So, as I stated last week. Here I would like to propose to you, that you start to consider that Rest is a Weapon. A weapon God has given you. That He showed us, that everyone should rest. Enjoy what you’ve done. Appreciate your accomplishments. Take a breath.

And, although, rest, as we all know, is important. How is it a weapon?

Well, let’s think about it a little bit. How long is your fuse when you’re well rested? How much patience do you have after 8 hours of sleep? How clear headed are you, after you’ve been able to truly go to bed, sleep all night, and wake up rested?

What are those answers at the end of a long day, with little sleep? How well do you think at 9pm when you’re trying to problem-solve, or when your small child becomes philosophical because it’s bedtime?

How happy are you, when you’re rested?

How willing are you to help, yet another person, after a long day at work, and little sleep?

I mean, these things are all things to consider, when we’re thinking about how much rest affects how we act. We all know the answers, it’s the same for all of us. When you’re well-rested, you’re a better version of yourself. Less rest = lesser version of yourself.

But, can I also challenge you, that the Devil knows you’re tired, and that’s the moment that he takes the opportunity to pounce. He literally has nothing on his hands, but time, and one of his most effective tools – is to make you feel like you don’t have any.

Now, before you go beating yourself up and feeling guilty – please know, he does it to us all. But, we have to fight against it. We have to seriously look at our schedules, and do a couple things to really utilize this weapon. But, first, let’s read a story.

²⁰ So Ahab sent word throughout all Israel and assembled the prophets on Mount Carmel. ²¹ Elijah went before the people and said, “How long will you waver between two opinions? If the Lord is God, follow him; but if Baal is God, follow him.”

But the people said nothing.

²² Then Elijah said to them, “I am the only one of the Lord’s prophets left, but Baal has four hundred and fifty prophets. ²³ Get two bulls for us. Let Baal’s prophets choose one for themselves, and let them cut it into pieces and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. I will prepare the other bull and put it on the wood but not set fire to it. ²⁴ Then you call on the name of your god, and I will call on the name of the Lord. The god who answers by fire—he is God.”

Then all the people said, “What you say is good.”

²⁵ Elijah said to the prophets of Baal, “Choose one of the bulls and prepare it first, since there are so many of you. Call on the name of your god, but do not light the fire.” ²⁶ So they took the bull given them and prepared it.

Then they called on the name of Baal from morning till noon. “Baal, answer us!” they shouted. But there was no response; no one answered. And they danced around the altar they had made.

²⁷ At noon Elijah began to taunt them. “Shout louder!” he said. “Surely he is a god! Perhaps he is deep in thought, or busy, or traveling. Maybe he is sleeping and must be awakened.” ²⁸ So they shouted louder and slashed themselves with swords and spears, as was their custom, until their blood flowed. ²⁹ Midday passed, and they continued their frantic prophesying until the time for the evening sacrifice. But there was no response, no one answered, no one paid attention.

³⁰ Then Elijah said to all the people, “Come here to me.” They came to him, and he repaired the altar of the Lord, which had been torn down. ³¹ Elijah took twelve stones, one for each of the tribes descended from Jacob, to whom the word of the Lord had come, saying, “Your name shall be Israel.” ³² With the stones he built an altar in the name of the Lord, and he dug a trench around it large enough to hold two seahs^[a] of seed. ³³ He arranged the wood, cut the bull into pieces and laid it on the wood. Then he said to them, “Fill four large jars with water and pour it on the offering and on the wood.”

³⁴ “Do it again,” he said, and they did it again.

“Do it a third time,” he ordered, and they did it the third time. ³⁵ The water ran down around the altar and even filled the trench.

³⁶ At the time of sacrifice, the prophet Elijah stepped forward and prayed: “Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, let it be known today that you are God in Israel and that I am your servant and have done all these things at your command. ³⁷ Answer me, Lord, answer me, so these people will know that you, Lord, are God, and that you are turning their hearts back again.”

³⁸ Then the fire of the Lord fell and burned up the sacrifice, the wood, the stones and the soil, and also licked up the water in the trench.

³⁹ When all the people saw this, they fell prostrate and cried, “The Lord—he is God! The Lord—he is God!”

