"Under the Broom Tree" — When You Did Everything Right and You're Still Empty

I want to talk to the person who's tired in a way that sleep doesn't fix. I'm not talking about lazy tired, not had a long weekend tired.I'm talking about the kind of tired that's in your bones where you're still doing everything you're supposed to do. You're still showing up, you're still checking those boxes, but somewhere inside, somewhere deep inside, a light has gone out.And you can't tell anybody. And here's the part that makes it worse. You feel ashamed of it because you're supposed to have faith. You're supposed to be stronger than this.So you paste on that smile and you just keep going and pushing through. And yet you quietly wonder, what's wrong with me.Well, today I want to tell you about a man who called down fire from heaven on Monday and was begging God to let him die on Thursday. His name was Elijah. And what God did for him under that tree is one of the most tender things in all of scripture. Because God didn't lecture him.He let him sleep and he made him a meal. Hello and welcome to Truth Unveiled.I'm Ralph Estep Jr. And I'm really glad you're here today, especially if you came in like so many of us, running on empty. And here's the truth we're unveiling today, and I want you to hear it before I've even earned my reputation with you.God isn't disappointed in your exhaustion. He's tender towards it. See, we've built a whole Christian culture that acts like burnout is a faith problem.Like if we just start praying harder, you wouldn't be this tired. But that's not what the Bible shows us.The Bible shows us God's greatest prophet, the greatest prophet from the Bible, flat on his back under a bush, and God kneeling down beside him with food. Let me read to you exactly what happened. We're going to go right to the primary text today. It's First Kings, chapter 19, verses 4 to 9.Now this one's from the World English Bible. It says, but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a juniper tree.Then he requested for himself that he might die. And he said, it is enough now, O Yahweh, take away my life, for I am not better than my fathers. And he lay down and slept under a juniper tree.And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, arise and eat. He looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on the coals and a Jar of water. He ate and drank and lay down again.Yahweh's angel came again in the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you. He arose and he ate and drank, and he went in the strength of that food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb, the mount of God.He came there to a cave and lodged there. I just want you to sit with that for a second because it's striking if you think about it. Before God gave Elijah a single word of instruction.Hey, no lecture here. Before he gave him a single word of instruction, he gave him a nap and he gave him a meal. Actually, he gave a meal twice.And we'll come back to why that matters more than you think. But I want to paint a picture for you. Here's what you got to understand about where we find Elijah, because it changes everything about this story.The chapter right before this 1st Kings 18, is the highest moment of his entire life. Just picture this. He stands alone against 450 prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel.He builds an altar, soaks it with water, and calls on God and fire falls from heaven and consumes the whole thing. It's no doubt the greatest spiritual victory you could imagine.And then a queen sends him a threat, and this same man who stood so tall runs for his life into the wilderness and collapses under a bush and asks to die. Just think about that for a second. From the mountaintop to the broom tree in about a day. But I need to start by killing a lie right now.The lie is that faithful people don't burn out. That's just a bold faced lie. The lie that if you were really walking with God, you wouldn't hit that wall.The crash very often comes right after the victory, not after the failure. And I just want to repeat that again, because the crash oftentimes comes right after the victory. Think about Elijah.He had just had an amazing victory, but the crash came right after that. Just think about it yourself. You pour everything you have into something this big project that.That event you've been working on the season where you gave and gave and you white knuckled your way through it because the adrenaline carries you. And then it's over. And the second there's nothing left to push against, you fall apart. That's not a lack of faith.That's a body and soul that spent everything finally sending you the bill. And let me tell you why I know about that bill. A few years back, my body sent me an invoice that I couldn't pay back then.I was carrying close to 200 extra pounds that I had no business carrying. I had type 2 diabetes. And on top of that, I had high blood pressure. And I want to be honest with you, because that's what we do on this show.It wasn't just the weight. It was that I had spent years running on fumes. And I was just calling it dedication. And even now, I'm going to level with you straight up.I run an accounting firm, I run a farm. I'm building shows and a launch, and I love every bit of it. I am so grateful for what God has given me.But there are still nights that that tank hits empty and that old voice shows up and it says to me, you should be able to handle this. What's wrong with you? And I've sat across a desk from People for more than 30 years now.I've watched good, faithful, hard working people run themselves into the ground and then feel guilty about being tired. Like, like somehow exhaustion is a character flaw. Friend, exhaustion isn't a character flaw. Elijah proves it. So here's my honest question for you.What's your broom tree? Now, I said juniper earlier, but also text calls it a broom tree. What's your broom tree? Where?It's a place that you've collapsed that you haven't told anybody about because you're afraid that being this tired means your faith is failing. You just kept it to yourself. But hold that thought for a second because watch what God does next. He is not what you're bracing for.And just think about it. If you or I wrote this story, here's how God shows up. I think about how I would have written. He would have showed up to me with a lecture.Elijah, I just sent fire from heaven and this is how