Elijah

Elijah was a prophet of huge faith and huge swings. He called down fire from heaven and defeated four hundred fifty prophets of Baal in front of the whole nation (1 Kings 18:36-39). Then one threat from Queen Jezebel sent him running into the wilderness, where he collapsed under a broom tree and asked God to let him die: I have had enough, Lord (1 Kings 19:4). God did not rebuke him. He let him sleep, fed him, and then spoke, not in wind or earthquake or fire, but in a gentle whisper (1 Kings 19:11-12). If you matched with Elijah, you run hot and then crash hard, and you may be learning that God meets you in the exhaustion, not just on the mountaintop.

You feel everything at full volume. When you are up, you are fearless and on fire. When you are down, you are convinced you are the only one left and it is over. Your faith is dramatic and real, and what you are learning is that the God of the spectacular fire is also the God of the quiet whisper, and the rest, food, and gentleness that come after.

With people you are inspiring and intense, and you tend to isolate when you crash. With God your relationship has range, from fire on the mountain to a whisper in a cave. The tender part of your story is how God treated you at your lowest. No lecture. Sleep, food, and a quiet voice. He knew you were not lazy, you were spent.

Under pressure you either charge in or collapse, and the collapse usually follows the charge. The turn for Elijah was not trying harder. It was rest, nourishment, and a gentler word from God than he expected. You lead from fullness, and you have to let yourself be refilled.