This old arab proverb is a compelling image: A heavily-laden camel is standing before you and, as you watch, one final straw is added to the load and the camel's eyes roll back, his knees buckle and he collapses. The same image leads us to another well-known idiom: "The Last Straw."
The point is that maximum capacity has been reached and exceeded and it doesn't really matter whether by a lot or a little.
This is what happened to Elijah - he had to be the harbinger of long drought. He had to live through that drought and the suffering that came from it. Then he (single-handedly) had to face down the 450 prophets of Baal at the showdown on Mount Carmel and have them killed.
He managed all of this, but when Jezebel says "So help me, I'm going to get you." It is the final straw and it breaks his back.
For us standing on the sidelines we are tempted to say: "Elijah, you're making a mountain out of a moleheap - you will anoint Jehu and he will have Jezebel thrown out of her window and it will all work out." (It happened in 2Kings9)
When we read further on in the chapter we see that God does five things for Elijah:
- He makes Elijah rest
- He feeds him
- He lets him go for a long walk to Mount Horeb
- He let's him experience the Still Small Voice of Divine Presence.
- He assures Elijah that he is not alone - there are other believers.
These caring gestures of God show us what Elijah had neglected and why he became one-straw-weak. These are the things that diminish our load carrying capacity:
- Lack of Sleep
- Lack of decent nutrition
- Lack of simple uncomplicated activity (exercise and time to think)
- Lack of experiencing God's presence
- Lack of real friends - Loneliness
Do you score high on more than 3 of the "lacks" above?
You're on your way to being a camel who's afraid of a straw.
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Theo Groeneveld theo@emmanuel.org.za
You can see past EmmDevs at http://emmdev.blogspot.com/
