OUR DAILY BREAD : LIFE'S DARKEST MOMENTS

[cimi]

August 27
Wednesday


LIFE'S DARKEST
MOMENTS

READ:
1 Kings 19:1-8
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An angel touched
[Elijah], and said to
him, "Arise and eat."
__1 Kings 19:5
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Charles Whittlesey was a hero's hero. Leader of the so-called "Lost Battalion" in World War 1, he was awarded the Medal of Honor for his bravery when his unit was trapped behind enemy lines. When the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier was dedicated, Charles was chosen to serve as pallbearer for the first soldier laid to rest there. Two weeks later, it is presumed that he ended his own life by stepping off a cruise ship in the middle of the ocean.

Like Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-7), Charles was publicly strong, but in the quiet, post-public moments, his feelings of despair set in. People today frequently face situations bigger than they can handle. Sometimes it's temporary despair brought on by fatigue, as in Elijah's case. He had been part of a great victory over the prophets of Ball (18:20-40), but then he feared for his life and ran into the wilderness (19:1-3). But often, it's more than despair and it's more than temporary. That's why it is imperative that we talk about depression openly and compassionately.

God offers His presence to us in life's darkest moments, which enables us , in turn, to be His presence to the hurting. Crying out for help__from others and from God__may be the strongest moment of our lives. __Randy Kilgore

```````````````````````````Father, grant us the candor to admit to each`````````````````````````
```````````````````````other that sometimes life overwhelms us. And grant``````````````````````
`````````````````````````````us the courage to help others find help__``````````````````````````
`````````````````````````````````and to seek it when we need it.``````````````````````````````
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Hope comes with help from God and others.

*************************************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 Kings 19:1-8********************************

1 And Ahab told Jezebel
all that Elijah had done,
also how he had executed
all the prophets with the
sword. 2 Then Jezebel sent a
messenger to Elijah, saying,
"So let the gods do to me,
and more also, if I do not
make your life as the life of
one of them by tomorrow
about his time.


3 And when he saw that,
he arose and ran for his life,
and went to Beersheba,
which belongs to Judah,
and left his servant there.

4 But he himself went a
day's journey into the
wilderness, and came and
sat down under a broom
tree. And he prayed that he
might die, and said, "It is
enough! Now, LORD, take
my life, for I am no better
than my fathers!" 5 Then as
he lay and slept under a
broom tree, suddenly an
angel touched him, and said
to him, "Arise and eat."

6 Then he looked, and
there by his head was a
cake baked on coals, and a
jar of water. So he ate and
drank, and lay down again.

7 And the angel of the
LORD came back the second
time, and touched him, and
said, "Arise and eat,
because the journey is too
great for you." 8 So he
arose, and ate and drank;
and he went in the strength
of that food forty days and
forty nights as far as Horeb,
the mountain of God.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Elijah, deemed Israel's greatest prophet, was highly revered and
well spoken of by the Jews, by the Lord Jesus Himself, and by the
apostles (Matt. 17:10-11; Luke 1:17; Rom. 11:2-4, James 5:17-18).
He appeared with Moses at the transfiguration of Jesus (Matt. 17:3).
Because Elijah did not die (2 Kings 2:1), the Jews believed he would
come back again (Mal 4:5). Many scholars believe that Elijah will be
one of the two witnesses mentioned in Revelation 11.