Spurgeon picked 1 Kings 19:8 this morning and his meditation was encouraging at a meta-level. Highlighting to me that we (Christians) in maturity can be refreshed from any passage of scripture. This isn't because the Bible is magic, and I believe it should be studied appropriately in context (heavily) in order to solidify foundational pieces of understanding.
But I also cannot deny that I serve a living God who actively works in the lives of people - and one way he might do that is to encourage through pastoral reflection on Biblical truths that may be brought to mind though not necessarily instructed in a passage. This is a specific point of Christian life that I have been meditating loosely on lately - to be open in my heart to finding joy and refreshment in Biblical truths that God may bring to mind even though the "origin" of that thought might be an unrelated passage of Scripture. This has been the case for a few weeks at this point, and today felt significant as I read Spurgeon's thoughts on being supplied for the sake of the Lord's service.
1 Kings 19:8
So he got up, ate, drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights up to Horeb, the mountain of God.
Quick Context
Jezebel is chasing the prophet Elijah who has fled into the wilderness. Elijah fears for his life and asks Yahweh to simply kill him. Yahweh (well, the Angel-of-Yahweh... but we'll do that another time) meets him in his distress resting under a tree - he provides food, water, and protection for Elijah to take a nap. He does it again and then tells Elijah to travel to Horeb.
Reflection
Elijah is faithful to the Lord, and finds himself tired and in need. Yahweh meets him, feeds him, and then gives him more work to do. This is the point of Spurgeon's writing this morning, that every ounce of work should be poured out unto the Lord's service. Every single thing I do should be laced with songs of praise to the King. It's easy to say "blessed be the Name of the Lord" when I am in surplus, and even in trial and want I think my faith has been tested and proven to some non-trivial degrees... But what about when I'm tired? Do I seek rest as a means to be refreshed unto his service? Or do I seek a hollow shell of rest, one that in reality isn't restorative and refreshing, but is instead deadening and numbing... I think I find myself actively pushing against holy rest out of love for, and slavery to myself. Maybe not quite to doom and selfish as to say "myself" only, but out of fear of something else - maybe as trivial as failure.
God is bringing to my mind why I haven't built more, why I'm disconnected from work, why I zonk out so much... If I accept refreshment - physical refreshment- through a God-given grace then I am duty-bound to use it wisely... But I find that I am afraid of the daunting work of doing something well, and day to day I find myself hesitant to accept the refreshment out of an abandonment of the good that can come through the hard work of doing it well.
God is telling me to eat and drink, to be refreshed... I genuinely believe God is speaking to me through 1 King 19:8 - to take the strength he provides via the channels I know he provides them, and to wisely-steward the work he's given me to do.
This week I've pre-planned to dedicate time away from work to my own project and I feel encouraged going into tomorrow almost with foreknowledge of the strength God will offer me in the morning