Refreshed And Strengthened

The LORD . . . said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights.

1 Kings 19:7–8

It can take just one message—one tweet, phone call, comment, note, text, or social media comment—to reduce us from a high to a low. It’s one of the Devil’s favorite tactics to distract us and control us, but with God’s help we can bounce back.

In today’s verse, the prophet Elijah had just routed 450 prophets of Baal and seen God perform a great miracle of victory. Yet, in the next scene, it only took one threatening messenger from the evil queen Jezebel to send him running for his life, cowering in fear. He curled up under a tree and prayed to die. But when he fell asleep, an angel came and revived him: “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you” (v. 7).

Sometimes one small message from the pit of hell can pull you out of the fight. You run and hide, deflated. But when you call out to the Lord, He will refresh you, heal you, and strengthen you. He will get you back on course to fulfilling your destiny.

Lord God, protect me from the messengers of this world who bring me down. I run to You to renew my soul and strengthen me.