Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
July 25, 2021
Read 1 Kings 19:1-9
1 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, how he had killed all Baal’s prophets with the sword. 2 Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah with this message: “May the gods do whatever they want to me if by this time tomorrow I haven’t made your life like the life of one of them.” 3 Elijah was terrified. He got up and ran for his life. He arrived at Beer-sheba in Judah and left his assistant there. 4 He himself went farther on into the desert a day’s journey. He finally sat down under a solitary broom bush. He longed for his own death: “It’s more than enough, LORD! Take my life because I’m no better than my ancestors.” 5 He lay down and slept under the solitary broom bush. Then suddenly a messenger tapped him and said to him, “Get up! Eat something!” 6 Elijah opened his eyes and saw flatbread baked on glowing coals and a jar of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then went back to sleep. 7 The LORD’s messenger returned a second time and tapped him. “Get up!” the messenger said. “Eat something, because you have a difficult road ahead of you.” 8 Elijah got up, ate and drank, and went refreshed by that food for forty days and nights until he arrived at Horeb, God’s mountain. 9 There he went into a cave and spent the night. The LORD’s word came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
Good Morning! We are upheld by God’s omnipotent hand!
It is very foggy here in Orlando this morning. As I peer into the fog, I think of those times when I’m unsure of my next step. I ask, Have I made a wrong turn, Lord” or “Did I understand your will, or did I interpret your will in a way to do what I wanted instead? During our times of anxiety, we sometimes feel as though we are walking in a fog. We want to see what our future holds instead of trusting God to lead us on our way. When I feel myself drifting into the fog, I am working to become better at turning my anxieties and fears to God. Faith is believing without seeing! Faith is trusting God to bless us even when we believe that we have failed.
At some point in our lives, each of us faces failure, maybe even what we consider an epic failure, from which we so no return. There are endless emotions that come into play at such times: sadness, anger, embarrassment, anxiety, shame. We might even think that we can never show our face again after such a fiasco. As ‘humans, we have a hard time with the idea of true forgiveness where we believe that we/they can forget our failure. We sometimes exaggerate our failure into something much more important than it really is in the grand scheme of things.
Elijah was at such a point in his life. He believed that he had allowed himself to fall into the same trap of his ancestors: Moses, Job, and Abraham who each had those moments of doubt that led to feelings of failure. Elijah asks the Lord to take his life for he feels that he is no longer worthy to be God’s prophet. God’s messenger tells Elijah to nourish his body with food and rest because he has a difficult journey ahead. Sometimes in times of deep distress, we add to our anxiety by not eating or resting as we should. Elijah ate and slept and was spiritually nourished as he began his journey.
It’s more than enough, Lord! Elijah shouted in his dismay. Yet, God wasn’t yet finished with his faithful servant, Elijah. Elijah has many more blessings in store for his life. Blessings that he will share and show others the way. So it was not enough; how could he know that it was? It is God alone who knows when we have done enough and enjoyed enough, but we do not know. God loves each of us and will be with us always to lead us through our foggiest days! Hallelujah! Thanks be to God!
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. Sometimes we are so weak that we forget that you are there to lead us. Please continue to send messengers to remind us to take care of our physical needs, so that we might be ready to hear your message for us. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: I will seek God’s strength in my times of need.
Love! Trust! Believe! Pastor Liz
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