ELIJAH – 6: DEPRESSION – How to get up when you are down!

Depression is common

– So many people experience depression in America that it has been called the “common cold of emotional illness.”
– About 5% of the population or 15 million people are clinically depressed at any one time.
– About one in six Americans will experience a significant depressive episode at some point in life.
– Depression has always been recognized among the elderly; recently it is showing up more and more among adolescents and children.

– Christians are not immune to depression.
– Several Bible characters struggled with depression, as have important leaders of the Christian church, including Luther, Wesley and Spurgeon.

– Christians should not feel guilty when experiencing depression.
– Depression is not a sin and should not cause embarrassment.
– Christians who experience depression are not spiritual failures.

– Tragically, Christians tend to hold onto the erroneous belief that to be depressed is a sign of failure or spiritual weakness.
– In the process, they have failed to grasp the commonness of depression.

Depression is complex

– It is extremely naïve and dangerous to oversimplify or spiritualize depression.
– Depression is extremely complex.

– Three factors converge with depression.
– There are physical causes.
– There are mental and emotional causes.
– There are spiritual implications.

– Depression is not “just in your mind.”
– You can’t just snap out of it by thinking differently.
– Nor is depression a sign of spiritual problems or Christian immaturity or spiritual warfare.

– Christians must always guard themselves against simplistically diagnosing someone else’s depression.
– Depression is one of the most complex emotional illnesses to understand and treat.

– Do NOT be fearful of receiving professional help.
– Much depression is treatable.
– Much of the needless suffering of those who experience depression can be alleviated.

Depression is costly

– The economic cost of depression in the U.S. is estimated to exceed $16 billion a year.
– It is impossible to estimate the emotional and human costs of serious depression.
– Major depression is always disruptive.

Depressed people need care

Seriously depressed people can be withdrawn, lethargic and possibly suicidal.
– Though they may resist it, offer help and care.
– A concerned friend can provide a valuable and possibly life-saving service

– As you talk to your friend:
• Do not try to cheer them up. You will probably make them feel worse.
• Do not criticize or shame them; it won’t do any good
• Do not sympathize and claim that you feel the same way as he or she does, unless you have been diagnosed by a doctor, as having depression also.
• Try not to get angry, impatient or frustrated with the depressed individual.

ELIJAH’S DEPRESSION:

i. King Ahab told Jezebel everything

Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. (1 Kings 19:1).

– Apparently, Jezebel had not shown up for the confrontation between Elijah and the false prophets, so Ahab went home and told her what had happened.
– Ahab still blamed Elijah for everything that had happened.
– There was no personal repentance.

– Couples ought to be able to share everything, but sometimes it is unwise.
– It’s always dangerous when you are married to a Jezebel!
– Jezebel was the dominant person in the marriage and constantly manipulated her husband to attain her agenda.

ii. Jezebel threatened Elijah

So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” (1 Kings 19:2).

– Jezebel illustrates how far a person can go in resisting and fighting God.
– Rather than seeing the fire falling in response to Elijah’s prayer as a sign of God’s power and love, Jezebel rebelled and with great fury moved farther and farther away from God.

– The warning to us is serious: the more you resist God, the more foolish your behavior will become.
– Be careful of hardening your heart to what God is doing, and fighting against him.

iii. Elijah ran away in fear

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life… (1 Kings 19:3).

– Elijah, the man of God, the man who had boldly confronted King Ahab, was terrified by Ahab’s wife!
– Gripped by fear, he failed to wait for God’s direction and ran for his life.

– This was a critical time for Israel.
– Elijah had been used to demonstrate God’s power on the mountain when fire fell from heaven and to bring rain again to the land.
– This was a time when the people needed Elijah’s presence.
– The people were ready to turn back to God.
– However, Elijah fled in fear. I have often wondered what would have happened had Elijah stayed at his post of duty.

– Fear is a terrible thing. Over and over again, the Bible tells us to not fear because fear is unnecessary and useless.
– When God asks you to do something, don’t shrink back in fear.
– Step forward in faith trusting the Holy Spirit to guide you, give you the words to say and the power to confront the enemies of the cross.

iv. Elijah became severely depressed

He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. I have had enough, Lord, he said. Take my life… (1 Kings 19:3-4).

– This is the low point in Elijah’s life.
– Elijah was a winner, but he felt like a loser.
– He felt alone, discouraged and despondent.
– The joy had gone out of his life.
– He was severely depressed.
– He wanted to quit.
– He said he wanted to die, though if he’d really meant it, he would have let Jezebel kill him!

– What lessons can we learn? What caused his depression and how did he recover?

