All Christians have had days when they have felt that God is ignoring them or even worse that He is against them. In this week’s readings we see that we are not alone in feeling that way. Even the prophet Elijah felt alone and deserted at times. It got so bad for him that at one point be basically cries out to God, “Just kill me why don’t ya!”

But it was especially at the times when Elijah didn’t feel he could go on any longer that God lifted him up. God’s methods weren’t always as flashy as the fire which came from heaven during the battle with the priests of Baal, but they were just as effective. God’s encouragement and strength came to Elijah in the form of bread and water. They came to him in the form of a still, quiet voice. They came in the knowledge that he wasn’t alone. None of the ways that God used to lift Elijah up were showy but each one of them were precisely what the prophet needed at the time and God encourages and strengthens each of us as well. Like Elijah we just need to be looking, listening and most importantly…reading.