Today’s Scripture Reading (February 23, 2026): 1 Kings 19
We can’t work our way into the
Kingdom of God. Yet, that seems to be our preferred way of chasing after God.
We do stuff, or sometimes we say stuff. God, if this is going to happen, then I
will have to work to get the job done.
It doesn’t work. In fact, often a
belief that we can achieve the goals of God with hard work ends with depression
because we can’t get the job done. Depression is part of life, but some things
can aggravate it. In this passage, two things are abundantly clear: Elijah has
worked hard, and he is depressed.
There is no
doubt that Elijah has been busy. Listen to his complaint. “God, the people have rejected your
covenant, but I haven’t; I am still working on your plans and goals for Israel.
They have torn down your altars, but I haven’t. I have just built a new one dedicated
to you on Mount Carmel. They have put your prophets to death with the sword,
God, I haven’t. In fact, on Mount Carmel, the reverse happened; I put the
prophets of Baal to death. God, I have been busy doing your will. But now they
are trying to kill me too.”
God, why won’t you honor me after all
that I have done for you? I think if we are honest, we have all been there. God,
why do I have to go through all of this after all I have given to you? I tithe,
I make my home open to you, all I have is yours. So why do I get to go through
this situation?
We have been busy. But God isn’t
impressed by what we have done. First and foremost, he wants us to desire to be
with him. The tragedy is that we sometimes are a lot like Elijah; we mistake
the action and the busyness of our lives for the presence of God. And the
result is almost always depression.
God’s prescription for Elijah and us
is the same. Stop and listen to me. Recognize that you can’t work your way into
my presence. And regardless of what is happening around you, know that I love
you and I still hold you in my hands. God is still on the throne, and he still
has a plan, even if we can’t see it.
Tomorrow’s Scripture Reading: 1 Kings 20
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