Elijah sat under the broom tree so discouraged that he prayed that he might die. Then he fell asleep. The Lord sent an angel with a command from heaven: "All at once an angel touched him and said, 'Get up and eat'" (v. 5). How's that for spiritual advice? Get up and eat. He doesn't say get up and pray. He doesn't say get up and read the Word. He doesn't say get up and start preaching. He doesn't say get up and serve the Lord. The angel tells Elijah to get something to eat.

Here's a profound truth. Sometimes we need to eat. Sometimes we need to sleep. Sometimes we need to eat and sleep even more than we need to pray. There's a time for everything. There is a time for crying out to God, and there is a time to roll over in bed, close your eyes and get a good night's sleep. And there is a time when what you need is a Big Mac, French Fries and a chocolate milkshake. Sometimes you need a big plate of chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes, green beans, cole slaw, sweet tea, and homemade peach cobbler. We all need a good night's sleep and a good meal. Sometimes we just need to let our hair down and have a blast. For some that means going water skiing. For others it means hiking in the mountains. For some it means sitting in a comfortable chair and knitting with your friends. For me it means riding my bike. That's why God commanded man to work for six days and to rest on the seventh day. God built into the fabric of the universe that we need to work and work hard and serve the lord, and we also need some downtime. We need some rest and we need some relaxation. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to get up and have a good meal, because you'll feel so much better.

So the angel gives Elijah a very specific command: "Get up and eat." He looked around and found a cake of bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. He ate and drank, and then he laid down and slept again. God's mountain man is tuckered out. He took a nap. He got up, had some food, and he went back to bed again. Is he a sluggard? No. He's just worn out in the service of God. "The angel of the LORD came back a second time and touched him and said, 'Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you'" (v. 7). Strengthened by that food he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. There he went into a cave and did what? He spent the night there.

Now understand, he's still got all kind of problems. We've not gotten to the real issues of life yet. But sometimes you can't get to the deep issues until you deal with things like hunger and physical exhaustion. Basically God arranged for Elijah to have a six-week vacation, all expenses paid. That sounds good until you recall that he had to walk across the desert by himself to Mount Sinai.

Why did he go to Horeb? Because he knew Mount Sinai was the place you went when you know you need to meet God. He didn't just pick out any mountain. If he wanted to find a cave, there were caves a lot closer than Horeb. He went back to where Moses met the Lord. There's a value in going back to certain milestones in your life and certain physical locations in your life, places where you met God in the past.