Food and initiative

"Arise, eat"--1 Kings 19:5

"He lay down and slept under a juniper tree; and behold there was an angel touching him, and he said to him, 'Arise, eat.'"--1 Kings 19:5.  This passage is talking about Elijah.  Elijah was one of the most prominent prophets of the Old Testament.  It was prophesied that Elijah would return during the time of the Messiah.  While Elijah was a great man of God, he was still a man.  In this passage Elijah is discouraged and scared for his life.  He had just had what some would call a mountaintop experience, quite literally if you read the story of Mount Carmel in 1 Kings 18:20-35.  But now he was running scared from Jezebel who had threatened to kill him.  He was discouraged thinking he was the only one still seeking to God's will.   God showed him otherwise in 1 Kings 19:18.  The passage for today tells us that Elijah was told to arise and eat.  This would give Elijah strength to get things figured out with God on Mount Horeb (Sinai).

Ever felt this way? Scared, discouraged and alone.  I am willing to guarantee we all have felt this way at some point in our walk with God.  It happens to everyone.  This is when it's toughest to take the initiative.  If we look at the passage we see what gave Elijah strength was not some extraordinary supernatural event but it was something as simple as food.  The appearance of the food was no doubt miraculous but it was still food that would give Elijah the strength to get things figured out with God at Horeb to get past his fear and discouragement and continue to do His work.

Ill be the first to admit that my diet is not the best.  Much room for improvement. I know we have all prayed for God to give us strength when we are faced with some sort of task.  It really boggles my mind to think that the strength God has provided for us to face the day is as close as our refrigerator or our kitchen cabinet. There is something about a good meal that just makes us feel good.  We need to be thankful to God for this basic yet crucial source of strength as many do not have access to an easy meal.  Something as simple as eating (responsibly of course) can help us get the strength to take the initiative to do God's work. ARISE AND EAT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS!