Has God ever sent an angel to meet your personal needs?
This story happened just after the contest on Mount Carmel between Elijah, prophet of God, and the 450 prophets of Baal - all to determine who was the One true God. God provided fire to burn up Elijah's soggy offering; the people rose up and killed the 450 false prophets; and rain came at last. But Elijah was so drained from the whole experience that when Queen Jezebel sent word that she would have Elijah killed within 24 hours, he took off running.
God had not changed or lost any power to deliver him, but when anyone of us is utterly exhausted we are liable to imagine and do stupid things. He left his servant behind at Beersheba and kept running.
(What a rush of panic adrenalin!) He ran for another full day into the desert.There he dropped under a broom tree and begged God to take his life.
Does any memory come to the surface of a time when you panicked and ran the other direction until you dropped in your tracks?
The part that surprises me here is that God did not scold Elijah and remind him of his fantastic victory on Mount Carmel. God just let His servant sleep. His body needed recharging first of all.
Then he needed nourishment. So God sent an angel to bake him a bun or small loaf of bread, and bring a bottle of water. Not just once, but twice. No scolding, just, "The journey is too long for you; you need to eat." That almost sounds as if God had scheduled this trip for Elijah. It was part of His divine plan for His servant.
Now that angel food and water must have been powerful stuff, because by the strength he received he was able to travel another 40 days and 40 nights, until he reached Mount Horeb. That's was God's mountain, the place where He had written out the ten commandments on tablets of stone for Moses and the people.
Hey, if we are going to run away - the place to run to is God. Get away and alone with HIM! Never mind the distance or the cost!
Now for some of us that may not mean such a long trip. I know I could never run that far or long.
In my case, I know that I just need to reach for my Bible, and go curl up in my soft recliner, and ignore all my usual to-do lists. When I'm over the initial exhaustion, I get back to my computer desk and start journalling away, to work out the issues before the Lord, waiting for Him to show me His mind and attitude and even His specific message for me in all of this.
I can't say that an angel has ever wakened me from a sound nap to offer me physical food from Heaven. But I have been spiritually nourished by God's Word, and gained fresh insights and enthusiasm to go on in serving the Lord.
I've never seen an angel with my eyes; perhaps an invisible angel has come to meet my personal needs. I just credit the Lord with the sense of His presence and encouragement. In the Old Testament days He seemed to send angels, but today we can meet with the Lord directly if we are His.
The important thing to remember when we panic is to run towards the Lord, and not away from Him!