“Depressed and On the Run”
1 Kings 19:1-18
The story ends with Ahab heading back to
Jezreel to bring the bad news to Jezebel. But Elijah was empowered by the Lord so that he
outran Ahab's chariot. When Ahab returned to the palace he filled his wife Jezebel in on
all that had happened at Mt. Carmel (19:1). Not only had Elijah been able to call fire
down on Mt. Carmel but he led the people to kill all the prophets of Baal. Then Elijah had
prayed until rains came and Elijah even out
ran his chariot to Jezreel. This is a sad commentary on the life of the king of Israel.
After all that he had witnessed at Mt. Carmel he should have called for the wholehearted
return to the worship of Jehovah. But all that he did was relate the day’s happenings
to Jezebel.
Not only was
Jezebel not impressed; she was livid with anger. Chapter nineteen, verse two says,
that Jezebel sent a message to Elijah saying, “… So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I do not make your life
as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time.” In effect she says, “Set your watch, Old Man, because by
this time tomorrow you are one dead man!” One has to wonder if it was how the events
were portrayed by Ahab that stirred Jezebel or whether is was the fear of Jezebel’s
anger that caused Ahab to report the events as he did.
Jezebel’s
message had a profound and very unexpected effect for in verse three we read, “And when he saw that,
he arose and ran for his life, and went to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there” Notice it says “he saw” not “he heard” Elijah was so convinced of the validity of
Jezebel’s threat that it was as if actually saw it happening. So he started running
headed south and west and he did not stop until he was far out of the land of promise back
down to Mount Horeb, which is another name for Mount Sinai.
Though we are
surprised at Elijah’s reaction and his subsequent depression perhaps we shouldn’t
be; we all understand that depression is a major problem even to the present day. Every
year in America 9.5% of all adults are diagnosed with some degree of clinical depression.
Experts tell us that one out of every four women will suffer from clinical depression at
some point and one out of every ten men. Researchers attribute that difference in numbers
to the fact that men are far less likely to admit their problems and far less likely to
seek help.
Symptoms include
persistent sadness, feelings of hopelessness, loss of energy, difficulty concentra-ting,
sleeplessness, irritability, and sometimes it may lead to thoughts of suicide. Researchers tell us that depression seems to be spread
across all sectors of society. No one is exempt and it's not a matter of I.Q., age
or social class.
Some of the greatest people in history have
struggled with feelings of depression. Who said this?
“I am now
the most miserable man living. If what I feel were distributed to the whole human family,
there would not be one cheerful soul on earth. To remain as I am is impossible. I must die
to be better.” Those are the
words of the 16th President of the United States, Abraham Lincoln.
I don’t know that I have ever considered it before but
there is more at stake than just personal failure when Elijah ran. When Elijah ran away
any real hope for national revival (return to the worship
of Jehovah) went with him. If the man who had prayed down fire and rain did not have the
courage to stand up to the pagan queen, Jezebel, then it is hardly likely that anyone else
will either.
And why did
Elijah leave his servant at Beersheba and go on alone? I believe it was because he
intended to quit the ministry. He was not planning on returning to take up his ministry
responsibilities. Elijah is so stressed out that he has given up on the belief that he can
make a difference.
Why did Elijah run away?
1. Elijah was not
thinking rationally or realistically.
2. Elijah separated
himself from those who could strengthen him.
It is
interesting how human nature works. When we get discouraged, one of the first things that
tend to do, is withdraw from human contact. We tend to withdraw to ourselves, and that is
often the worst thing we can do!
3. Elijah’s
vulnerability came on the heels of a great spiritual victory.
Many people consider Charles Haddon Spurgeon,
the famous London pastor of the late 1800s, to be the greatest preacher since the Apostle
Paul. Yet Spurgeon openly admitted that he often struggled with depression. His book
“Lectures to My Students”
contains an entire chapter dealing with the subject of depression, called The Minister's
Fainting Fits, In it Spurgeon wrote, “Fits of depression come over the most of us.
Usually cheerful as we may be, we must at intervals be cast down. The strong are not
always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, and the
joyous not always happy.”
He goes on to
say many helpful things in the chapter, but one point seems especially relevant. In giving
a list of the times when we are most prone to depression, this is where he begins: “First among them I must mention the hour of great success. When at last a
long-cherished desire is fulfilled, when God has been glorified greatly by our means, and
a great triumph achieved, then we are apt to faint. It might be imagined that amid special
favors our soul would soar to heights of ecstasy, and rejoice with joy unspeakable, but it
is generally the reverse. The; Lord seldom exposes his warriors to the perils of
exultation over victory; he knows that few of them can endure such a test, and therefore
dashes their cup with bitterness.”
