So I'm reading the story of Elijah, the wonder prophet. That guy was amazing. Calling down fire on captains and their men for disrespecting him (I can think of a few church members:), telling the king it wouldn't rain again until he told him it would, challenging 450 prophets of a false god. Having them all killed. Praying for rain, then running in front of horses to lead them safely down the mountain. Then he falls asleep under a juniper tree...in the rain, only to be awakened by a messenger from the queen. Bottom line: you are so dead, dude!
What did the super prophet do? Freaked and ran. Which is a lot like me. Not the super prophet part...but the freaking and running part. It seems when we come to the end of our physical strength, often our spiritual resolve goes with it. In short, physical exhaustion leads to spiritual burnout. They are directly linked somehow. I don't know how, but I do know that when I am most tired, I am also most spiritually vulnerable.
What about you? Are you getting enough rest? Or are you running on empty and finding that your spiritual resolve and strength are also gone? Think about that. Answer honestly.
Can you imagine the people of Israel the next morning after Elijah's big showdown on Mt. Carmel? They probably looked for the prophet, but couldn't find him. They didn't know that he had received a death threat during the night and in his exhaustion had high-tailed it out of town. Just the day before, they had been on their faces declaring, "The Lord, He is God." And now, with no prophet of God in sight, they had no idea what they should do, so they did what they always did. Went and sacrificed to Baal. What a waste.
There is something to be said for faithfulness even in the midst of discouragement. Had Elijah remained, God could have wrought a signal victory against Baal worship in Israel. But Elijah didn't stay. And the faith advantage was lost. Perhaps we fold too easily in times of discouragement. Perhaps if we hold on, God can use us to "change the culture". But often, we come to the end of our strength and we lose heart. And we run.
Here's the cool thing. God didn't dog Elijah for his failure. Instead, God gave Elijah a vacation. And fed him. Perhaps God expects more failure out of us than we do.
Elijah ran. And ran. And finally, when he felt he had put enough distance between he and Jezebel, he collapsed. This same guy is the one whom God had hidden for 3 and a half years, though Ahab had searched all of Israel as well as all the surrounding countryside. It is much easier to trust God when you have it all together and you are feeling good. But much harder when you are exhausted and broken.
That's where we find Elijah. Exhausted and broken. And the cool thing is, rather than slip a lightning bolt to land just behind him to motivate him, God does something cooler. He loves him. He sends an angel to fix a meal and then gently awaken him. Elijah sits up, eats and then goes back to sleep. Me? I would have freaked that there was another being sitting there with me. But scripture doesn't give any reference to that. It only says he ate and went back to sleep.
Sometimes, what we need to rejuvenate us is rest. Sleep. A break from media. A quiet place in the middle of nature where we can simply ponder life and then go back to sleep.
Have you thought of taking a personal spiritual retreat? It doesn't have to be for 2 or 3 days, but maybe just an afternoon of solitude and stillness. Don't wait until it is too late. When the pressure is rising and the stress levels are increasing, schedule a half day retreat...or a full day...or better yet, 2 or 3 days away where it is just you, God and the quiet. Rest helped Elijah the super prophet...it might just help you.
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