2025 In Focus (Day 10)

I Kings 19:4-8

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. 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.” And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

When I played football, we will work on drills that required our attention to our footwork. Our coaches will tell us during the drill to keep chopping. Keep chopping meant keep your feet moving. It didn’t make a difference whether our legs were tired, our muscles were tightening up, or our energy was running low. We kept chopping.

It gets difficult to keep chopping when it feels like you’re not going anywhere. It feels even worse when you’ve won, and you still have to find a way to keep chopping. Sometimes, you may just want to sit under a tree, lament, and quit. However, the coach called you back to put in that work.

The difference between God and a coach is that God will see and examine the needs we have before we’re put back on the field. Sometimes, when we feel like we wanna quit, because we haven’t been fed or done the things that are necessary to keep basic maintenance. Sometimes, we stop because we don’t know any other thing that we can do.

Allow God to provide. Allow God to offer you rest and restoration under the tree. Do not allow your tree to become the headstone to your purpose and vision. Find maintenance for your journey because the next phase can’t be handled by a tired you.