(This message extensively based on the sermon starters provided in the "Who Cares" package materials from Outreach.)
He is believed to have been one of England’s finest preachers, C.H. Spurgeon. Some may know that he was referred to in many circles, and is still known today as the Prince of Preachers. He was saved at 15 years old when a snow storm forced him from his travels into a primitive Methodist chapel where in his own words, “God opened my heart to the salvation message.”
What you may not know is that frequently during his ministry Spurgeon was plunged into severe depression. In fact, sometimes he would be out of the pulpit for two to three months at a time. In a biography Arnold Dallimore wrote, "What he suffered in those times of darkness we may not know. Even his desperate calling on God brought no relief.” “There are dungeons,” Spurgeon would say, “beneath the castles of despair.”
Many years ago there was a young Midwestern lawyer who suffered from such deep depression that his friends thought it best to keep all knives and razors out of his reach. He questioned his life’s calling and the prudence of even attempting to follow it through. During this time he wrote, "I am now the most miserable man living. Whether I shall ever be better, I cannot tell. I awfully forebode I shall not." But somehow, from somewhere, Abraham Lincoln received the encouragement he needed, and the achievements of his life thoroughly vindicated his bout with stress and depression.
Zoom forward to the 21st century years and will find the famous Minrith-Meier Clinics where in an average week 50,000 people will visit them for therapy. Seventy-five percent of these clients, says Dr. Meier, or roughly 38,000 people each week, will have either clinical depression or some sort of anxiety disorder. Just at their clinics.
Depression can be, and is a very real problem, and today we are going to look at a very godly man, a great hero of the Bible who suffered from depression. In his day, he was the man of God, but he quickly became crippled by fear, hopelessness and despair.
And long before psychiatry was ever thought of. Long before healing could be bought in the little purple pill. Long before we had clinics and psychiatrists and psychologists, which is not meant as any disrespect to any of those medical advances or professions. But, long before all of that, God was able to heal a man of depression and it was not an isolated instance. And what God did for that man, and for me. He can still do today.
I said for me because I am very familiar with the depths of depression.
- 16 years old
- Honor student – advanced math and science
- President of the German Club
- Vice President of Students Against Drunk Driving
- Drum Major in the Marching Band
- Severely Depressed
- Life seemed void, without purpose, and pointless
- Attempted suicide in a vehicle
- Told my closest friend about it – who told my parents
- Sent to a therapist
- Put on anti-depressants
- Parents provided with tranquilizers
- A few days later, took massive dose of the tranquilizers
- Slept a really long time
- Awoke
- Was sent from California to Wisconsin and Indiana for 6 weeks
- Thought I had it beat
- Completed High School
- Went to College
- Got Married
- Became a father
- And in 1996 faced suicidal levels of depression again
- For a 30 day period – worked, came home, starred at the wall, and contemplated suicide
- For me – no counseling, no medication, no change of scenery was the fix
- Much like the man of God in today’s passage –
it took an encounter with the love of God to change my life
So turn with me to I Kings 19, and I want you to do something that will take a great deal of focus as we read this rather lengthy passage. I want you to look at this text as a case study in depression. And I want you to look for words, for indications of Elijah’s depression that might exist in this passage. Are you ready? Bibles open?
1 Kings 19 (read through verse 18).
Did you see any of the symptoms? Any of the descriptors of stress and depression? What might some of them been? (Elicit response from congregation)
- Fear - “Elijah was afraid and ran for his life….” 1 Kings 19:3
- Suicidal tendencies – “(Elijah) prayed that he might die.‘I have had enough, LORD,’ he said. ‘Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.’ 1 Kings 19:4
- Excessive tiredness – “Then he lay down under the tree and fell asleep…” 1 Kings 19:5 - slept for a couple of days… maybe longer
- Feelings of rejection – “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
- AND he experienced this depression for a long time – nearly 2 months
You know, when we look at the life of Elijah. When I reflect on my own life, and my struggles with stress and depression, I can come up with at least five factors that impact the timing of depression. Even for Christians. First. . .
1. ELIJAH’S DEPRESSION CAME AFTER A TIME OF INTENSE MINISTRY OUTPUT.
i.e. - The battle for the ages on Mount Carmel. Bigger than DeLahoya vs. Merriweather
It may not surprise you to learn that more pastors resign on Monday than any other day of the week, because depression hits right after a time of intense ministry output. Even if it isn’t Christian ministry.
I am more vulnerable to bouts with depression and stress on Sundays from 12:30 p.m. until I go to bed than any other time during any week of any month of any year. Easily. No contest. You can take it to the bank. My family will vouch for it. Debbie especially. Sometimes, I will lie awake in bed for hours on Sunday evening, battling against the challenges of discouragement, frustration, and even depression.
