1 Kings 19:3-4 “And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he 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 asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” Today's episode shows us that God does not punish us when we struggle to trust or when we have fear to anxiety. He cares about us and lets us take a nap and have a snack when we are struggling. Music: "Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Come As You Are Series - Elijah
1 Kings 19:3-4 “And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he 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 asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
Elijah is someone we can relate to. He is so real and down to earth. He is a good example to us of real faith. In 1 Kings 18, Elijah gets word from the Lord that he is to go show himself to King Ahab. At this time, God’s people were worshiping Baals, the false Gods, and the Lord was not happy. God sent Elijah to show His people He was the one true God. Elijah asked the priest to call all the prophets of the false Gods to the top of Mount Carmel. He called all the people of Israel as well.
Once they were all gathered, Elijah told them to build an altar to their God, and he would build an altar to his God. They would take two bulls and each sacrifice one. They would get the sacrifice ready, but would not light it on fire. They would call upon their gods to consume the sacrifice with fire. The false prophets did as they were told, and they called upon Baal all day, but he did not answer them. There was no fire.
Then Elijah called the Israelites closer to him, and he rebuilt the altar that used to be there. He also built a trench around the altar. He told the people to get four buckets of water and dump them on the offering and the wood. He had them do this three times. There was so much water that the wood was drenched, and it filled the trench. Then Elijah said, “Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant, and that I have done all these things at Your word. Answer me, Lord, answer me, so that this people may know that You, Lord, are God, and that You have turned their heart back.” (1Kings 18:36-37) The Lord sent fire so hot that it consumed the offering, the stones, and even all the water in the trench.
The people of Israel immediately fell to their faces and said, “The Lord, He is God.” Elijah had them gather all the false prophets, and he killed them. When Jezebel, Ahab’s wife, heard this, she vowed to kill Elijah. This is where today’s verse comes in. It says, “And he was afraid, and got up and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah; and he 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 asked for himself to die, and said, “Enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
The reason I said earlier that Elijah was someone we can all relate to is that even though he was just able to call down the fire of the Lord, he is still scared when he finds out his life is in danger. Sometimes we think that if we get scared of something, it must mean that we don’t trust God. This story is a great example to show us that it is not true. Elijah called all the people of Israel up on the mountain to see God show His power. He also called 450 false prophets there to tell them to call on their God to consume their sacrifice. This requires a great deal of trust in the Lord. He had to trust that he was really hearing from the Lord. He had to trust that God would show up and consume the sacrifice. He also had to trust that the false God would not show up.
God was speaking directly to Elijah. Elijah heard God, did what God told him to do, and then saw God show up in a powerful way. Elijah knows how powerful God is. He knows there is nothing God can’t do. Yet, right after this amazing demonstration of his faith and God’s power, someone threatens his life, and he is afraid and runs for his life. He not only runs for his life, but he also asks to die. It is crazy how quickly our emotions and feelings can change. I would say that the experience on Mt. Carmel would have had Elijah on a high for days or weeks. He literally called down fire from the Lord. How cool is that? However, almost immediately after that he is running for his life and asking to die.
This is how it can be with us as well. Some days we see God do incredible things and know without a doubt He is our Lord and Savior. We trust Him completely. Then something awful happens, and we don’t know what to do. We forget to turn to the Lord. We forget how powerful He is. We just get so stuck in the moment and the fear of the situation. Being afraid doesn’t mean we don’t trust God. We all have weak moments; we are all human. Elijah knew God in a special way. They had a relationship, and Elijah could hear the Lord when He talked to Him.
Elijah had just called down fire from heaven. I would think if Jezebel was threatening his life, he could call on the Lord to protect him. Reading this, you wouldn’t think that he had any reason to be scared. The Lord is for him, and the Lord is powerful. However, that is not what happened. Instead of turning to the Lord and asking him for protection, Elijah ran for his life. We tend to think when we do this, when we forget to turn to the Lord, or when it looks like we don’t trust the Lord, that the Lord is angry with us. We think He turns away from us when we turn away from Him.
That is not what this story shows us. Elijah ran for his life. It doesn't say he asked the Lord for help; it just says he got scared and fled for his life. He also asked to die. Many of us have been there before. Things in life felt so scary that we thought that if we died, everything would be better. If we died, our loved ones would be better off, or we would be better off. We think God is mad at us when we have those thoughts. Here is what it says that God did for Elijah when he asked to die. 1 Kings 19:5-8 "Then he lay down and fell asleep under a broom tree; but behold, there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, “Arise, eat!” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a round loaf of bread baked on hot coals, and a pitcher of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. But the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him, and said, “Arise, eat, because the journey is too long for you.” So he arose and ate and drank, and he journeyed in the strength of that food for forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mountain of God.”
Was God angry because Elijah ran instead of coming to Him? No. Did he punish him for not having faith that He could protect him and take care of Jezebel? No. God let him take a nap and then sent an angel to wake him up for a snack. Then he let him go back to sleep for a bit longer and then gave him another snack. Does this fit with the idea of what you think God is? If it doesn't, I invite you to take another look at all that God has done for His people in the Bible.
God doesn’t need you to be perfect all the time. Having fear, worry, or anxiety doesn’t mean you have lost your faith or that you don’t trust God. We are all human. We are often influenced by this world. We can see a miracle one minute and then wonder if God will come through for us in the next minute. It is important to know that you are not alone when this happens to you. It happens to all of us. Elijah was an amazing prophet, and yet he struggled with feeling like he wanted to die. He knew the Lord, they had a relationship, and often talked, and yet he was not shielded from those emotions. Following God and trusting God does not mean that we will never encounter difficulties again. It means that when we do, He will be there for us even if we don’t know that He is.
My prayer for you is that by the time we are done this series you would have seen yourself in at least one, but likely several, of these stories and you can see that you are not alone and that no matter what you think you have done, or how bad you think you are, God still wants you to come to Him just as you are. You are never too far gone for the Lord. He can always bring you back. He can always use you. He ALWAYS loves you!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask you to bless each person listening today. Lord, you are amazing, and we are so grateful. Lord, thank you for looking out for Elijah and giving him rest and a snack. Lord, we ask that you help remind us to take a rest and a snack when we are upset and feel as though we want to die. Lord, we ask that you send an angel to the side of each and every person who asks to die. Lord, we ask that your angel protect them and help them make it through that moment to the next. Help them see that things will get better if they can just hang on. Help them to see that you love them and are right next to them. Help someone in their lives see them and help them. Lord, I ask that you help each person listening to this realize that you want them to come to you just as they are. Lord, help us see through the enemy's lies that no one cares about us, and let us see and feel how much you care about us. We love you, Lord. You are King of Kings and Lord of Lords. You are the almighty one, and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’s holy name, Amen!
Thank you so much for joining me on this journey to walk boldly with Jesus. If you have a person in the Bible that you turn to in certain trials because of all they have been through, I would love it if you would reach out on social media and let me know, or email me at Catherine@findingtruenorthcoaching.com. Who do you relate most to in the Bible? I would love to know. Remember, Jesus loves you just as you are, and so do I! Have a blessed day!
Today’s Word from the Lord was received in May 2025 by a member of my Catholic Charismatic Prayer Group. If you have any questions about the prayer group, these words, or how to join us for a meeting, please email CatholicCharismaticPrayerGroup@gmail.com. Today’s Word from the Lord is, “Are you the same as you were 10 years ago? 50 years ago? No. You are always new. You are always living. You are always growing. And because you open yourself to my grace, you grow in my way. You grow in likeness to me. And it pleases me.”