Elijah walked a whole day into the wilderness. He stopped and sat down in the shade of a tree and wished he would die. “It’s too much Lord,” he prayed. “Take away my life; I might as well be dead!”–1 Kings 19:4 (GNB)
AS Elijah sits under a Juniper tree, he is sad, lonely, dejected overwhelmed with a feeling of discouragement and frustration over what seems to him a hopeless situation. He is tired, he is weary. I wonder, what man or woman is there among us who has not, or who will not at some point identify themselves with Elijah. Because of the weakness of our human frames it is all too easy to become tired, weary, to become overwhelmed with discouragement and frustration as the burdens, trials and cares of this life press heavily upon us. Has your heart ever become so heavy that you felt like you were in a hopeless situation? Have you ever, if not literally at least mentally, cried out “Why me””–“Why this burden, affliction, trial, sickness or even death.?” If it has never occurred in your life, then I envy you. I confess that there are those moments when fear, frustration and discouragement become my momentary companions and the temptation to sit under that Juniper tree weighs heavily on my heart. I refuse to do so and pray that you will also refuse to do so. Will our hearts ever become troubled, will we ever become tired and weary because of the load we must carry? Yes, yes, yes but there is no reason for us to allow our lives to become consumed with discouragement and frustration. I am grateful, I am thankful that we have an anchor for our souls as we make our way down this pathway of life. That anchor is the Lord Jesus Christ.
“My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus blood and righteousness
I dare not trust the sweetest frame But wholly lean on Jesus name.
On Christ the solid Rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand.”
Hear Peter, “Casting all your care on him for he careth”–1 Peter 5:7
Hear the Psalmist, “Cast thy burden on the Lord and he shall sustain thee”-Ps.55:22
Hear David, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want”–Ps. 23
When the storm clouds gather, when the wind blows, when it seems as if darkness is about to envelope us, when we grow tired and weary, may we always remember our Lord is there with us and he is able to lift us up to a higher plane, he is able to bind up our broken hearts, he is able to hear all our wounds As a faithful child of God, we do not have to ever sit under that Juniper tree!!!
Charles Hicks