Times of intense ministry output, which basically means, pouring into other lives. . .friends, family, co-workers, can make us highly susceptible to depression. When else?
2. AFTER RELATIONAL CONFLICT.
Do you see that in Elijah’s life? Little relational conflict with ol’ Ahab and his prophets. I see that looking back in my life. Marital conflict. Teen conflict with parents.
How about relational conflict in your life? Ever see that as a trigger for stress? Even depression? Times of relational conflict leading to great discouragement? Maybe a problem with a boss? A break up with a boyfriend? An argument with your spouse?
Another time -
3. AFTER PHYSICAL EXHAUSTION.
Just prior to our passage, Elijah has killed 450 false prophets. He has prayed intensely for rain, and then in the power of the Holy Spirit ran for over 20 miles. That’s almost a marathon. If you could ask Elijah on this day of depression what he had been up to, he would’ve told you:
“Well I confronted the idolatry of an entire nation. I challenged an entire cult and its leaders. Oh, and killed them. I fasted and prayed down fire from heaven. I called on God intensely until it rained. Oh yea, and then I ran 20 miles ahead of a man in a chariot!”
Do you think Elijah was tired? The truth for us is sometimes after we’ve put too much into work, family, church and recreation we try to white knuckle it, to just grit our teeth and get everything done. Even seems macho of us. But we become very prone to depression. Discouragement sits on the doorstep of physical exhaustion.
This next one may seem kind of odd, but another time we are highly vulnerable to depression is –
4. AFTER A MAJOR VICTORY.
What? After winning? Think about it. Elijah saw the whole nation of Israel come to revival, all at once. But he was depressed.
What was Jonah doing after preaching a highly positive and evangelistic message to Nineveh, and seeing the entire city repent? Pouting. Depressed. Whining for shade.
I was living the life of academic achievement and leadership excellence in high school. But I was depressed.
Often athletes wonder why they feel so empty with the trophy in their hands. Cameron Mills recently told the story to Jamie’s FCA group at Beaumont Middle School. The story of holding that University of Kentucky Basketball National Championship ring in his hand, waiting for some great feeling to overwhelm him, and thinking, “That’s it? That’s what I have worked so hard for?”
At this graduation time of year, many students will wonder why they feel so unfulfilled with the diploma in their hands. Mothers struggle with post-partum depression wondering why they can’t stop the tears with a healthy kid upstairs in the crib.
Ironically enough, major victories can lead to major depression. And conversely –
5. AFTER A HUGE DISAPPOINTMENT.
What did Elijah expect when Ahab told Jezebel? Did he think this wicked couple would hit their knees in repentance and say, “Out with Baal and in with Jehovah.” If so, it didn’t happen. In fact, Jezebel was even more furious with Elijah and even more intent on killing him.
I don’t know about you, but it helps me as a preacher to ask why would a man who has preached an impressive message and has experienced some of the most powerful displays of God’s power, why would he suddenly be crippled by fear, hopelessness and despair? Why would he run away to a desolate corner of the world and seek to die? Why would he, Elijah, be overwhelmed by stress and depression?
There are probably all kinds of reasons, including the culmination of all five I have just listed being experienced at once. But the fact is – he was. Like we talked about last week, re-hashing the past circumstances may not be the point where people are looking for our help. Reliving the “why” that has brought them to this point of depression.
It is living in the present, and facing the future that they are longing for help with. And what this story of Elijah tells us is that even God’s most dynamic servants can suffer from depression. It’s not necessarily a mark of a lack of faith. It’s not necessarily a mark of an immoral lifestyle. It just is.
So rather than asking ourselves how would the mental health professionals handle this, which can be an important question to ask. Rather than asking ourselves what medical advances have taken place to help us cope with stress and depression? Which, again, are viable questions to ask. Today, I want us to ask, how did God handle it?
A. GOD RECOGNIZED THAT ELIJAH’S DEPRESSION
WAS NOT AN IMAGINARY PROBLEM.
Elijah’s depression was real. It was tangible. You could have cut it with a knife. And God did not say, “Get a hold of yourself Elijah. This is a sinful attitude. Where’s your faith man?”
He didn’t treat Elijah roughly. In fact, in answer to Elijah’s prayer to die, God just lets him sleep. Then God’s angel feeds him and lets him sleep some more. Then God sends him down to the desert in the South for 40 days and nights.
In all that time, God doesn’t say a word. God doesn’t offer any council. God doesn’t set Elijah down and have a face to face talk. In all that time, Elijah is left alone – Elijah’s given time to rest and to think.
