Depression

Day two hundred seventy-seven

Yesterday was a crazy busy day and because this post needed the appropriate amount of attention and research I was not able to finish it until today.  I prayed for guidance as I wrote this post.  The original topic I wanted to write about was not depression.  I was afraid that it might be too personal for me and for those that read my post.  As I studied I kept being led back to this topic, so I decided to listen and write what I had learned from this story about depression.  I hope it is useful and that I will not offend any that read it.


1 Kings 19
Elijah had begun his ministry by announcing to King Ahab that there would be a drought and that there would be no further rain until he said so.  Then he promptly disappeared from public life for 3 ½ years.  This drought had come as a result of the things that Ahab and his wife Jezebel had done to the nation, leading them away from the worship of God to the worship of Baal. 

After the 31/2 years the Lord calls Elijah out of hiding and Elijah calls for a “showdown” on Mount Carmel.  He challenged the prophets of Baal to a prayer meeting.  They were to set up their own altars to their own gods, and pray.  They agreed that, “the God that answereth by fire, let him be God” (1King 18:24).  After Baal didn’t show up, God sent fire to consume Elijah’s sacrifice.  Elijah then told the people to gather the prophets of Baal, and they were all executed.  Elijah then prayed for rain, and a huge rainstorm broke out.

Jezebel isn’t too happy with Elijah, he has put to death 450 of her favorite people.  So she makes a threat to kill him.  When Elijah hears of Jezebel’s threat, he is terrified.  We might think it kind of strange that the man who stood face to face against 450 prophets, and who called fire down from heaven, would be afraid of a single woman’s threat.  But he is afraid and he runs.

Instead of standing, like he did before Ahab and the prophets of Baal, Elijah tucks tail and runs away. After all he had already faced: the dry brook, the empty barrel, the dead boy, the prophets of Baal and the lack of rain; and after all that he had seen the Lord do: close the heavens, replenish the barrel, raise the boy, consume the sacrifice, enable the prophet to destroy the false prophets, then to run to Jezreel - it would seem that Jezebel would appear as a nothing, a non-problem. Yet, Elijah does that which is irrational and runs away. Instead of just ignoring the threat and carry on, Elijah goes into a period of depression. 

What we see in chapter 19 is a picture of a man who has pushed himself beyond his physical and emotional limits.  We are allowed to see a side of Elijah that both shocks us and helps us.

LESSON ONE - AFTER THE VICTORIES, WATCH OUT FOR THE ATTACK
The Scottish pastor Andrew Bonar (1810–1892) said, “Let us be as watchful after the victory as before the battle.”

Here has been Elijah's most triumphant moment. He has been victorious over the prophets of Baal, and he even has the ear of the king for a moment. And then comes the attack. 

 In our victories we sometimes feel invincible.  We create a false sense of security.  It is in those moments that Satan will take full advanage of our lack of watchfulness.  We tend to have some of our greatest falls after some of our greatest victories.
 
LESSON TWO - WE ALL FEEL DISCOURAGEMENT
In life there are times when we feel on top of the world and then one thing happens and all the joy of our victory is taken away. This seems to be what has happened to Elijah. Poor Elijah has reached rock bottom. We find the great man of miracles, praying in faith, asking God to take his life. 

Elijah adopted an attitude that said, "Life is hopeless." (v 4). Elijah said, in effect, "I've had it! I quit!" He sat down and he gave up. Elijah felt that life was no longer worth living.

I think most of us will experience some time in our lives when we feel like giving up.  There are times when life seems unbearable and there doesn't seem to be any reason to go on.  What is it that brings us to this point?  What causes us to forget all that the Lord has done in our lives?

LESSON THREE - HOW WE GOT THERE 
When we consider the great ministry enjoyed by Elijah, we may wonder what got him into this state of mind. I think there are two primary reasons why Elijah ended up under that juniper tree asking God to take his life. These are the same two reasons that can lead to serious problems for you and me if we do not heed the warning signs.

