Confession 195: God Sustains

To say my boys have been a little wild lately would be an understatement.  Having moved into my parents house for the week while foundation work is being done on our parsonage, the boys have taken complete leave of their senses and seem to have left their ears back at our house!  They are loud, destructive, mess-making creatures who bring chaos with them at every turn.  While visiting my grandma in her assisted living facility yesterday the boys were running up and down the halls and around the dining room playing cars with legos.  My grandma, loving every minute, laughed and asked me, "Are they like this at home, too?" 

"ALL THE TIME!!" was my response.

Now in all fairness, my boys are generally pretty good.  They have wild moments, as any boys do, it's just that with all of the change this week their wild moments have become the norm and not the exception.  I was thinking yesterday that I was going to have to drive the 240 miles to my in-laws and drop the boys on their doorstep! :-)  (My parents are in Canada doing mission work this week.)  And then, as will happen, God spoke with me this morning from the prophet Elijah.

Elijah says to the Lord, " I have had ENOUGH, Lord!"  ...he lay down under the tree and fell asleep.  All at once an angel touched him and said, "Get up and eat..."  The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, "Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you..."

1 Kings 19: 4-7

Interestingly, or maybe I should say, humanly, Elijah spoke those words to God shortly after God had displayed his power on Mount Carmel, exposing the priests of Baal as frauds and demonstrating once again to the nation of Israel that Yahweh is the one, true God.  Yet instead of being full of confidence, of recognizing that he, Elijah, served the Most High God, Elijah took Jezebel's threat to end his life seriously and headed for the hills.  Even though God had shown Elijah firsthand his power, his glory, his might, Elijah still said, "I have had ENOUGH!"

The truth is, there are situations in all of our lives where we decide to tell God enough is enough, despite the ways God has sustained us in the past and our knowledge that he will do so in the future.

But here's what I love...instead of telling Elijah off, commanding him to get up and stop being a baby and get the job done, God ministers to Elijah.  God comforts Elijah.  God sustains Elijah.  Do you see the love God has in his heart for his people?  Do you feel the love God has for you?  Elijah told God he had had enough and God responded with comfort and care, with empathy and compassion.  God said, "I know this journey is too much for you, so let me see you through."

Have you recently told God you've had enough?  I want you to know that God knows you've had enough.  He knows this journey is too much for you.  And, he loves you with a love so great, so deep, so wide, so high that he is bringing you nourishment that will strengthen you, sustain you, and see you through!!

Blessings and Peace,

Sara