A Flag to Follow

This morning I was sitting under a tree.

There was nothing special about the tree. There was nothing special about me sitting under it.

But what was special was how God brought to mind this scripture about Elijah sitting under a tree.

1 Kings 19:1-4a
“And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword.
Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time.
And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there.
But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree…”

Elijah’s week had started great: fire from heaven, Israel worshipping God, and Baal’s prophets destroyed. But then, Jezebel swears to kill him. He has to run away. And after a tiring journey, with the adrenaline gone and the weariness setting in, he slumped down by a tree.

“…and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” 1 Kings 19:4b

What I love about this story is that God sees Elijah sitting there. Discouraged. Depressed. Broken. Maybe crying. And God reaches down and does something extraordinary. Elijah’s life was not the same after his stop at the juniper tree.

• An angel gives him food that powers him for 40 days (1 Kings 19:5-8)
• He goes on a retreat to a mountain and camps in a cave (verses 8-9)
• He pours out his troubles to God (verse 10)
• He experiences God’s presence and hears his voice (verses 9-18)
• God tells Elijah what to do next (verses 15-16), God gives him a look at the future (verse 17) and God tells Elijah he’s not alone (verse 18)

You know, if you read the whole chapter, you’ll see that there’s a very different Elijah at the end than there was at the beginning. He started by running away. By the end, he’s back to work.

Let me share another example of someone whose life changed after sitting under a tree.

John 1:45-49
“Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.
And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.
Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile!
Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee.
Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of Israel.”

Another time. Another place. Another person. And another tree. But the same amazing God who sees. Nathanael’s stop under a fig tree resulted in him meeting and recognizing Jesus as Messiah.

These were no ordinary sitting-under-a-tree sessions! God used them to change Elijah and Nathanael’s lives. Sometimes I just need to sit under a tree, too. I need to stop running away. I need to believe. I need to pour out my troubles to God. I need to listen to His voice, enjoy His presence, and hear what He wants me to do next. I need to get up with a changed life!

So, friend in Christ, do you need to go sit under a tree? Because the God who saw Elijah and the God who saw Nathanael, I know that He will surely see you, too.