It is Enough

Have you ever had one of those times in your life where so much is going wrong inside of you and outside you, that you just desired to give up and go home with God?  You just feel like, “God, that’s enough, I can’t take another thing going wrong here.”  Well, you’re in good company.  Many of God’s precious people felt this way, David, Elijah, the Apostle Paul, etc.  Here’s a good example:

Elijah Flees from Jezebel

1 Kings 19: 1-10 

Now Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” ³ And he was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die, and said, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.” ⁵ He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat.” ⁶ Then he looked and behold, there was at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ The angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ So he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.

Elijah at Horeb

⁹ Then he came there to a cave and lodged there; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

I just love God’s response to Elijah here.  He doesn’t scold him for feeling so overwhelmed.  He doesn’t forsake him.  It says that an angel was there, in Elijah’s weariness, touching him.   Food was provided to give him strength, and then he laid down again.   The Angel of the Lord came again, provided food and said, “Arise, eat, for he journey is too much for you.”

This passage shows us God’s kindness and His loving attitude toward those of us who feel overwhelmed by life.   Sometimes the journey is too much for us.  But God sends His angels to touch us while we sleep.  He provides for us both physical and spiritual nourishment.  We are told later on in this passage that Elijah was able to run 40 straight days on the strength of those two meals provided by the angel.  What a beautiful picture of God’s care for His own.  let us become more like Him, kind, gracious and loving toward those around us who have been struggling hard through the journey of life.  And may we learn to give grace to ourselves, in our own moments of weakness.

Listen to the conclusion:

¹¹ So He said, “Go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord was passing by! And a great and strong wind was rending the mountains and breaking in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a sound of a gentle blowing. ¹³ When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, a voice came to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ Then he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.”

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and when you have arrived, you shall anoint Hazael king over Aram; ¹⁶ and Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint king over Israel; and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place. ¹⁷ It shall come about, the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael, Jehu shall put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu, Elisha shall put to death. ¹⁸ Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Turns out that Elijah was not alone, but there were 7,000 men still left in Israel who were sill faithful and loyal to the Lord, never having bowed to a false idol, like Baal.  We, too, are not alone, but are surrounded by many faithful followers of Jesus Christ.  Let us strengthen one another in these times of great distress.

The Lord was in the gentle blowing, so come away, Beloved child of God, come away from the hurricanes and torrential down pours of life.  Come away from the earthquakes, from the fires, from the difficulties you are facing now, and sit awhile in Your Father’s presence and listen to His gentle voice.  Lay your head upon His chest and rest.  Hear, feel, and know the gentle rise and fall of Your Father;s breathing and fall asleep there assured of His all-consuming love for you.

On Christ the Solid rock I stand, all other ground is sinking sand,  All other ground is sinking sand.