A Broom Tree Kind of Day
If you have ever been discouraged to the point of wanting to give up…
If you have ever been intimidated by what others have said…
If you have ever been disappointed by the way things turned out…
If you have ever wanted everyone to just leave you alone…
If you have ever wondered, “What’s the use?”
Or if you have ever felt like you were the only one going through what you were going through…
This message is for you.
Elijah was a man of God—a prophet who knew the voice of God, obeyed God, and had experienced God’s plans, purpose, power, and provision firsthand.
He had been provided for at the brook and fed by ravens.
He had watched God provide through a widow and miraculously multiply her flour and oil.
He had prayed over her dead son and watched God restore his life.
He had stood boldly before Ahab, confronted the prophets of Baal, watched fire fall from heaven, and prayed until the rain returned after three and a half years of drought.
Elijah knew what it was like to see God do the impossible.
But now he was running from Jezebel.
The same man who stood fearlessly before 450 prophets of Baal was now afraid of the threat of one woman.
The same man who had just watched fire fall from heaven was now sitting underneath a broom tree asking God to let him die.
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he prayed that he might die…” —1 Kings 19:4
Elijah was having a broom tree kind of day.
Have you ever had one?
A day when yesterday’s victories don’t seem strong enough to overcome today’s discouragement.
A day when you know God has been faithful, but you’re just tired.
A day when you’ve poured into everyone else and feel like you have nothing left to pour.
A day when one negative voice seems louder than a hundred reminders of God’s faithfulness.
A day when you don’t necessarily want to quit forever—you just don’t want to keep doing this anymore.
That’s a broom tree kind of day.
But here is what I love about the story:
God did not abandon Elijah underneath the broom tree.
God didn’t lecture him.
God didn’t condemn him.
God met him where he was.
Elijah slept, and an angel touched him and said, “Arise and eat.”
God gave him rest. God gave him provision. God gave him strength. And eventually, God gave him direction.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do when you’re exhausted is rest long enough to hear God again.
And don’t miss this:
It’s always the Lord’s provision.
The angel may have delivered it, but God was the source.
God knew what Elijah needed before Elijah knew what was coming next.
The broom tree wasn’t Elijah’s destination.
It was a stopping place.
His discouragement didn’t cancel his calling.
His exhaustion didn’t erase his purpose.
His fear didn’t negate his faith.
And one bad day didn’t determine the rest of his life.
Eventually Elijah came to Horeb, where God spoke to him—not in the wind, the earthquake, or the fire, but in a still, small voice.
There is something powerful about a whisper.
A whisper is intimate—you have to be close to hear it.
Maybe God wasn’t trying to become louder than everything happening around Elijah.
Maybe He was drawing Elijah closer.
Then God gave Elijah direction and reminded him of something he desperately needed to know: He wasn’t alone.
Elijah said, “I alone am left.”
But God told him there were still seven thousand who had not bowed to Baal.
What Elijah felt was real—but what Elijah felt was not necessarily true.
Never allow how you feel in a moment to define what is true about your life.
Sometimes you simply need to be reminded:
1. You’re doing better than you think you are. Your present struggle does not erase your past victories.
2. You have more going for you than you realize. God may be doing things around you, for you, and through you that you cannot see from where you are sitting.
3. God’s promises will come to pass. What you fear does not have the final word. God does.
And that may be one of the greatest lessons from Elijah’s broom tree:
What Elijah feared never happened.
Jezebel threatened his life, but her threat never became Elijah’s destiny.
Jezebel died.
Elijah lived.
What Elijah feared never came to pass—but what God said did.
And there was something else Elijah couldn’t see from underneath that broom tree: Elisha.
If Elijah had given up underneath the broom tree, there would have been no Elisha to receive the mantle and no double portion.
Elijah could only see the broom tree.
God could see the double portion.
Elijah still had an assignment to complete. There was still someone to anoint. Someone to mentor.
Someone who would pick up the mantle and carry the work forward.
Elijah couldn’t quit because his assignment wasn’t finished. And sometimes you don’t realize what is connected to your decision to keep going.
Someone may be waiting on the other side of your obedience.
Someone may need what God has placed inside of you.
Someone may eventually carry what God first entrusted to you.
So don’t make a permanent decision underneath a temporary broom tree.
When you’re under the broom tree, it’s easy to ask, “Why?” Why did this happen? Why did things turn out this way? Why am I going through this?
But often, there is more to the story than what we can see.
We see the moment; God sees the whole story. We see what happened; God sees what it’s producing. We see the disappointment; God sees the purpose. We see what was lost; God sees what’s ahead. We see the threat; God sees the triumph. We see the broom tree; God sees the mantle. We see where we are; God sees where we’re going.
And I love how Elijah’s story ultimately turned out:
Elijah was taken up, and Jezebel was taken out. The threat didn’t win. Fear didn’t win. Discouragement didn’t win. The broom tree didn’t win…God was faithful!
So remember:
You may feel alone—but you are not alone.
You may feel forgotten—but God has not forgotten you.
You may feel finished—but God may simply be preparing you for what’s next.
You may feel like giving up—but your broom tree may actually become the place where God restores your strength, renews your perspective, and reminds you that your story isn’t over.
So, if today happens to be a broom tree kind of day, rest if you need to. Eat something. Get quiet. Allow God to minister to you. But don’t build a house under the broom tree. You can stop there. You can rest there. You can recover there. But you can’t stay there!
Because there is still more ahead of you. There is still purpose in you. There are still people God will use you to impact. Your assignment may not be finished. Keep going.
And the God who sustained you at the brook, provided for you through the widow, answered you on the mountain, and sent the rain…
is still God underneath the broom tree.
The same God who met Elijah there will meet you there. The broom tree is not the end of your story.
What God has promised will come to pass!
“Thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ.” —2 Corinthians 2:14
What you fear does not have the final word. God does. What Elijah fear never happened, but what God said did!
What Can We Learn From This Passage?
1. Circumstances may cause you to deviate, but if you don’t quit, God can use the detour to draw you closer to Him.
2. We all have “broom tree” kind of days. Days when we’re tired, discouraged, overwhelmed, and simply need to stop and recover.
3. If you are truly seeking God, He will not leave you alone. Even under the broom tree, God knows where you are and knows exactly what you need.
4. Sometimes God will let you wrestle with what you want until you’re ready to receive what you need. Elijah thought he wanted to die—but what he really needed was rest, nourishment, perspective, and a renewed sense of purpose.
5. What you have the courage to confront, God will give you the strength to conquer. You may have to face it, but you don’t have to face it alone—God is with you!
The broom tree wasn’t the end of Elijah’s story—it was a place of recovery on the way to what was next.