1 Kings 19:1-9
19 And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
2 Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
3 And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
4 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.
5 And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat.
6 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.
7 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.
8 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.
9 And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?
Why did Elijah fear Jezebel’s intimidating threats? Why did he run away from his longstanding priority of serving God and hide in fear under the shadow of that solitary tree, deep in the wilderness?
First, Elijah was not thinking realistically or clearly. He was so shortsighted that he failed to consider the source of this threat. Think about it. The threat hadn’t come from God; it had come from an unbelieving, carnal human being who lived her godless life light-years from God. If Elijah had been thinking clearly and realistically, he would have realized this.
Second, Elijah separated himself from strengthening relationships.
Third, Elijah was caught in the backwash of a great victory. Our most vulnerable moments usually come after a great victory, especially if that victory is a mountaintop experience with God. That’s when we need to set up a defense against the enemy.
Fourth, Elijah was physically exhausted and emotionally spent. For years Elijah had lived on the edge. He was a wanted, hunted man, considered by the king to be Public Enemy Number One. There is little doubt that Elijah had come to the end of his rope physically and, for sure, emotionally—all of which couldn’t help but weaken him spiritually. I don’t know if Elijah was disgusted, but I can tell you he was exhausted. You can hear it in his weary words: “It is enough; now, O LORD, take my life, for I am not better than my fathers.”
Fifth, Elijah got lost in self-pity. Self-pity is a pathetic emotion. It will lie to you. Exaggerate. Drive you to tears. It will cultivate a victim mentality in your head. And in the worst-case scenario, it can bring you to the point of wishing to die, which is exactly where Elijah was.
We open the door for that pathetic liar, self-pity, when we establish an unrealistic standard and then can’t live up to it. Self-pity mauls its way inside our minds like a beast and claws us to shreds.
Chuck Swindoll
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