⁴⁰ Then Elijah commanded them, “Seize the prophets of Baal. Don’t let anyone get away!” They seized them, and Elijah had them brought down to the Kishon Valley and slaughtered there.

⁴¹ And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.” ⁴² So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.

⁴³ “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.

“There is nothing there,” he said.

Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”

⁴⁴ The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”

⁴⁵ Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. ⁴⁶ The power of the Lord came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:20-46

Now, let’s pause a moment. If we run through this sequence of events, the prophets of Baal started their offering and sacrifice early in the morning and continued into the early evening – so approximately an 8 hour worship service on Baal. Then, Elijah, (in the evening, after giving the Baal prophets a fair chance) got his sacrifice started. Which means – at that time, after being up all day, then he started to prep a bull for sacrifice. Once he was done prepping – then they built the alter – then they doused it in water – 3 times. I can’t imagine this all went quickly – so it was probably well into the evening hours by this point. Then, God answering didn’t take but a few moments – completely disintegrated the sacrifice, the alter, the stones, and all the water. Then, they gathered up 450 prophets – and killed them all. Which, I can only believe, took at least a little while. So, it seems to be a full day for Elijah at this point. (Besides the fact, that this is a culmination of years of events). Then – Elijah climbed, back up, to the top of Mount Carmel to prophesy for rain. Which took 7 trips of his servant for confirmation – so this took a minute. No where in here, is it talking about Elijah taking a nap? Then – when the rain did come – he raced Ahab’s chariot back into town. He outran a horse….

Ok. So – Full Day for Elijah – at best. Sounds to me, more like at least 1 1/2 days, more so. And – then here is this critical moment:

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”

1 Kings 19:1-2

Jezebel says – I’m going to kill you. And Elijah, after seeing what all God had done, and the fact that He had sustained Elijah in Cherith and provided for Him and the widow, and brought her son back to life, and performed these amazing miracles on Mount Carmel, and had brought back the rain after years of drought – told Jezebel, “There’s no way, My God will protect me….” ? Um, no. Not at all. You know what the great prophet’s response was?

 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, ⁴ 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.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.

1 Kings 19:3-5

He ran. He ran far, far away, and then cried out stating that he was no better than his ancestors and to please just let this whole thing be over.

I don’t know about you, but that seems like a very human response to me. Everybody hates me, nobody likes me, I’m going to go eat some worms….

But – here is another beautiful moment, where God shows us exactly what we need.

All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ 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.

⁷ The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹ There he went into a cave and spent the night.

1 Kings 19:5b-9

God’s like, “You’re alright, you just need some rest.”

With rest, comes perspective. With rest, comes strength. With rest, comes nourishment.

God just lets him rest for a bit. Elijah had just done a bunch of stuff. He had completed a marathon of years in the making. He was tired. I don’t blame him.

I also love, that this was intentionally kept in the Bible. For you and I to read. To know, that this great prophet, listed in the Hall of Faith (Hebrews 11), was so human. This example that so many people love to quote and to use an example and to strive toward faith like that – was sooooo human. So real. And, left here, to be an example for you and me. That we can experience these incredible high notes of faith, and yet still get exhausted and worn out, and need to rest. That if you’re tired – that’s OK. If you feel like you’ve been running a marathon, that’s OK. If you feel like you’ve got nothing left in the tank – that’s OK. You just need to rest. And you should come to the Father – who gives you rest.

²⁸ “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹ Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰ For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Matthew 11:28-30

Let’s Pray

Dear Father, Thank you for this day. Thank you for your amazing examples for us. Thank you for guiding us, for giving us a word in season. That you wish to bless us with rest. You want to restore our bodies and our souls. That you know, that the devil loves to keep us busy and running, to keep us away from You. But that You are the good, good Father who wants us to know that you want us to rest. To pause. To be in the intimate moments with You, God. That you are always there and waiting. That You want to guide us along the way. That you want to help us find out what rest looks like. That you are waiting for us to just pause and spend time with you. That your yoke is easy, and your burden is light Lord. That you will give us rest and refreshment for our souls. That your living water will pour into us, and through us, and into others. That you are guiding us. That you are, all that we need. That you help take our hands in the days to come – to show us what it’s like to rest. IN JESUS’ NAME!! AMEN!!