July 23

while he himself traveled on a day’s journey into the wilderness. He sat down under a broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, LORD,” he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.” — 1 Kgs 19:4 BSB

He was deeply discouraged, feeling that all his efforts had come to nothing. Discouragement is something we all need to guard against, as it makes us weak, robs us of hope, and turns us into cowards. Many lives have fallen into failure simply because of discouragement.

It’s a sad scene: this greatest of the prophets lying under a little bush in the wilderness, wishing to die. If he had died at that moment, what an inglorious ending it would have been for his life! But he didn’t die there—he lived to do even more glorious work and to see great victories in his battle against idolatry. God was far kinder to him than he realized.

It’s wrong to wish for death. Life is a gift from God, and we are stewards of it. As long as God keeps us alive, He has work for us to do. Instead of wishing to die, we should pray for the grace to do our duty bravely and well until the end. From Elijah’s later experiences, we learn that we should never let ourselves be defeated by discouragement. What we think is failure is often just the slow ripening of success. We only need to remain faithful to God and our duty, and we will find reason to rejoice. What seems like failure is often the beginning of true success.