Wednesday Devotion: At the End of Your Rope

1 Kings 19:7-8 The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched (Elijah) and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

Experienced climbers will tell you that it's safer to knot the end of your rope, because you never know when you might find yourself sitting on that knot.

A female climber was grateful for her knot during a cave climb in Greece. On the way out from a spectacular view of the limestone cave, she took the wrong route and found herself dangling within the cave. She was literally at the end of her rope, sitting on the knot, when her fellow climbers found and rescued her. They got a hearty chuckle out of what could have been a disastrous event.

Elijah experienced this sort of rescue when he was at the end of his rope. Fleeing to the wilderness from a vengeful King Ahab, Elijah pleaded to the Lord for death. An angel twice appeared and nourished him so Elijah could finally reach the mountain of God.

When Elijah reached the mountain, the Lord gave him several instructions. One of those was vital to Elijah's well-being: anointing an apprentice and successor, Elisha, who would immediately help in resolving the resistance to Elijah.

We experience times at the end of our ropes, when the journey feels too much for us. When we cry out to the Lord, we can expect nourishment, new ideas and solutions, and rescue. These benefits may not come in the forms we expect. But God will always be present in every circumstance.

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