Scared and Sustained

Have you ever been so afraid that you dropped everything you were doing and left everyone you knew to run and hide?  Elijah did that and his petrified escape is an amazing story.  ​

God’s prophet had just finished an astounding power encounter with wicked King Ahab and 450 prophets of Baal.  The Lord brought fire down from the sky to light up Elijah’s water-covered offering to demonstrate that He alone was God to a very startled Israelite audience.  But when Ahab’s wife, Jezebel, heard that he had killed 450 of her idol-worshiping priests, she pitched a fit and threatened to kill Elijah.  Instead of relying on God as he had just demonstrated, Elijah became afraid and ran for his life.  Along the way, God sent an angel who fed the exhausted prophet bread and water.
            
Meditation
1 Kings 19:8--So he got up, ate, and drank. Then on the strength from that food, he walked 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mountain of God. 
 
Humanly speaking, it is not possible to walk about 352 miles in 40 days without food.  But God supernaturally strengthened and sustained a depressed and frightened Elijah.  At Mt. Horeb, God, in a soft whisper, revealed Himself to him.  Then He sent him right back the way He came and added three assignments.  There is a special lesson for us in this story.

We don’t need to be scared of anything.  The prophet Isaiah wrote in Isa. 41:10, “Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be afraid, for I am your God. I will strengthen you; I will help you; I will hold on to you with My righteous right hand.”  Elijah forgot that God was with him.  When we act out of fear we are doing the same thing!  Fear is the friend of fallacy and gains us nothing but an unneeded dose of suffering.  Zig Ziglar once said, “Fear has two meanings: ‘Forget Everything And Run’ or ‘Face Everything And Rise.’ The choice is yours.”
            
God understands when we abandon faith to grip whatever solution we mistakenly choose for relief.  He doesn’t condemn, belittle or abandon us.  He continues loving us.  That love sustains us even when we are oblivious.  A warm loaf of bread and jug of water from God was exactly what Elijah needed.  Notice God did not tell him to stop running.  He let him flee.  Sometimes that’s what He does for us.  He lets us exhaust our own solution in order that our ears might finally open to His reassuring, soft whisper.  
            
Are you scared?  Stop looking at the source of your trouble.  Neither Jezebel nor any other adversary can destroy you.  Not if your eyes are on your heavenly Father.  He will sustain you.  He will comfort you.  He will send you right back into battle—fortified and with renewed faith.  
 
Inspiration
Feed your faith and your fears will starve to death.—Unknown
 
©2020 Daniel York  ARR.  Reveration is the weekly devotional ministry of First Cause.  If you would like to receive these devotionals go to www.firstcause.org and click on the "Click here to receive weekly devotionals" box.  Unlimited permission to copy this devotional without altering text or profiteering is allowed subject to inclusion of this copyright notice.      
 
Ecclesiastes 12:10-The Teacher sought to find delightful sayings and to accurately write words of truth.  (Holman CSB)