Power of the Lord

I am inspired and intrigued whenever I read this verse.

1 Kings 18:46 NIV
The power of the Lord came upon Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel.

I am inspired by the thought of imagining and experiencing such power. He had already faced and won the challenge with the false prophets of Baal. Now, here he is filled with power. My thought is that he was filled with power when he stood against the false prophets moments before. Why the mention of "power" now? Yet, it was the power of the Spirit that undoubtedly gave him strength and stamina to out run King Ahab's chariot to Jezreel. My mind conjures up the picture of Road Runner, the cartoon character, taking off like a shot out of a cannon. This is the inspirational point for me.

I am intrigued that after all this, Elijah retreats and hides, almost immediately, out of fear for his life (1 Kings 19). What happened to "the power of the Lord" that had been on him? I guess we have all at some point in our ministry experienced a let down after a great spiritual victory. We might refer to it as the "Monday morning blahs." The good news is that the Lord will refresh us. If you are feeling a spiritual let down at the moment, let the Lord refresh you. Eat and drink, Elijah was told. We can feast on Jesus's words, which is bread and water for us.