Liz’s Morning Devotional based upon Upper Room
October 16, 2021
Read 1 Kings 9:1-13
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 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?” 10 Elijah replied, “I’ve been very passionate for the LORD God of heavenly forces because the Israelites have abandoned your covenant. They have torn down your altars, and they have murdered your prophets with the sword. I’m the only one left, and now they want to take my life too!” 11 The LORD said, “Go out and stand at the mountain before the LORD. The LORD is passing by.” A very strong wind tore through the mountains and broke apart the stones before the LORD. But the LORD wasn’t in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake. But the LORD wasn’t in the earthquake. 12 After the earthquake, there was a fire. But the LORD wasn’t in the fire. After the fire, there was a sound. Thin. Quiet. 13 When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his coat. He went out and stood at the cave’s entrance. A voice came to him and said, “Why are you here, Elijah?”
Good Morning! Be Still and Know That I Am God!
Sometimes I have been known to overcommit myself or try to balance too many plates in the air at one time. I seem to be challenged by “free” time, and I often fill my free time with a new project. I usually manage my busy schedule very well by staying ahead of my deadlines and methodically completing tasks, but occasionally an unexpected wrinkle trips me up. When these difficulties come, I work to pull in my missing pieces, so that I rebalance my plates in the air. Admittedly, sometimes after adversity, I need to allow myself the grace to be lazy or sleep. Allowing myself grace to rest, physically, mentally, and spiritually, is a skill that I’m still working on but with God’s help I will improve.
In this passage, Elijah has reached a desperate place and his very life is in danger. He is working to serve God, but he has angered his earthly “boss”. Elijah is ready to give up and calls to God to take his life. God hears his cries and provides for his need by letting him rest and then gives him nourishment to sustain him for the long journey ahead. After his physical needs were met, Elijah was ready to listen and follow God’s call to him.
God calls each of us in different ways, for different journeys. God’s grace will provide all we need to sustain us along our path. Listen! God is calling you!
Loving God, Thank You for loving us. Help us slow down and listen to you. We often live hectic lives and we forget to rest. Thank you for recognizing our weaknesses. In Jesus’ name, we pray. Amen
Thought for the day: God can renew my strength in unexpected ways.
Take joy in God’s grace! Pastor Liz
Oh My Goodness! This was my whisper this morning! Be still...I STILL am God. Rest in Me.