When you feel sorry for yourself

“Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, LORD’, he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’” (1 Kings 19:3-4 NIV)

Tired, hungry and afraid 

In the above passage we read how Elijah was afraid and felt sorry for himself and he complained to God about his situation. He had just received a death threat from Jezebel and ran away in fear. This fearful self-pity reaction was from the same man who had just called fire down from heaven and destroyed all Jezebel’s false prophets. It seems very odd that he was now fearfully complaining about a threat from the queen. And, besides, if he really wanted to die, he could have let Jezebel carry out her threat. Simply put, he was just feeling sorry for himself. Something else was going on in Elijah’s life to cause him to behave out of his normal character. We do learn some answers as we read more of the story: “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again.” (1 Kings 19:5-6 NIV). So, there you have it, Elijah was hungry, tired and weak. He just needed food and rest to get his strength back up. He did do the right thing by talking to God about how he felt. And God heard his cry and helped him. 

“So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God.” (1 Kings 19:8 NLT)

And, remember this…

“Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait I say on the Lord!” (Psalms 27:14)

“The Lord God is my strength; He will make my feet like deer’s feet, and He will make me walk on my high hills.” (Hab. 3:19)

“He remembered us in our weakness. His faithful love endures forever. He saved us from our enemies. His faithful love endures forever. He gives food to every living thing. His faithful love endures forever. Give thanks to the God of heaven. His faithful love endures forever.” (Psalms 136:23-26 NLT)

Therefore…

“Hear my prayer, Lord; let my cry for help come to you. Do not hide your face from me when I am in distress. Turn your ear to me; when I call, answer me quickly.” (Psalm 102:1-2 NIV)

“The Lord is my Light and my Salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?” (Psalms 27:1)

Quote:

“As Christians we should never feel sorry for ourselves. The moment we do so, we lose our energy, we lose the will to fight and the will to live, and are paralyzed.” -  Martyn Lloyd-Jones