Juniper Tree Wisdom - 1 Kings 19:4-8

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1 Kings 19:4-8 (KJV) 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.

What it is speaking to me

This story always makes me laugh now that I am a parent. Elijah had just won the biggest victory of his life, and now he is so sad he wants to die.

The backstory makes it more striking. Jezebel responded to Mount Carmel with a death threat, and Elijah ran for his life. Only days earlier Elijah had brought down fire and then rain from heaven. Now he sat under a juniper bush asking to die.

God's response is not a lecture. It isn't a reprimand for Elijah's emotional swings. It isn't an "O ye of little faith" conversation. God the Father's response to his child?

A nap and a snack.

Twice.

Notice the details. The angel *touched* him. There was a cake baked on the coals, so someone made it fresh. The water was set right at his head, so he didn't even have to reach. That is how I would set out a glass of water and a bowl of chicken noodle soup for a sick kid. Then the angel came back a second time, because the journey was too great for him. God didn't scold him for needing a second helping. He just kept feeding him.

A few very brief observations:

1. Sometimes a nap and a snack is the very best thing to do when you are down.

2. Our Father knows exactly what we need, even something as ordinary as a snack and nap combo.

3. We should never underestimate our need for rest. Elijah had just had a huge victory, but that doesn't mean it wasn't tiring.

4. Rest came first, and the deeper conversation came later. After the sleep and food, God met Elijah at Horeb with a gentle whisper and gave him new work and a friend in Elisha. The nap didn't replace the conversation. It made the conversation possible.

What is it saying to you?

- Are you running on empty after a spiritual high?

- What does your body need that you have been ignoring?

- Who has God put at your head, like the water jar, to care for you? Can you let them?

- Are you treating rest as laziness when God treats it as provision?

What are we going to do about it?

Go take a nap or go to bed early tonight. That's it. And don't feel guilty about it.