Elijah had been working fearlessly to challenge the worship of false gods in Israel, and proved that his God was the true God, but when Jezebel threatened to kill him for what he’d done, he got scared. Overcome by fear, he ran for his life into the desert. Alone, tired, hungry and emotionally drained, he announced, ‘I have had enough, LORD…Take my life’ (1 Kings 19:4 NIV). Now, we probably won't be facing threats to our life, but we can recognise Elijah’s reaction. He was wrestling with the same emotions we do when we’re feeling completely overwhelmed. It must’ve crossed his mind that all his hard work hadn’t been worth it. He was so full of fear and doubt that he wanted to give up, to run, to look for a way out. In other words, he was ‘human...just like us.’ So what can we take from this? Even though Elijah had done amazing and brave things for God, he wasn’t immune to discouragement. He’d got no reason to think God wouldn’t protect him, but his fears took over and made him take his eyes off God. When our emotions get the better of us, we need to check if they’re actually springing from negative thoughts (‘I’m not good enough’/’I’m too scared’/‘What’s the point?’ and so on). Romans 12:2 says ‘let God transform you...by changing the way you think’ (NLT). So when we feel like shouting at God ‘I’ve had enough, I can’t take this anymore’, instead, we can ask Him to renew our minds and help us see things from His perspective.

What now?
Get a piece of paper. Write down a task or situation you’re facing that seems overwhelming, and how it’s making you feel. Keep your piece of paper somewhere safe - we’ll be using it again over the next few days.