Many years ago, there was an uneducated man who traveled from town to town teaching. He had noticed for quite some time that his home country was beginning to fall apart. The leaders were not as attentive as they had used to be to the needs of the people; they seemed to be greedier than ever and had begun making international treaties and agreements with dangerous and unethical nations. He started challenging the ruling parties, calling them out on the injustices they committed and pointed out the ways in which they were leading the nation in the wrong direction. After one particularly astounding victory, the nation’s leader had had enough of this man and ordered his immediate arrest and capture. So he ran. He hid. With no one to take him in and give him shelter, he eventually found himself exhausted, hungry and alone, such that for the first time ever, he despaired and gave into hopelessness, even asking God to end his life. This man was the Prophet Elijah.
We have all hit points of despair, of being overwhelmed and past the verge of collapse. Most of us have not been to this place of asking God to end our life, but in the face of unfair and unjust treatment, we have wanted to give up. We have grasped hold of our pity and misery (at some point).
In these times, many of us often want someone to sit and commiserate with us over our failures; join us in blaming the mistreatment of others; maybe even help us find a way to escape. But this is not what God does.
When the Angel of the Lord came to Elijah he did not ask him what was wrong, nor cast blame on Queen Jezebel, nor did He even recall the betrayal of the Israelites in giving themselves over to false Gods. Rather, he told Elijah: Get up and eat . . . or the journey will be too much for you.”
Our Lord is not looking behind to the things that were done, either to us or what we have done ourselves. Rather, He looks to what we need to follow Him, to be united with Him and to lead others into His Kingdom. It is no small thing that He looks to what we need for our goodness, our strength and our healing. This is the God who does not take joy in the condemnation of a sinner, but in his repentance and conversion.
It is the same with Jesus, who came not with the bread of Angels, but to give us the Bread of Life—to give us what is needed for our sake and for our neighbors and the nation around us. Get up! and eat what you need.
Our God is not one who pats our head and leaves us sitting under the Broom tree, but who spurs us forward and seeks to give us what is needed for greatness. So take and eat, do not look back at hardship and failures, but follow Christ who is always spurring you forward.
