"But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.
And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.
And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee.
And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God."
1 Kings 19:4-8
There is a lot more to this story before and after, but I wanted to call out this section because I think we all experience times in our lives where we are "weary of life" for various reasons (Genesis 27:46, Job 10:1). In these verses it is Elijah, and he leaves his servant behind and asks God if he can just be done.
And here I think is one of the reasons that God is great. Unlike a fallible human, God doesn't grant Elijah his misguided wish, or even discuss the possibility. He sees through the drama, recognizes that Elijah is tired and needs some help, and he sends his angel to help him... not to directly cheer him up, but to prepare him for a journey.
Later in the story God gives him reason to hope, and gives him someone to help him, but first, here, he just takes care of him and gives him time and space to realize that he is making a poor choice.
Today, as we are weary of our lives for various reasons, let's remember that it is totally okay to nap under a juniper tree (or wherever) and gather strength for a few days, but let's not give up. Instead, when we feel overly dramatic, let's turn to God and let him prepare us for the journey ahead. There is always something good waiting when we serve God... but there are sometimes going to be hard times along the road to get there. Let's trust in the Lord, and believe in the hope ahead, the promised land, the happy ending... all of the good blessings that God has in store. There is always a happy ending with God, if we trust him and keep going.
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