Many trials are marathons, not sprints. Fighting cancer can be lengthy and extremely draining; it was for me. During the marathon journeys of Elijah the prophet, you might say he was “all over the map,” both physically and emotionally (1 Kings 17-19). He visited many places including Mt. Carmel, Jezreel, Beersheba, Mt. Sinai (Mt. Horeb) and somewhere in an Israeli desert.
Emotionally, Elijah “visited” many places as well. From supreme confidence, he moved to sheer panic; from exhilaration, he flopped at utter exhaustion; from incredible boldness, he slinked off to cowardly surrender. No wonder James said in his epistle that Elijah was just like us (James 5:17). The Greek word he used of us and Elijah is a compound word from “like” and “feelings.” In other words, Elijah rode the same emotional roller coaster that we ride today. Yet the Lord “followed” Elijah everywhere he went, to all of these physical and emotional places. At one point, Elijah received supernatural strength from the Lord for a long journey (1 Kings 18:46). God’s strengthening hand was so heavy upon him that he was able to outrun Ahab’s chariot over a distance of 25 miles during a torrential rainstorm! Later, after Elijah had exhausted his own strength running from Jezebel, the Lord gave him food that strengthened him for 40 days and 40 nights in the wilderness!
So what is the point for us? James is simply encouraging us that God grants extraordinary answers to prayer. He wants to work great endurance and miraculous energy into our lives. So during the long grind of an up and down battle with cancer, we can continually ask for that supernatural infusion of His mighty strength. God’s strength will meet us at every place we find ourselves.