you repay me? Get up. Stop feeling sorry for yourself. Get up under that broom tree you and I can picture. That's what God would say.He said, look, I was so faithful to you. I did these things for you. I gave you this huge victory. And now you want to lay under a tree and beg me to take your life.That's not what happens though, in the story. Not even close to what happens. An angel touches him gently and says one word. Just one word. Here, eat.There's bread baked on the coals and a jar of water. Elijah eats and lies right back down. But then the angel comes a second time, touches him again and says something.I can barely read without getting emotional. What does the angel say? He says, arise and eat. Because the journey is too great for you. The journey is too great for you. Now, that's not some rebuke.That's a father who looks at how far his child has gone and how empty his tank is. And instead of shaming him for it, he feeds him for it. Think about it like this. God fed Elijah before he even talked to him. Read that again.Sometimes the most spiritual thing that can happen to you is a good meal and a full night's sleep. There have been times and seasons in my life when I've gone through really dark times.And that evening meal, that full night's sleep, I woke up the next day something different. Sometimes you don't need a sermon. You just need a sandwich and a nap. And our God is not too holy to hand you both of those things.But then comes the cave. And God asks him, what are you doing here, Elijah? And listen to what pours out of this exhausted man.Now we're going to go to First Kings, chapter 19, verse 10. Again, this is the World English Bible. This is what he says. I, even I only am left. And they seek my life to take it away. And there it is.That's the second lie of burnout. Not just I'm tired, but I'm alone. Have you ever felt alone for Elijah? He felt like nobody else gets it. Nobody else is carrying this.It's all on me, and I'm the last one standing. And that feeling is real. But it's not true. It's never true. Hold that. Because God is about to answer it directly.First he tells Elijah to go stand on the mountain. And a great wind tears the rocks apart, but God is not the wind. Then an earthquake, but God is not in the earthquake.And then a fire, but God is not in the fire. And then this. Now this is First Kings, chapter 19, verse 12. After the fire, a small voice. Can you see the mercy in that?Elijah's whole ministry had been this dramatic stuff. Fire from heaven, big showdowns. And when he's at his lowest. He was at his lowest in a cave, hiding. God doesn't come in as a spectacle.He comes in a whisper. Because a shattered man can't take one more thunderclap, can he? He needs that quiet voice that says, I'm still here and I'm close.That's what God said to him. I'm still here and I'm close. But God does something even better than that. He answers the loneliness with a number.Let's look at First Kings, chapter 19, verse 18. It says, Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed to baal.Friend, you think you're the only one, but there are 7,000 others. You can't see that feeling of despair is a liar. And one of the favorite lies is that you are completely alone in this at all. You're not alone.But now let's get practical, because this is where it touches your Monday. First thing, stop apologizing for needing rest. You have no need to apologize for your body needing rest.God built rest into the very first week of creation. Go back and think about that. He rested, and then he fed his exhausted prophet.Before he assigned him anything, didn't give him anything else to do, he said, eat and rest. If you're running on empty right now, and so many of you are probably listening to this or watching this, you're like, ralph, I am empty. Now.Your first act of obedience might not be doing more. It might be sleeping. It might be eating something real.Taking the walk, caring for the body God gave you is not being selfish and it's not unspiritual. Elijah's recovery started with a meal. Here's the second practical thing you got to name the isolation. Lie out loud.Because lies lose power in the light. Something I know about light. In darkness, things seem like they're lies. They seem like untruth.But when you bring them to the light, it loses its power. And when that voice says, nobody understands, nobody's caring what I carry, I'm the only one you answer it with. Elijah7000, friend.There are people who would show up for you if you let them see you were struggling. But so many of us don't want to tell anybody. We don't want to let people know, hey, I'm struggling. I need some help.And that shame keeps you quiet, and that quiet keeps you alone. So I'm going to challenge you right now. Break it. Tell one person the truth this week. That's not weakness.That is you reaching out for people to help you. And I want to say something plainly and gently to one person listening.If you've gotten to the place that Elijah got to, where you don't want to be here anymore, that's not weakness. And it's definitely not the end of your story. Please don't sit under that tree alone. Tell somebody you trust today. Reach out.There are people who want to help it, help you carry it. And the bravest, strongest thing that you can do is let them help you. Here's the third thing. Take the next step.Don't think about this whole journey in Front of you. God didn't hand Elijah the rest of his life under that tree. He fed him for the next leg. Just one meal one day, and then the next, and then the next.Because when you're empty, that whole road looks impossible. So don't look at the whole road. Just take the next faithful step. That's all he's asking of you today, is to take that next faithful step.And here's the last thing, and I love this part. After the cave, the very next thing that God does is send Elijah to a man named Elisha. He gives the lonely prophet a partner. Isn't this beautiful?He gives him a partner. He gives him a companion for the road because you were never meant to carry it solo.Not the ministry you're in, not the business you have, not that marriage, not the load you're under right now, the arm around the shoulder that I talk about all the time in my show. Sometimes you're the one who needs it. And there's no shame in that. We have a God who kneels down next to tired people with bread in his hands.And he isn't disappointed in you. He's tender towards you. But