do? Where was God in all of this mess? Now lonely and afflicted and exhausted, Elijah "lay down... and fell asleep."
And then "the angel of the Lord" came to Elijah, waking him from his sleep and urging him to eat. In the midst of the chaos that surrounded Elijah, the Lord appeared to care for the prophet and sustain him for the journey that was to come. Such is the way of the Lord: to care for us when we are in need, to hear our cries of despair and to feed us with hope, sustaining us for our journeys of mission in the world.
Prayer
Lord, feed us with your love and hope this day. Help us to share this love and hope with others. Amen.