If you're tired-out... raise your hand!

If you are tired-out... raise your hand!

OK, so I bet all 2 of you are raising your hands. (and 1 of you, is me) But seriously, don't we just get tired-out sometimes? Tired-out from our own busy, busy lives and the lives of other people too. Sometimes I feel like my life is one big stove top and I have all these pots simmering... you know, stir-pour-add-taste and so on. "Put that pot on the back burner for awhile, this one is about to boil over"! AHHHH. Tired-out, at times, that's me.

I'm reminded of the prophet Elijah, he was one worn-out dude. Make some time to check out 1 Kings 18-19 for the whole story. Love this bit of Israel's history. The 10 Northern tribes, Israel, is under King Ahab's rule and things are not going well at all. Ahab is a idol-worshipping king...with a major idol-worshipping wife and the land is undergoing a severe drought. Israel had run straight into more and more idolatry and their King was leading the pack -Did you know, there were no good kings in all of the Northern Kingdom of Israel's existence? None, not one followed the Lord...yet the Lord brought one of the greatest prophet to them. Elijah. Think on that one, would you consider that a good investment? Evidently, our great God did.

Elijah did a lot of things but one of his most famous moments was the fire from heaven...licking up the water all over the alter thing. (if you didn't read the history, you should, 1 Kings 18) Well, that caused quite a stir and even a bit of a revival of sorts with the people...but then Jezebel caught wind of it and she was beyond hopping mad. She told Elijah he was a dead man and he ran. He ran hard, fast and long. Imagine...he had really seen God "show-up" and do some really amazing things, he was on a "mountaintop" like experience...He was directly in the will of God and being used by God and now he was smack dab in the middle of the wilderness- worn out and ready to die.

So, I'm not ready to die (I might be tired out but not at that point!) but I can sure relate to seeing the Lord do great things and even being a small part of some cool things and then...in the "wilderness" spiritually and emotionally, worn out and ready to quit all those things (sometimes motherhood is at the top of the list!) . Can you relate?

Well, an angel ministered to Elijah and he was strengthened to go on to the mountain of the Lord where he would hear from Him. Catch that, he was strengthened in order to go on to meet with the Lord. Interesting. Well, the Lord asked him why he was there and Elijah tells Him straight-up his perspective..."I'm all alone and everyone is against me" (Mandi paraphrase) . Please tell me you can relate to that feeling! The Lord proceeds to "show-up" to him, only He was not in the wind, He was not in the earthquake, He was not in fire. God did not "show-up" as might have been expected...not in the big show. He spoke to Elijah in the "sound of a gentle blowing." That is exactly where the Lord spoke to him. In the quiet. Do we ever slow down long enough to hear the quiet blowing? Are we ever just too tired-out to listen?

Here's the thing...Elijah once again, pours out his concern, "I can't do this anymore...I'm all alone and there is no hope." (Mandi paraphrase) How does the Lord respond? OK, in the first place, make sure you remember the Lord did respond and what does He say? "GO, and return on your way..." Love it! Love it! God tells him to go back to what he was doing! God doesn't change a thing...what He does do is equip him with what he needs to do his job. Do you realize that, if you are a Child of God, you are equipped with exactly what you need? You are not alone...there is hope! God proceeds to tell him that he is not alone...there are others and tells him to appoint a few others to help with his job.

My dear sisters, I hope that encourages you as you get tired-out in this life...it greatly encourages me. We don't get to quit but we can get tired-out...we get to be strengthened so that we can hear from the Lord, He wants to speak to you in His Word...and He will call you to GO but He will equip you and give you exactly what you need. - He'll give you Himself, in the "gentle blowing." Are we listening?