A friend told that her life seems overwhelming right now. The night before I read this story about Elijah.

He had just experienced a great outpouring of God’s power in a contest against 850 prophets of idols. It actually was no contest at all, with God having an overwhelming victory. Then Elijah received physical superpowers to run in front of King Ahab’s chariot all the way down the mountain. However, he had to keep on travelling because of Jezebel’s death threats, and he’d had more than he could handle.

He (Elijah) he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree. (1 Kings 19:4-5)

Elijah ran out of hope. He couldn’t see that anything was ever going to change, and he was so very tired. He was also hangry. He’d had enough.

As had my friend. She had found a Christian counselor, and she showed me some of the things they were working through together, starting with self care.

But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. (1 Kings 19:5-6)

Her counselor urged her to sleep, eat, and relax. Not just tonight, but until you start to feel restored. Get some exercise, and then, we’ll consider what to do next.

Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” 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. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. (1 Kings 19:7-9a)

So, now, tell me a little about what’s got you in such a fix. What’s on your mind.

But the Lord said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
Elijah replied, “I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too.” (1 Kings 19:9-10)

What followed was a little centering practice. What do you really believe? Who do you know? Who loves you?

Elijah experienced storms, lightning, earthquakes, and a still small voice (1 Kings 19:11-13). My friend did a 180-degree pivot to look at God instead of the problem.
God, in all His might and glory, still hears you and whispers, in your ear, encouragement for the path ahead. “BTW, there is a path ahead, and I’ll help you figure it out.”

Then God asked again, “Why are you here?” to Elijah. And also to my friend.
And the answer didn’t change. Overwhelm. Anxious. Tired. Hopeless.

Then the Lord told him, “Go back the same way you came, and travel to the wilderness of Damascus. When you arrive there… God gave Elijah a task. “Here’s the first thing I want you to do.” When that was done, there was another important thing to do, and then a third. God gave Elijah a list of obtainable tasks. (1 Kings 19:14-18)

The counselor did the same thing with my friend. “Let’s just look at two small things this week. We’ll make a little chart and you can make a list. Then we’ll go over it and decide what to look at next.”

---

That’s when we had our conversation. As we talked, I realized that what God did for Elijah when he got to the end of his rope (1 Kings 19) was very similar to the steps she was taking with a counselor to get through this rough patch.