A Prayer for Safety in Rest

Have you ever heard the saying "if you don't rest, your body will force you to?" If you're anything like me, when your body has forced you to rest - it's often after great triumph. Maybe you've accomplished something you've been stressing over or you've completed a task that took a lot of energy and time. For others, rest was forced after an illness or accident. It was forced because at some point, we stopped taking care of our mind and body. Typically this isn't intentional, but it's a byproduct of a great challenge.

We can all learn a lot from Elijah. He had just come off of a season of God using him mightily. From reminding a widow that what she believed was the end of the journey for her and her son was simply the beginning of abundance and overflow. To encountering God in a whisper after experiencing the Israelites abandon God and becoming frustrated enough to challenge their false god and watch God show out. And of course, slaughtering those who didn't believe - even if it meant being on the run for his life. But in the midst of running for his life, feeling overwhelmed, likely in pain and soreness - God doesn't get frustrated at Elijah for feeling all the feels. He instead sends an angel to give him what he needed in that moment - the safety of rest. God gave him sustenance and rest so that he could push forward.

Could it be that God is isolating you to give you rest? Could it be that God is slowing you down so that you can hear from Him with clarity and full confidence that it's His Voice and not your own? Could it be that He's reminding you that you can do all things through His strength and not your own?

Reference Scriptures:

1 Kings 19:1-8

1 Kings 16-19