Elijah gets sent a message that Jezebel is going to kill him and he runs for his life. We just saw a great display of faith. Now, he has no faith that God will protect him. He runs away.

Maybe the reason Elijah went to Jezreel, where he ran to with supernatural speed was that God wanted him to hear the threatening message. Do you realize how God tests our heart? God hears each complaint of our heart and sees each choice.

Elijah is going to see what’s in his heart and God is going to share some truth with Him. God doesn’t scold Elijah, though. He takes care of him. Elijah is asking to die. Running for his life, wasn’t living in God’s strength. He was taking his life in his own hands. It left him curled up wanting to die. God comforts him. He sends an angel to feed him as Elijah takes a time to rest alone.

God strengthens Elijah because God has more for him to do. God sends him on a journey, a forty-day journey, and as Elijah’s going with God, God provides the strength and sustaining.

Moses at one point despaired as well. At another point, he spends forty days and nights on a mountain and then God speaks.

We have a similar situation here. Elijah takes his long journey to hear from God. God spoke to him plenty of times other places, but God is working something in Elijah.

God’s always working for us. That doesn’t mean working to make everything good and perfect in our worldly eyes. He’s working for us, working on us, making us his vessels for honor to carry out His work, for our good, for His glory.

Elijah recognizes God’s voice. It comes in a thin silence, not a wind, earthquake, or fire. You have to be still and silent to hear it.

Elijah does, but he still has hurt in his heart. He repeatedly tells God that he has been really zealous for the Lord, but he’s left alone.

God lets him know that he has appointed others to take care of Elijah’s enemies, who seek his life, but also that he has preserved 7000 who haven’t worshiped Baal. Elijah isn’t alone. God is also going to give him a protégé, who will be able to take over for him. God sets Elijah’s thinking straight and meets his need.

God is going to grant that Elijah gets rest from the journey of life, but not yet. God still has work for him to do. God, Himself, will protect and preserve Elijah until the work is accomplished. And God will be his strength to do it.