Hey guys! Welcome back. I have a short Bible study I want to share with you today. It can also be viewed on my YouTube channel!
Yes, you read the title right. And I know where I’m going with this, I promise.
In today’s culture we hear the words ‘self-care’ a lot. And I definitely agree with self-care. Mental and physical self-care is important but, like anything, it can be taken too far and become selfishness. However, we’re not going to get into that today. I want to get into a time in the Bible where self-care was needed and NOT taken care of, and God had to step in and provide it, instead. And I want to really examine the result.
The story in the Bible I’m talking about is in 1 Kings chapter 19. Many of you have probably heard this story before, and there are lots of memes about it on the internet. I’m just going to start out reading verses 1-9.
1 King 19:1-9
"When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: 'May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.' Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord,' he said. 'Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.' Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, 'Get up and eat!' He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.' So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night."
Above is an example of the type of broom tree that Elijah might have rested under.
So the meme that goes around about this story says never underestimate the power of a snack and a nap! And I love it, it cracks me up every time I see it. Reading it below you can see it isn't entirely accurate, but still funny. As much as I love the meme, if we look over the verses, Elijah had good reason to be distressed—his life was being threatened by Jezebel.
Queen Jezebel and King Ahab had been out to have Elijah killed for a while. In 1 Kings 16:33 it says that Ahab did more to provoke God to anger than all of the kings of Israel who came ahead of him. Ahab was not winning any awards for serving God, and Elijah was the prophet that God sent to let Ahab know that he was messing up big. Of course, Ahab doesn’t want to hear this, so he redirects blame for his troubles and that blame is planted squarely on Elijah's shoulders. In 1 Kings 18:17 Ahab calls Elijah ‘the troubler of Israel.’
So Jezebel threatens to kill Elijah after he makes a mockery of and kills her prophets of Baal at Mt. Carmel and he becomes fearful of her and runs away. After all, she is REALLY mad. He travels for a day out into nowhere, into the wilderness. The Bible says Elijah understandably he gets tried and sits down under a tree to rest. A lot of adrenaline running though your body from fear will wear you out quickly. Add a lengthy day's escape to that and collapsing under the nearest tree looks swell.
Elijah has been having a hard time at this point. He has had to run for his life, he’s tired, he’s depressed. Every last one of us would be feeling all of these things—we’d have all the feels. Fearing for your life would be mentally exhausting in itself, let alone a long journey. On top of that he has just defeated the prophets of Baal and his reward for a great victory for the Lord is for his life to be threatened. It seems shocking that after such a great victory he is now so deep in the trenches, but I think this is actually an important reminder for us. When you have victory in the Lord, Satan is especially prone to prowl around looking to destroy after that!
Elijah is mentally and physically exhausted and he tells the Lord, "I just want to die." And then, being exhausted, he falls asleep.
After he sleeps for a bit, an angel wakes him up and says, “Hey, eat this.” So Elijah looks around and finds bread and water. He eats it and goes back to sleep. Then the angel comes again and says, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too hard for you.” So Elijah obeys, gets up, and eats a drinks again. He doesn't even question this angel showing up and feeding him, or ask about this journey that is mentioned. And here is the part that amazes me. The Bible says that food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights!
What?! Clearly God’s carbs are better than the carbs that I eat. I can’t get a piece of bread to fill me up for more than like two hours before I’m hungry again, but carbs that are delivered from an angel will last you for forty days and forty nights.
The taste of toothpaste in my mouth lasts longer than carbs do in my stomach.
The speed in which carbs disappear in my stomach are matched only by the speed at which they appear on my thighs.
I bet God’s carbs don’t even make you gain water weight.
Anyhoo..... I WANT GOD'S CARBS. And I don’t mean that I actually want carbs brought to me by God….although that would be pretty awesome. What I mean is that I want to rely on God’s care before I rely on my own self-care.
Clearly, Elijah was not practicing any form of self-care, so God had to step in. God had work for Elijah to do, but the man was in absolutely no state to do it. But even if Elijah had given himself the care that he needed in that moment, it still wouldn’t have lasted long enough for the job that God needed him to do. I can go get my nails and hair done when I’m feeling down and it might revive me for a while, but it isn’t going to revive me long enough for me to do the job that God needs me to do. And there’s nothing wrong with those things, the occasional self-pampering! We just can’t expect them to do for us what God can.
True revival and nourishing of the spirit only comes from God. From spending time with God, spending time in His word, and seeking Him in all aspects of your life. It’s amazing how long I can worry over a situation and wonder what I should do—all while not praying over it—and absolutely nothing gets done. But as soon as I start asking the Lord, I start getting answers. Getting direction and answers for my life is better self-care than any pretty manicure I can go and get. And I LOVE pretty manicures! (Color Street, anyone?)
My husband can take me out to 1000 dinners where I get time to rejuvenate, but it’s never the same as the rejuvenation I get from God. God’s answers, God’s direction, His love, His guidance, and His truth are what I really need to get through my day to day calling that He has led me to. No matter if that is being a wife, mother, teacher, preacher or friend. Getting a hold of some of God’s good carbs gives me the strength to do those things and do them well.
I don’t know what God put in that bread he fed to Elijah, but clearly it was something amazing. And it's proof that God sustains me better than I can ever sustain myself. God’s carbs are better than the carbs that we try to give ourselves. I’m not sure why that’s surprising. After all, Jesus IS the Bread of Life. If you haven’t spent time with the Lord in a while, go get ya some of that bread.
What has God called you to do? In your life, on this day, in this hour? With COVID around and the state of our country, maybe He has called you to homeschool. How will you do that without His carbs in you? We've homeschooled before and it's exhausting! Maybe He has called you to take a leap of faith and leave your job for something else. HOW will you do that without His carbs of direction? Without His strength and foresight into your future? How will you do the hard things that God calls you to daily if you don't immerse yourself in renewing your trust in Him? Without filling up on His carbs?
Elijah ate of the Lord's carbs, his strength was bolstered, and he was able to journey into the next thing that God had for him. GO get some of God's carbs! Go spend time with the Lord, read and study His Word, take a few minutes to talk to Him, seek His guidance......and see how much more you have to give to the journey He has called you to.
Wishing you all God's love and smiles,
Chala