A Broom tree is more of a desert shrub than it is a tree and is found in many parts of Judea. It has long flexible branches and forms a bush that reaches heights of up to 12 feet. If you were to go walking in the deserts of Judah you may even find Nomadic desert dwellers finding shelter and protection under them from the strong night winds and the hot desert sun in the day. What a place of retreat they become for those who seek shelter under them. There are times when I feel like retreating or taking refuge myself under a tree somewhere, preferably at the lake…fishing. But there are sometimes that I just want to retreat from everything and everybody. Emotionally drained, spiritually dry, tired of the constant attacks against my faith and the demands placed on me by others, as well as myself….whew….it can all be so overwhelming emotionally, spiritually and physically. I was thinking about all this the other day and the Lord brought the prophet Elijah to my mind. He reminded me that Elijah had those same thoughts. As a matter of fact Elijah got so down about his situation that he became afraid, and his fears led him to run off into the desert. There he came to a broom tree where he sat down under it and prayed to the Lord that he might die. Now praying to die is a very serious situation to be in. While I have only felt depression that bad one time in my life…I can attest to the fact that there have been many other times that I have wanted to run away to a place of recluse and be alone. When those times of wanting to give up and quit… being so tired and fed up, discouraged and depressed, wrung-out, drained and burned-out… thinking I cannot take another step, fight another battle, or proclaim another word from the Lord to anyone….yeah, I can understand from feeling all those thoughts how good an old desert broom tree might look….fishing or no fishing. Elijah had just come down from a mountain top experience with God when Jezebel, the wife of King Ahab, sent word that she was looking for him…to kill. She hated Elijah with a satanic hatred and Elijah knew it. Now James the half brother of Jesus said of Elijah (James 5:17)… that he (Elijah) was a man with a nature like ours…yet he moved heaven and earth with his prayers…and in I Kings 19, we find him in a totally different place spiritually. How could he have had such a faith in past times and yet, struggle to trust God to be in control of his current situation. Elijah was a busy man. Busy for God, busy for the people and too busy for himself. He was a man that had done great battles, and dealt with ruthless people. He called fire down from heaven and saw God destroy 100 false prophets in one whack….he saw God feed a starving old woman and her son through the power of a prayer. He saw God raise the widow of Zarephath’s dead son through his prayers, yet at the moment when he heard that Jezebel was after him to kill him… his faith was weak and his heart was heavy…heavy enough to cry out…"I have had enough Lord….I want to die….I’m no better, no different than my fathers before me", he told the Lord! Why?…..because in thinking that he could not go any longer, he failed to realize that he was limiting God as well as himself. He was focused on his work. He had reduced himself down to where he had wrongly concluded that God’s work was limited by the boundaries of his own work and since he felt defeat for himself and unable to go on, he failed to see that he was merely a frail instrument in the hand of his mighty God. Elijah was placing too much responsibility on himself and he needed not do so. God does not expect us to make it happen…He only ask that we be the vessel or instrument that He uses to do whatever it is that He needs us to do. Now there is no doubt that Elijah was a great man used of God…about that there can be no doubt. Few men other than Jesus ever possessed the authority that he did. So when we see and hear Elijah under the broom tree we realize that someone greater and stronger was behind him and only that one greater could be his help and release. We can know that ultimately our battles continue to belong to the Lord. Like Elijah, we are but weak and frail instruments in the hands of a mighty and awesome God. The devil is attacking us from every direction. He attacks us through the increasing decadence of our culture. He attacks us through a secular humanism that wants to remove all mention of God and Christ and prayer from the public square as well as our own memory. He attacks us through churches and doctrines that strive for political correctness, the tickling of ears of those who want acceptance instead of repentance and obedience to the Word of God. He attacks through wrong friendships that seek to misrepresent the TRUTH that we once believed…and encourage wrong living…And He always attacks us through the wickedness of our own hearts. For Elijah the devil attacked him through his thoughts and beliefs. Elijah was challenged to base his faith on what He knew about God…not what He felt at that time. Elijah did not stay under the broom tree forever, but he found rest, food and retreat to get back on his journey. God took care of Elijah’s enemy and provide him the help that he needed through Elisha his servant. God knew that one day Elijah was going to recruit to that broom tree in the desert. He knew it back before creation began. He even knew that Elijah was going to pray to die. Yet, the Lord used his life before the broom tree and ministered to him, feed him and gave him the rest he needed during his depression and discouragement….and afterwards, Elijah got up and got back in the battle. Now sweet friend I may not know where you are today….but I can assure you in faith that God has not deserted you….if you are tired and weary of your situation, hang on….find your broom tree, get under it and pour your heart out to God….let Him feed you and provide you the rest you need in His arms….then may I encourage you to get up when the time is right and get back into your ministry, your job, your family….cause God is not through with you yet… and besides you can’t live under your broom tree the rest of your life. God told Elijah… to eat, drink and rest because God knew that Elijah’s journey was going to be great…and so Elijah did rest and eat and sleep…..and when God was ready to speak to Elijah He spoke in a gentle blowing wind…a quiet word …not in the big stuff that Elijah might have been use to seeing….but ever so softly…the Lord spoke and told Elijah what He needed to do….Elijah was tired and felt alone…like he was the only one left that loved God and wanted to do right and serve Him…..God knew the desires of his heart and that Elijah needed a friend, a companion that shared in his zealousness for God…so God sent Him to find Elisha to anoint him to one day take Elijah’s place …but in the meantime…the Bible says in I Kings 19:21 that Elisha arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him. Just think about that a moment….God sent Elijah to the exact person that He was going to use to encourage him. Had he stayed under the broom tree he would have never met his future friend that was to be his helper and encourager for the rest of his life! Don’t you dare be discouraged friend…you are loved even when you don’t feel it, see it or even believe it...Keep on keeping on, even when you don't feel like it....God's people are to walk by faith not by sight.....nor how they feel…please know that I love you and that you have been prayed for today! Keep on keeping on…don’t give up….don’t give up!
Bren
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