Lesson 7 – The Journey is Too Great for You
Read 1 Kings 19:1-8 https://www.bible.com/bible/59/1KI.19.ESV
1 Kings 19:7 - And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.

King Ahab told his wife Jezebel all Elijah had done. She was not convinced the Lord was the true God, even after He sent miraculous fire from Heaven. Since Jezebel was an idol-worshiper and had taken good care of the prophets of the idol Baal, she was very angry Elijah had killed all 450 of her prophets. She immediately sent a messenger to Elijah with her threat: “The gods will punish you for this and I will get even with you! By this time tomorrow you will be dead, just like the prophets!”

When Elijah heard Jezebel’s message, he ran for his life – over eighty miles south, out of Ahab and Jezebel’s country. He left his servant there and walked another day’s journey into the desert. He saw a bush growing in the middle of the sand, and collapsed, exhausted, in its shade. He just wanted to die. He prayed “Enough of this, God! Take my life! I am ready to go to my grave.”

Elijah fell asleep under the bush. Suddenly an angel from God awakened him and said, “Get up and eat!”

Elijah blinked his eyes, looked around, and to his surprise saw a freshly-baked loaf of bread and a bottle of water right by his head. He ate and drank, and then fell back asleep.

The angel of God came back, shook him awake again, and told him to eat some more. His 100 miles of running – in front of King Ahab’s chariot and then away from Queen Jezebel – had been too much for his body, and the recent ups and downs in his life had also exhausted him mentally, emotionally and spiritually.


Elijah got up, ate and drank the rest of the angel-prepared food and water, and then followed the Lord’s leading to Mt. Horeb, the Mountain of God, walking forty days and nights. He did not have to eat or sleep during his entire journey, because the heavenly bread provided by God strengthened him all those days!

Jesus knows when we are tired and are in danger of letting depression weigh us down. In Mark 6 we read of the death of John the Baptist. Several of Jesus’ disciples had been John’s disciples, so this death must have been hard for these men and their sadness would have had an effect on the rest of them as well. Jesus urged them to come away with Him to a quiet place. But what happened? People followed them and then a new problem came – not enough food to feed all these people. Jesus was not surprised by this – He knew how caring for others in their need would take the dark thoughts from His disciples’ minds.

*When have you been so sad over something that had happened in your life that you wanted to go away by yourself and just sleep? Did God answer your prayer by giving you someone else to care for?