Dealing With Elijah's Depression

Title: “Dealing with Elijah’s Depression” Scripture: I Ki. 19:1-21

Type: Expository series Where: GNBC 11-26-23

Intro: “Charles Spurgeon, who is often considered the greatest preacher since Paul, would commonly take two to three months off to go to a resort in France because he was so depressed. He also would have days where he wouldn’t leave his couch.4 He considered these fits so common to a minister that he wrote a whole chapter on it in his book, Lectures to My Students. It’s called the “Ministers Fainting Fits.” We all have times of fainting. Martin Lloyd Jones also thought this was a common and perplexing issue for Christians in general. Since Christians have so much to be thankful for, why do we so commonly struggle with discouragement and depression? As a trained medical doctor and well-known pastor, he wrote a whole book addressing the issue called Spiritual Depression: Its Causes and Its Cure. Again, many great leaders have struggled with it. Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest American presidents once 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 face on earth. ... To remain as I am is impossible. I must die to be better.”5 Here in this text, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets and spiritual heroes in the Bible, has a season of depression. (Greg Brown, Overcoming Bouts…) Important lessons can learn.

Prop: In I Ki. 19 we’ll notice 4 Important aspects surrounding Elijah’s depression.

BG: 1. Elijah the prophet, lived about 850 years before the birth of Christ, 150 years after David.

2. Depression leading cause of disability. About 300 million worldwide (clinical). About 1in 4 American women and 1:10 men clinically depressed in lifetime. Men probably higher.

3.

Prop: Let’s look to I Ki. 19 in order to notice 4 Important Aspects Surrounding Elijah’s Depression.

I. Contributing Factors in Elijah’s Depression vv. 1-3

A. The prophet was scared by the threats of an evil individual.

1. King Ahab reports to Queen Jezebel the events of Mt. Carmel.

a. Queen Jezebel was a Sidonian, and as such, was a Baal worshipper. She shamelessly promoted the worship of Baal in the Northern Kingdom and her milk toast husband, King Ahab, was too passive and spiritually acquiescent to take a stand against his wife. He had witnessed the power of God and knew that as the king he should be leading his nation in the unadulterated worship of Jehovah, but he was in fact a spiritual coward.

b. Ilust: Men, there used to be an expression that was often used by the older generation. “I always get the last word in with my wife…yes ma’am.” For last couple of generations people have snickered about that story. However, can I say something very contradictory? The Bible makes it very clear men, that you are to lead your family spiritually. (Eph.5:25-33 – Like Christ we are to wash wives with the word. We are to treat lovingly and with empathy. If don’t prayers will be hindered. (I Pet. 3:7). Absolutely nowhere in the Bible does it say that women naturally have more spiritual insight than men based simply on the fact they have one more “X” chromosome than men do. Part of your job, husbands, is to lead, to guide, to protect, and correct. Lovingly. Ahab completely blew it with Jezebel. After the confrontation at Mt. Carmel, Ahab should have come back home to the palace and had a prayer meeting with Jezebel, but he didn’t. He was a spiritual coward.

2. The Response of Wicked Queen Jezebel.

a. V.2 – Jezebel sends courier with a message of vengeance to Elijah. Essentially said: “You are a dead man, Elijah!” Now, I wonder if Elijah was at his home. Maybe still celebrating the victory of Mt. Carmel. Unexpected and terrifying announcement interrupts his previous celebration. Illust: Have you ever had a somewhat startling letter or announcement arrive unexpectedly? Several years ago was in the evening. Doorbell rang. Sheriff’s deputy. “Chris Arch? Yes. You have been served.” (Wouldn’t you like to know?!) Unnerving.

b. Now here we find the first of many important “take aways” from this text. Depression is not logical and we cannot logically reason our way out of it. What do I mean? In chapt. 18 Elijah had just gone up against 850 prophets of Baal and Asherah in the challenge on Mt. Carmel. He knew very well that had he lost that challenge, he would have been executed. However, he fearlessly stood for the Lord and the Lord answered with fire. Now it is sometime later and one woman writes a letter telling him he will die. If God is able to fight for you on the Mt. He can fight for you at your home.