JULY 23, 1 Kings 19:3-8 

You must know what a marathon is. It is a very tough and long race of about 42 km or 26 miles. Wow – 26 miles – that is very long. But do you know? Elijah ran a distance almost four times that because he ran a hundred- mile-long marathon, from Jezreel in the north all the way to Beersheba in the south. He was desperate to get away from Jezebel. Leaving his servant in Beersheba, he traveled for another day into the wilderness. Then, he came to rest under a juniper tree. There, he requested the Lord to take his life. He felt that his ministry as a prophet had failed and he could be of no more use to God. Then he fell asleep.

Don’t we sometimes think we fail, like Elijah did? Don’t we sometimes tell God what to do instead of asking Him to tell us what we should do? So, what was God’s answer to Elijah’s request? He sent an angel to wake Elijah up to eat the cake and to drink the water brought to him. He did and fell asleep again. It was obvious that God’s answer was no. The angel of the Lord was sent a second time and said to him, “Arise and eat: because the journey is too great for thee.” God sustained him with food that would give him sufficient strength for his journey to Mt. Horeb that would last for forty days and forty nights. God knew where he intended to go.

Previously, Elijah would go wherever God commanded him to. Now, he went to the wilderness on his own accord. It was not ordered by God. Yet God showed him mercy.

Fill in the blanks:

Elijah was so lonely, tired and discouraged that he wanted to ______________ . But the Lord did not want him to die and so the Lord sent angels to give him______________ and ______________ .

Thought: God decides when we are born and when we die.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, all power is in Thy hands. May Thy goodness and mercy follow me all the days of my life. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.