Running for his life

And when he saw that, he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. 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!" – 1 Kings 18v3-4

How often does this happen? We have a great spiritual victory. We are excited and rejoicing and praising the Lord. We are on top of the world. Everything is looking great. God has answered a prayer and we are on the victory road. Finally, the struggle is over and we are on our way.

Then, BOOM! We run smack into a wall. Bad news comes. We go from the mountain peak to the valley floor in an instant. Everything comes crashing down.

We are not alone. The same thing happened to Elijah. We went from the mountain top of Carmel to death threats from the queen. Jezebel told him that he would be dead before nightfall.

So what did he do? The victory was forgotten – he ran for his life. He found a tree, sat down in its shade, and cried about his situation. ‘You might as well take my life God, I have had enough.’

I like that Elijah was a man with the same feelings and weaknesses that we have. It makes him more real. We can identify with him. He is not some perfect Bible guy who has no problems.

Elijah forgot that the God who was with Him in victory has already been with him through the tough times. He had forgotten that God was with him under the queen’s death threat just like He was with him on Mt Carmel.

The problem is that I can forget the same thing. It is easy to see God in the good times and forget he is there in the bad times.