1 Kings 19:8

The Lord knows better than we do the demands that may be made on us, and He graciously strengthens us according to His estimate of those demands. The prophet wished to sleep for sorrow, but the Lord wished to strengthen and nerve him for future service.

In 1 Kings 17 Elijah by faith could make the widow's oil and meal last; but here he is weak, and needs an angel to come and strengthen him and give him some food. He eats, drinks, and like a man without strength lies down. But the Lord sends the angel back again, for He is rich in grace and mercy. He watches over all our ways. He feeds our souls according to our needs and according to all our circumstances.

As we view the greatness of the journey and our own littleness, we may well cry out, "Who is sufficient for these things?" But at once the answer comes, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." And so, if all the grace and power of the risen Christ are at our disposal, we may well press on.

With that food a man walks and does not faint. Moses had spent forty days and forty nights upon Horeb, conversing with God. His word and His presence were enough to sustain His servant's strength. The Lord Himself spent forty days and forty nights in the wilderness without any food, in the presence of wild beasts and exposed to Satan's attacks. He was hungry, and had no food set by His head to help Him resist the enemy's temptations. But He was the Man who did not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

The strength this food of the mighty gives lets us walk through the wilderness of this world without growing tired... It was in this same wilderness, on his way to the same Horeb, that weary Elijah received a special cake from God. Surely that was indeed the food of the mighty. God gave him water also; and so He did to Israel. In Exodus 16 and 17 we have the bread and the water. In John 6 and 7 the fulfilments of both are given for us, "the living Bread" and "the living Water."

After forty days the prophet reached Horeb, the mount of God — a place of special interest. There the Lord dealt with Moses, forty years after he tried too soon to rescue His people. At Horeb Moses learned precious lessons that fitted him for his future service in Israel. In the same area was Mount Sinai, where the Lord dealt with the nation and set His holy law before them. It is significant that Elijah in his anger against the people should have gone there. It was as if he wanted judgment on them for their unfaithfulness.

Obedience marks the career of this man of God... Only one time does Elijah go where his own heart directs him, and the thread of his career breaks off. No doubt he then gets up and sets out at the angel's word, but it is so that he may come into God's presence and there learn to judge himself. Later we shall see that despite this, God does not set His servant aside entirely.