Do you have seasons in your life that overflow with demands, deadlines, stressful schedules and abundant responsibilities? Do you ever feel stretched to the breaking point? Have the fumes run out in your gas tank?
I’m clear that life can have ebbs and flows, undulating between work, pause and hopefully some balance in the middle. At the same time, I know that despite our best attempts to regulate and pace ourselves, sometimes life can exceed our efforts and we can find ourselves overwhelmed.
I was talking with God about this challenge, and I was reminded of the events in Elijah’s life in 1 Kings 18-19. At this time in Israel’s history, Elijah was God’s prophet who confronted King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Because Elijah’s prophecies to Ahab and Jezebel were corrective and required repentance, Elijah wasn’t popular with them. Whenever there were interactions and dialogue between Elijah and Israel’s king and queen, it was downright ugly and combative.
As such, it’s not surprising that the tension escalated to the point of a huge showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal (those loyal to Ahab and Jezebel) at Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18. In this showdown, 850 prophets showed up for Baal and Asherah, while Elijah was the solo prophet for Jehovah. Long story short, the Baal prophets wore themselves out trying to get Baal to answer their prayers and gyrations with fire from heaven. In contrast, Elijah built an altar, soaked his sacrifice in water (during a time of drought) and asked Jehovah, the true God of Israel, to answer by fire—and that’s what happened, miraculously.
When God consumed Elijah’s sacrifice with fire from heaven, Elijah told all of the spectators to slaughter the prophets of Baal and Asherah because they were false prophets. That’s exactly what happened, and then Elijah prayed for rain to break the drought. Elijah outran King Ahab’s chariot to escape the flood of rain that God sent in answer to his prayer. When Queen Jezebel heard all of this news, including her prophets getting slaughtered, she was very angry and sent a message to Elijah that she was going to kill him.
Jezebel’s message freaked Elijah out, and he ran into the desert to escape her murderous intent. In his flight, he took a pause under a juniper tree and God’s angel fed him two times. The angel also told Elijah that the journey was too much for him. After some rest and sustenance, Elijah traveled forty days into the wilderness and hunkered down in a cave. After all of this, there was a supernatural windstorm, an earthquake and a fire, then God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice.
When we find ourselves run ragged in the rat race of life, stretched far beyond the breaking point, we would be wise to let God help us find some pause. In the pause that God can give us, let’s be sure to look after our practical needs for food, water and sleep. And let’s prioritize our attention to hear and experience God’s still small voice in our lives, resting in His loving presence and restoring truths. Rest can help us hear God’s voice and experience
His presence.
