The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat…” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God (1 Kings 19:7-8).
Father, You remember us in our weakness—we give thanks to You, God of heaven, Your love endures forever (Psalm 136:23, 26). God of comfort, You give strength to the weary and increase the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:29).
As encouragement for our faith, the apostle James tell us that Elijah was a human being, even as we are (James 5:17). And as help against our weakness, the writer of 1 Kings shows us that Elijah was a human being even as we are. But You, Lord are the same God who met him in every circumstance—in the strength of confident prayer or in the weakness of deep discouragement.
Lord, with You as our God, we should face life with faith, and trust, courage and confidence. But You know our struggles with fear and discouragement, weakness and weariness. So You come to us in our hideaways of burnout and exhaustion, self-pity and despair, and You remind us:
Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak (Isaiah 40:28-29).
And You wake us from the slumber of fatigue and despair and feed us with the bread of angels, not once, but as many times as it takes to revive us, and strengthen us for the road ahead.
Thank You, Father, that You check our unsound thoughts when we complain, “My way is hidden from the Lord; my cause is disregarded by my God” (Isaiah 40:27). Thank You that in the lonely moments of dejection, seclusion and withdrawal, You send us ministering spirits, and the food we need to strengthen and sustain us till we get to the mountain of God. Till we regain the wonder of Your might and majesty.
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