Today I am returning from vacation but want to continue the series “Under a Tree...”

 ...1 Kings 19:3-4 (NLT2) “Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life…” Maybe it is just my imagination but it seems like more and more of my conversations with friends and church people are spent on weariness, over commitment, and just being border line ready to quit. So what is the result of this pushing and pushing and going and going? Doing more and enjoying it less?

1. We deal with inner weariness. Not just an older person problem…I see young parents running to and fro on the earth taking kids to multiple sports events and art events. They try to keep it all together but feel rattled. It is not necessarily our bodies (though it affects our bodies) but it is a weariness within. It shows up in exhaustion, weariness, and an increasing loss of passion. But if we wait. Isaiah 40:29-31 (NKJV) “But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;”

2. There is always one more thing to do. MacDonald – Anyone who has given themselves to the leading, caring, or developing of people knows that there is always one more thing that could be done or done better and more completely. Listen to David: Psalm 27:4 (NKJV) “One thing I have desired of the LORD, That will I seek: That I may dwell in the house of the LORD All the days of my life, To behold the beauty of the LORD, And to inquire in His temple.” 

3. A gentle fountain or a fire hydrant. Let me give this illustration of the un-relentless flow of good things to do as a person trying to drink from a fire hydrant that is turned on full blast. A little bit of water from a gentle MacDonald – “As our eyes are drawn more and more to the events and data of the public world even if it is Christian, the private world, the heart, becomes increasingly starved for attention and inner maintenance. More time for activity means less time for devotion. Doing more for God may mean less time with God.” We have substituted praying with talking, seeking God with seeking counseling. Though these things are good, they may not be the best. We have much output but no input in our lives. As we continue to hear more of us speak of being tired and burned out, shouldn’t we evaluate. Maybe we should take a step back and look at Jesus…he was not a jet setter like many are today. He took time to rest and pray. I can’t stay under this tree…I must slow encounter God.