I have been led to think about the prophet Elijah in recent weeks—exhausted after his confrontation with the prophets of Baal. Running for his life, he sits and asks God to take his life away. Sounds like fatigue and disappointment to me (1 Kings 19:4). But the angel of the Lord comes—the one who speaks both for God and as God. I am particularly comforted by the way he comes:

The angel of the Lord doesn’t demand Elijah gets back to work, or that he snaps out of his depression. Neither does he exhort Elijah to have more faith. The great and mighty angel of the Lord becomes the home help, and cooks. The apostles are out fishing, struggling to catch. Jesus stands on the beach, gives simple instructions, and then Invites them to eat with him. Jesus loved enough to make them a meal—to create space for them to fellowship together. The eating is both physical and spiritual—it’s the communion with the Lord which nurtures them and sets them up for the long run.

Now is a good time, as a pastor, to remind myself it’s okay to stop trying to hold everything together, to stop trying to pour wine from empty wine bottles, and to allow an intimate Saviour to serve what is needed. Not every act of service done by Jesus in scripture is immediately followed by a challenge to go do likewise. Sometimes it’s included in the story so as to remind us of who we’re following.