I want to get quiet for just a minute because it's fitting, given how this story ends.I want you to be honest about your tank right now, where you're sitting. Not that version you show at church. Not that fake face you pulling for everybody. I'm talking about the real reading.When was the last time you felt full? Now, I'm not talking about busy. I'm talking about fool. Have you been treating your exhaustion like a sin to hide instead of a wound to heal?Who have you been performing for? Who you've been performing for when God is sitting right beside you with a meal and not a measuring stick? And that whisper.I think we've lost the ability to hear that whisper, that still, small voice. We've all gotten so used to the noise around us, the striving, the next thing and the next thing.Stop being able to hear that quiet voice that just wants to tell you, hey, you're loved. What would change if you believed your journey being too great for you was not your failure, but the exact reason God is reaching out to feed you?Just think about that. Because here's the truth unveiled. God doesn't meet you in your burnout with a lecture. He never will. He never has. He meets you with bread and sleep.A whisper, friend, your exhaustion is not proof that God, that you failed, your faith has failed. It's the very door where a Tender God kneels beside you and says, the journey's too great for you. Let me feed you. Let me give you that next step.You're not alone and you never were. Now, maybe right now the deepest tiredness you feel isn't about your schedule at all.Maybe you've been carrying the weight of trying to be a good enough on your own. And you've never laid down at the feet of the one who made you friend. This is the whole invitation of Jesus. Listen to his words.Let's go to Matthew 11:28. What does he say? This is Jesus himself. Come to me, all of you who labor and are heavy burdened, and I will give you rest. That's Jesus himself.That's the offer. You notice what he says? He doesn't says clean. He never says, clean yourself up first. He doesn't say, oh, get your strength back. And then come.He tells you to come tired, come empty, come. Exactly. Burned out as you are at this very moment, friend. Jesus went to a cross to carry the weight you were never strong enough to carry.He took your sin, he took your failure, he took your striving, he took all of it. And he rose again so that he could give you rest that isn't just your body, but rest for your soul.And if you want that rest today, you can pray with me. There's no performance here. He's not grading you. Just pray with me right now.If you want to finally enter into that relationship with Jesus, here's all you got to say. Jesus, I'm tired. I've been carrying what I was never meant to carry. And I've been trying to earn what you already wanted to give me.And I believe you died for me. And I believe you rose again. And I lay it all down right now. Take my sin, Lord. Take my striving, take my brokenness and give me your rest.I'm yours, Lord. Amen. And if you prayed that, I want to encourage you to tell somebody. You can reach out to me by going to https://www.truthunveiledwithralph.com/decision.I'll be happy to talk with you. Find a Bible believing church. Find a believer that you trust. Because what did the scripture tell us? Rest was never meant to be found alone.I'm so happy for you today if you've made that decision. And here's what I want you to carry into this week. We live in a culture that doesn't believe this, but you're allowed to be tired.It's not a sin to be tired. And it's not some failure of Your faith, Elijah, proves it. And when that voice says, you're the only one, you can answer. Just like Elijah with 7,000.And when that voice says, do more, you remember that God fed his prophet before he sent him to do anything. So take that next step. Don't worry about that whole road in front of you. Just take that next faithful step. And here's the thing I want you to hear.God's mercy doesn't run out when you're empty. Hear this. This is from Lamentations, chapter 3, verses 22 and 23.It says it is because of Yahweh's loving kindness that we are not consumed, because his compassion doesn't fail. They are new every morning. And I just love the way this ends. Great is your faithfulness. Just dwell on that for a second. What is it saying?New every morning. Not new when you've earned them back. Not when you've demonstrated some strength of faith. New every morning, every single morning.Whether you produced anything that day before or not. Let me pray for both of us. Father, I just want to thank you that you kneel down next to tired people.And for that one right now who is so empty they don't have the words for it. Lord, would you meet them the way you met Elijah? Meet them with rest before requirement, with bread before instruction.And for that one who feels completely alone in what they carry, remind them of those 7,000 and send them one real person this week who sees them, Lord, who truly sees them. And for that one who's been ashamed of their own exhaustion, take that shame away, Lord, right now.And let them feel your tenderness instead of their own measuring stick.And for the one in the dark place who's thought about giving up, maybe thinking about it right now, Lord, I want you to just put your hand on them right now. Surround them with people who love them and hold them there, Lord. Help them to find those people to hold them.And for the one who's ready to lay down the weight of earning it all and come to you for rest for the very first time, Lord, welcome them home. Lord, speak to us in the whisper, because we're listening today and we ask this in Jesus name, Amen.I want to encourage you if this reached you today, if this really spoke to you, I want to encourage you to send it to one person who you know has been running on empty. We know these people around us. Send it to that person that's been running on empty, that's been hiding, because that's how this ministry truly grows.One arm around one shoulder at a time. I want to encourage you to subscribe to our show, join our links, and. And make sure you come back. Next time on Truth Unveiled.The journey may be too great for you, but that's the way it's intended to be. It was too great for Elijah as well, but that's exactly why God shows up with bread and rest. So keep seeking the truth and let it set you free.May God bless you, and I'll see you next time.