DAY 5 — I’ve Had Enough: When God Meets You at the End of Yourself | Excuses God Didn’t Accept

How many of us, even at the start of a new day, feel overwhelmed? We begin thinking about the many things we have to do, the mean people we have to face, the difficult challenges ahead, and our own not-so-nice moods.

I want to submit to us today that this is not a sign of spiritual failure. 

Catch this: Even the strongest believer encounters moments where the weight of life presses so heavily that all they can whisper is, “Lord… I’ve had enough.” 

Elijah reached that very point — not because he lacked faith, but because he was human.

Before his breaking point, Elijah had just experienced one of the greatest victories in Scripture. Fire fell from heaven. The prophets of Baal were defeated. The people saw God’s power. But immediately afterward, when Jezebel threatened his life, fear and exhaustion crashed over him all at once.

1 Kings 19:3–4 (NIV) says: “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life… He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. ‘I have had enough, Lord,’ he said.”

This wasn’t rebellion. This wasn’t unbelief. This was a weary servant reaching the end of his strength.

And can I tell you? I have been there, and like some of you,  have prayed quiet prayers just like this: 

“God, I’m tired.” 

“I can’t do this anymore.”“I don’t know how to go on.”“I’ve had enough.”

But notice what God did next. And this has been our focus. What does God do? We have to come to a stage in our spiritual lives where we change our focus. We cannot continue to dwell on what has not worked in the past. We must live in the present and for the future.

So God didn’t rebuke Elijah. He didn’t tell him he should be stronger. He didn’t say, “Where is your faith?” Instead, God sent help.

1 Kings 19:5–6 (NIV) says: “All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water.”

The angel didn’t preach to Elijah. He didn’t correct him. He didn’t lecture him. He ministered to Elijah’s physical need first — rest and nourishment. 

And then the angel came back a second time: 1 Kings 19:7 (NIV)- “The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.’”

God acknowledged the truth Elijah couldn’t say out loud: the journey really was too much for him alone.

Family, some of us need to hear that same gentleness from God. You are not weak because you’re tired. You are not faithless because you’re discouraged. You’re not failing because the journey feels heavy.

Know that God understands the weight on our shoulders. He sees the battles we don’t talk about. He knows when the journey feels like too much. And oh, I am so glad about that because this fact has saved me numerous times from buckling under pressure.

Psalm 34:18 (NIV) says: “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit.”

And Isaiah 40:29 (NIV) reminds us: “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”

Elijah thought his story was over, but God was preparing him for a new assignment. Elijah thought he had nothing left to give, but God wasn’t finished with him. Elijah thought he was alone, but God was already sending help, direction, and purpose.

Someone today needs that reassurance: God is not finished with you. Your exhaustion is not your ending. Your “I’ve had enough” moment is the place where God steps in with the strength you didn’t know you could receive. 

You don’t have to pretend to be strong. You don’t have to carry everything by yourself. You don’t have to push through in your own power.

God met Elijah under a broom tree. And He will meet you under the weight of whatever feels too heavy today.

Because the God who strengthens the weary still whispers, “Get up… the journey is too much for you alone — but I am with you.”