Elijah said, “I have been very zealous for the Lord. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn down your altars, and put your prophets to death. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me to.” (1 Kings 19:10)
From the mountain top to the deep valley below, we all experience what the prophet Elijah experienced from time to time. It’s called burn out. Now I know some Christians are not willing to admit it because they have been taught to keep a “stiff upper lip” and never let anyone “see you sweat.” But this is as sad as it is silly. Because we have not been perfected yet, and won’t be until we are received into glory, we will all, from time to time, go through “Broom Tree Experiences” –
Exhausted
Depressed
Feeling Alone
Ready To Give Up
God had just used the prophet Elijah to defend His glory by defeating 450 prophets of Baal. And after one of the greatest victories in all of the Bible, he has come to the end of his proverbial rope because the pagan queen Jezebel sent word to him that she was going to kill him by the next night. So, Elijah experiences a false sense of failure and wants to simply end it all and make the pain go away, “He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die” (1 Kings 19:4). BUT GOD will have none of it. God meets Elijah in his place of deep need and miraculously provides for his needs. Elijah needs refreshment and restoration, and God provides food, both physical and spiritual. As he slept under the broom tree, the angel of the Lord shows up saying, “Arise and eat!”
We have all found ourselves in “Broom Tree Experiences. We have given our all in the service of God and our all just didn’t seem like enough. We felt drained, depressed, and in utter despair. Then God showed up. And He keeps showing up every time we go through these seasons of struggle. When you find yourself under the broom tree for whatever reason, remember the Lord is with you, for you, and in you, and the words He spoke to Elijah He is speaking to you, “Arise and eat!” What a word of encouragement for every Broom Tree Believer.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 