He offers Elijah
as proof of this point and concludes that in some measure, depression and discouragement
after a great victory are part of the gracious discipline of God's mercy lest we become
proud and puffed up at our own accomplishments.
4. Elijah is exhausted
physically and emotionally.
5. Elijah got lost in
self-pity. Verse four says, “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, and said, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
Elijah’s
request for God to take his life does notmake much sense if you think about it. He is here
in the wilderness because Jezebel had threatened his life, if he wanted to die all he had
to do was stay put and Jezebel would have been more than happy to help him out.
“Most of us have our ‘desert days’
of despair. There are times when we forget the faithfulness of our Lord. God seems to
become remote and far removed from our struggles. Life seems a relentless, remorseless
erosion of our stamina and strength in the struggle to carry on. There seems so much more
pain than pleasure in the pattern of our days. Forgetting the unremitting faithfulness of
God to us in the past, we focus only on the futility and frustrations of the present. We
can see no hope or cheering prospect for the future.” [W. Philip Keller. Power: The Challenge
of Elijah. U.K.: Bridge Pub., 1984) p. 113]
Self-pity is the enemy of spiritual growth. As long as
you are feeling sorry for yourselves you
cannot get better. As long as you blame
others, you cannot get better. As long as you try to throw off your problems on someone
else, you cannot get better. As long as you think, “I alone am left, Lord, I am the
only one who is faithful!” As long as you talk like that, you cannot get better.
Notice how God deals
with Elijah’s depression.
1. God allowed Elijah time
to rest and receive refreshment. (5-8)
“Then as he lay and slept under a broom tree,
suddenly an angel touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.” (6) Then
he looked, and there by his head was a
cake baked on coals, and a jar of water. So he ate and drank, and lay down again. (7) And the angel of the LORD came back the second time, and
touched him, and said, “Arise and
eat, because the journey is too great
for you.” (8) So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in
the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of
God.
The principle
here is very simple and I will not spend a lot of time here. But to overcome stress we
need to rest our bodies. Sometimes the most spiritual thing we can do is not take on
another project but kick back and rest. Elijah had spend a great deal of energy fighting
for God and now he is physically and emotionally spent. What God did was provide for his
physical needs, he provided food and allowed Elijah to get much needed rest. God did not
even begin to deal with Elijah’s depression or wrong thinking until he was rested and
refreshed.
2. God confronted Elijah
with truth. (vv. 9-18)
Upon arriving on
the mountain, Elijah took up residence in a cave. (perhaps the same cave where Moses was covered by God’s hand in Ex 33:22).
Now God began to deal with his three-fold need.
In verse nine God asks Elijah the
question,
Elijah
responds in verse ten by saying, “I have been very
zealous for the LORD God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant,
torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they
seek to take my life.” I want you
to note that Elijah completely missed the point. God asked a present tense question, What
are you doing here? Elijah answered with a past tense response. Everything that Elijah
spoke about was in the past. Elijah did have a tremendous past, but the question is, What
are you doing now? A great past will not suffice for the present. We cannot live in a past
tense faith. The church can abide a host of use-to-wasers, people who talk about all the
things they use to do for God.
God arranged an enormous display of his power
Elijah is told that the Lord is going to pass by,
Sometimes in the midst of the busyness of life
“Then the
LORD said to him: “Go, return on your way to the Wilderness of Damascus; and when you
arrive, anoint Hazael as king over Syria.
(16) Also you shall anoint Jehu the son of Nimshi as king over Israel. And Elisha the son of
Shaphat of Abel Meholah you shall anoint as
prophet in your place. (17) It shall be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu
will kill; and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will kill. (18)
Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal, and
every mouth that has not kissed him.”
The key here is
found in verse fifteen where Elijah is told, “…Go,
return on your way…” This is
God telling Elijah, “OK, time is up it’s time to get back to the work I have
called you to.” Elijah returned to service much better than when he arrived; his
spirits were lifted, his vision was cleared and his commission was renewed.
When we turn our attention away from ourselves, to serving others our problems and
difficulties will seem less overwhelming. Not only did God send Elijah back to continue
the job he already had He gave him a new job of being a mentor to the young man who would
one day take his place. If want to reduce your stress and increase your fulfillment find
someone you can pour your life into.
Conclusion
We need to
realize that we are not in a position to estimate our own effectiveness. When we think we
have won, don’t be so sure. When you think you have failed, let God render the final
verdict.
It is not a sin to be discouraged. It is not a sin to be depressed. It’s what you do when you are discouraged, depressed and feeling hopeless that matters. Don’t fight the battle alone. Get help. And remember; God is still there. There is no pit so deep or so dark that the love of God is not deeper still. If you are discouraged, be encouraged, God loves you and He has not forgotten you.