Dr. DeVata Davis
Have you been through – or – are you currently going through the fire, the wind, an earthquake, a storm – and still nothing about your situation has changed?
Do you feel like you can’t take on one more thing in your busy, tumultuous life?
Are you at the point where you just want to run and hide and be left alone?
Have your friends run out of advice to give you, along with patience for you?
Are you down to your last nerve?
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired?
What will you do now?
That’s for you to decide. But, before you make any decisions, dig deep and muster up enough courage and strength to try just ONE MORE THING. I promise you it will be well worth it. It might even change your life.
Let me point you to a story in the bible that recently rocked my world and put me on a path that is steady, and peaceful, and CALM.
Let’s take a look at 1 Kings 19:4-18 (NKJV). Here’s the backdrop to the story from Chapter 18. Elijah was in a battle with the prophets of Baal, in which he challenged them that the God who answered by fire was the true God. Elijah prayed to God and He answered by sending fire from heaven that consumed the sacrifice, the wood, the stones, and the dust, and lapped up the water in the trenches. Then, Elijah killed the 450 prophets of Baal. After seeing a cloud the size of a man’s hand, Elijah outran Ahab’s chariot to the entrance of Jezreel. When Jezebel heard what he had done, she sent a message to Elijah that she was coming to kill him.
Elijah ran for his life. The story continues . . .
4 But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die, and said, “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
5 Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree, suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
6 Then he looked, and there by his head was a cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again.
7 And the angel of the Lord came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.”
8 So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.
9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
10 So he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
11 Then He said, “Go out, and stand on the mountain before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore into the mountains and broke the rocks in pieces 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 and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire a still small voice.
13 So it was, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. Suddenly a voice came to him, and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
14 And he said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; because the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
15 Then the Lord said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
16 Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as prophet in your place.
17 It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill.
18 Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”
Let’s break down this scripture a bit. First, let’s take a look at Elijah’s response after he received Jezebel’s message. Remember, Elijah was an anointed, appointed prophet of God who had just scored a victory over 450 prophets of Baal. Yet, when Elijah’s life was threatened by a woman who did not know God and who hated him, he was gripped with fear. Elijah did what we will often do when we are gripped with fear. Science tells us that when fear grips us there are generally two responses – either FIGHT or FLIGHT. Elijah chose FLIGHT. He RAN – not to a friend’s house for help, not to the house of God, but into the wilderness – a desert place.
In the wilderness, most likely exhausted from running from Jezebel, Elijah sat down under a broom tree where he prayed that he would die. (According to Nelson’s Bible Dictionary, a broom tree is a dense, twiggy bush, almost leafless, which grew up to 12 feet. It is sometimes referred to as juniper in the KJV, NKJV, and NASB.)
I find it rather interesting that Elijah was not just running from Jezebel, he was gripped with fear. After a day’s journey, he had an emotional breakdown and sat in utter depression and despair under a broom tree wanting to die. It is there that he prayed to God to take his life. Perhaps Elijah felt it was better to die at the hand of God than at the hand of Jezebel.
Consider this. What are you running from that has you so afraid? Where are you sitting today in your spirit? Are you sitting under your own broom tree in the wilderness or at some other desert place in your life? Are you depressed, in despair, and wallowing in self-pity, screaming inside “This is enough! It’s too much! I can’t take anymore!”? Are you perhaps wondering if it is better to die than to face your circumstances? Do you not know that God sees you under your broom tree?
Before you let your thoughts and emotions take you too far, let me remind you that just like Elijah, your story doesn’t end here in the place where you are currently sitting. Just like Elijah, the wilderness or desert place you are in is the exact place where the Lord sends His angelic help to strengthen you for the journey toward His purpose for your life that you MUST take. For Elijah that help came while he lay down and slept under the broom tree for it was then that an angel suddenly appeared, touched him, and instructed him to eat for the journey ahead of him. For you, help just might be this article that God has you reading at this moment.
(TO BE CONTINUED)