Elijah Is Physically Exhausted - Think of the activity on Carmel and of his flight into the wilderness. This man is totally exhausted. The Lord knows this and therefore He does not rebuke Elijah for sleeping.  Rather, God refreshes the prophet and allows him to sleep and to rest (vv 5-7).

Our bodies were not designed to be pushed constantly. The Lord knows this and has set up our week so that we could have a day of rest (Mark 2:27).  Even the Lord Jesus Christ took time away from His work to rest His body, "And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat."  (Mark 6:31). 

Our bodies need the rest and break from activity. Let's face the truth; we run from activity to activity, with a cell phone in one hand and a day planner in the other. We stay up late and get up early and never take time for our bodies to rest. This is not what God planned and it can lead us into serious trouble.

Elijah Is Emotionally Spent - This man is drained from the ministry he has been performing. He has been giving out constantly. He is emotionally drained.

There is an old Greek saying that goes "You will break the bow if you keep it always bent."

There are times when we must unstring ourselves and relax. It we don't, we will break after a while! God never designed us for the types of pressures we allow ourselves to be subjected to.

The constant stress of life is a major cause of disease and death.  When we are under stress, our bodies release a chemical called adrenalin.  It energizes us and helps us get the things done that need to be done.  It gives us sudden bursts of energy.  However, when adrenalin is constantly being pumped into your system, it can have negative long-term effects on the body.  Some scientists believe that it can cause serious damage.  Hence, there is the need to unplug.  Especially after times of stress and pressure.

LESSON FOUR- SIMPLE THINGS
Sometimes the answer to our depression isn’t a simple one.  But sometimes it is.

Oswald Chambers wrote, "The angel did not give Elijah a vision, or explain the Scriptures to him, or do anything remarkable; he told Elijah to do the most ordinary thing, to get up and eat."

We are human.  Sometimes depression can come simply because we have pushed ourselves too far and too hard and we simply need to take a break.  Take a nap.  Eat a better balanced diet. Perhaps sometimes we just need to be “touched by an angel”.

LESSON FIVE - STILL SMALL VOICE
Sometimes, if we want God to speak to us, we need to slow down and let the storm pass.
Sometimes, if we want God to speak to us, we need to quiet down a bit.

Often the question is not whether God is speaking, but whether we are being still enough, and quiet enough, to hear.

Amy Carmichael wrote, “God always answers us in the deeps, never in the shallows of our soul.”

When we are in a mental state like Elijah was, it is hard to fell or recognize the Spirit.  Our own thoughts of despair can drown out the voice of the Spirit.  If we know this, maybe we can learn to discern which thoughts are ours and which come from the Spirit.  The Spirit will always lift us up!

LESSON SIX - WORK
Inactivity feeds depression.  We want to run away, but God wants to send us back and puts us to work.  There is a healing power in serving others, especially the Lord!  We get to take a break from our problems and focus on the needs of another.  Being busy with the Lord's work is great medicine!

LESSON SEVEN - YOU ARE NOT ALONE
I think that one of the biggest things the enemy can convince us of to discourage us is that we’re alone.

Elijah has thought it for some time.  He was thinking it when he faced the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel: "Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal's prophets are four hundred and fifty men." (1 Kings 18:22).

Reality check – Elijah was convinced that he is the only one left.   He’s wrong.  Even when we don’t know of any person that’s “on our side”, God is always on our side.  He will never leave us of forsake us. He is “for us”, not “against us”.

I am by no means an expert on the topic of depression.  I have experienced extreme lows in my own life, but most of my experience with depression comes from my family members.  It is a difficult thing to have to deal with on both sides.  It helps to know that this is something that even prophets of God have had to deal with.  There is hope for us too!  If a prophet of God can feel this way once in a while then surely we too will have difficult times. 

One of the greatest messages that I took from this story is that God loves us and does not give up on us, even if we have given up on ourselves and Him.  In fact, He loves us in spite of our weak moments.  What a wonderful gift for us!