1. YOU MAY GET DOWN

i. Sustained activity can lead to fatigue

– Elijah was clearly suffering exhaustion from overwork.
– Depression frequently comes after a prolonged period of strenuous work and responsibility.
– Burnout is often associated with depression.

ii. Aftermath of spiritual warfare

– Elijah was reacting to the unrelenting pressure of sustained spiritual warfare.
– In trying to bring the nation back to God, Elijah would win one battle and then discover there was another battle to fight.
– The pressure of spiritual warfare was unending.
– Sustained spiritual conflict is physically tiring and emotionally draining.

iii. Low self-image

I am no better than my ancestors. (1 Kings 19:4).

– Elijah made a great discovery about himself.
– We don’t know a great deal about how Elijah looked at himself, but under the broom tree he said, I am no better than my ancestors.
– Perhaps he had thought he was better.
– Perhaps he was falsely comparing himself to others.
– Low self-esteem and depression are constant companions and they tend to feed on each other.

iv. Disillusionment with people

I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too. (1 Kings 19:10, cf. v. 14).

– Elijah was frustrated with the people of Israel.
– Despite his dramatic and miraculous ministry, the people still seemed to have no interest in returning to God.
– Elijah felt he was all alone: “I am the only one left.”

– When you get your eyes on people, you will get depressed because people will frequently let you down and not live up to your expectations.
– We must always remember that we serve God and seek only to please him.
– We don’t serve God to get results and to impress people.

v. Shortsightedness

– In his depression, Elijah could only see what was happening to him at that moment.
– He totally forgot God’s promises and purposes for Israel.
– When he lost sight of God’s ultimate intentions, he became depressed and wanted to end his life.

2. YOU CAN GET UP

– Thankfully, God did not answer the prayer of Elijah.
– In fact, God in his wisdom did exactly the opposite, for Elijah never did die!
– God dealt with Elijah, graciously and tenderly, pulling him out of his depression.

i. Get sufficient sleep

Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep. (1 Kings 19:5).

He ate and drank and then lay down again. (1 Kings 19:6).

– Elijah was tired and his fatigue was feeding his depression.
– He needed sleep.
– Depressed people need rest, particularly if the depression is the result of sustained activity.

ii. Guard your diet

He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. (1 Kings 19:6).

Then 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.” So he got up and ate and drank. (1 Kings 19:7).

– During his lifetime, Elijah had some unique meals.
– Ravens had fed him.
– The widow fed him from a miraculous supply of food.
– Now the angels baked bread and supplied water for Elijah out in the desert.

– Depressed people don’t always feel like eating, but without a balanced diet, they will only intensify the complications of the depression.

iii. Experience God’s presence

All at once an angel touched him… (1 Kings 19:5).

Then the angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him… (1 Kings 19:7).

– God saw Elijah’s need and came to him as an angel.
– The touch of the angel and the divinely supplied food enabled Elijah to travel for 40 days and nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God.

– In your darkest moments, God will not abandon you.
– He wants to come to you with divine strength.

3. YOU CAN GO ON

i. Get into the center of God’s will

And the word of the Lord came to him: “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9, cf. v. 13).

– In the midst of his depression and fear, Elijah stopped listening to the voice of God.
– He had run away in fear.
– God spoke to him, forcing him to realize that he was out of God’s will and plan for his life.

– It’s depressing to be out of God’s will.
– God’s provision, protection and power are available to us when we are walking in his will.
– Fulfillment comes when we are doing what God wants us to do.

ii. Recognize God’s voice

Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by… but the Lord was not in the wind…but the Lord was not in the earthquake…but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-13).

– The ultimate turning point for Elijah came when he experienced God’s voice and presence.
– As God prepared to speak to Elijah, there were a number of external signs
– God had used each of these things – the wind, the earthquake and the fire to speak to people on other occasions.
– Elijah was spiritually mature enough to realize that those manifestations were real and powerful, but that God was not speaking through them on this occasion.
– Elijah was unimpressed by the wind, the earthquake and the fire.
– God chose, on this occasion, to speak with a gentle whisper, but it was loud enough for Elijah to recognize it.
– When Elijah did recognize the voice of God, he responded with reverence and humility.

– Many today are looking for the wind, the earthquake and the fire. In some places and on some occasions, God does make a lot of noise.
– But sometimes, God speaks with a gentle whisper.
– The way God speaks is not important.
– What matters is whether or not we are listening.

iii. Get to work

The Lord said to him,” Go back the way you came and … anoint Hazael… anoint Jehu … and anoint Elisha… to succeed you as prophet.” (1 Kings 19:15).

– The sign that Elijah was coming out of his depression was his willingness to accept a fresh assignment.
– God gave him a task and he responded to it.
– People who struggle with depression must eventually reach the point where they get their minds off themselves and refocus on what God wants them to be doing.

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