- Hospice Internship - “The Ministry of Silence”
In essence, that’s what God did with Elijah. No sermons, no long counseling sessions. Just love and rest. Then. . .
B. GOD SENT HIM TO CHURCH
Okay, so it was actually Mt. Horeb, but that was the very mountain of God, where the Law was given to Moses. In that day, at that time, he was getting some church.
And when operating in the fullness of the Holy Spirit, and the purity of Christ, the church is one of the best places to deal with depression. When church is done right it’s the place where we listen to each other and help one another. Where, according to Galatians 6:2, we “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”
But ironically enough, and I know from personal experience, when depression hits, do you know one of the first places we avoid? Any guesses? That’s right. . .church.
Back in 1999 Duke University conducted a study of nearly 4,000 older adults. One of their conclusions: "Attendance at a house of worship is related to lower rates of depression and anxiety."
And these church experiences extend beyond our corporate gathering to our personal times with God. Andrew Newberg, who is the director of clinical nuclear medicine at the University of Pittsburgh. . .impressive, huh?. . .made an interesting discovery. Newberg studied the brains of religious individuals who either prayed or meditated.
And his team found that prayer and meditation show to lower the risk of depression and heart disease and improve immune function.
Almost without fail, when I am counseling someone struggling with stress and depression, I run into two things: 1) Attending worship is not a consistent priority in their life, and 2) Their personal devotional life, prayer, mediation, Bible study, is almost none existent. It’s not a coincidence. Depression often equals withdrawal from God, and from God’s family, rather than drawing closer to the very source of our strength. Next. . .
C. GOD HAD ELIJAH TELL HIM WHAT THE PROBLEM WAS.
Did you see what God did? He asked Elijah, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (I Kings 19:13) Not just once, but on two separate occasions. "What are you doing here?" Didn’t God know?
Of course He knew. He’d sent Elijah to this mountain. But Elijah needed to vocalize what was wrong in his life. Elijah needed to explain what he thought the problem was. And once Elijah verbalized his belief of what was wrong, then…
D. GOD DEALT WITH THE FALSE BELIEFS
This is huge. If you are suffering from depression, or on the verge of a depressed condition, don’t miss this. There were false ideas that were fueling Elijah’s depression.
Jesus said, “The truth shall set you free.” Why is that? Because false ideas, false beliefs (especially false ideas about God) have power to put us in bondage. Our lives are built around what we think is true about life, and if the foundations of that reasoning are based on wrong information or impressions, the result can be devastating. Strongholds of the mind build up with erroneous foundations.
Elijah’s reply to God revealed what Elijah had wrong. He simply didn’t think that God was doing anything. He replied to God and said, "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." (19:14)
Can you see what is hidden in the midst of that statement? It’s an accusation. "I’ve been beating my head against the wall serving you Lord. And everything seems to just be falling apart around me. What have You been doing?”
And so, God corrects Elijah’s thinking. He tells him "Elijah – you’re not the only one left. You want to know what I have been doing? Here it is." Verse 18, “I have reserved seven thousand in Israel— all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and all whose mouths have not kissed him."
When our allied troops were making their way across Europe to cross Hitler’s forces, they came across a bombed out building that had this inscription scrawled on a basement wall:
"I believe in the sun even when it’s not shining.
I believe in love even when it is not shown.
And I believe in God even He doesn’t speak."
Often when a person is depressed, they don’t think God is doing much of anything. They have no hope, no confidence, and God isn’t easily seen by them. A person in depression needs to realize that – just like Elijah – God is working in their lives. They need help seeing their false beliefs, so that the truth of God can begin the healing process. Even when we can’t see Him. Finally. . .
E. GOD GAVE ELIJAH SOMETHING TO DO
When God finished His counseling session with Elijah, Elijah was still in his complaining mood, but God basically tells him, “Get back to work. I’ve got a job for you to do. Make yourself useful.”
During a lecture on mental health someone once asked Dr. Carl Menninger, "What would you advise a person to do if that person felt a nervous breakdown coming on?" Most people thought he would say, "Go see a psychiatrist immediately," but he didn’t.
Much to everyone’s astonishment, Dr. Menninger replied, "Lock up your house, go across the railroad tracks, find somebody in need, and help that person. To overcome discouragement, don’t focus on yourself, get involved in the lives of other people."
So what can we do? What can we do that will help us be healthier emotionally and mentally? What are some Personal Steps Towards Health and Healing?
Let me share with you some things that I have used as a check-list, an emotional check-up of sorts to use when I get overly stressed and on the brink of depression. If you struggle with depression or discouragement, and you come to see me to talk about it, these are the areas we are going to look at.
1. TAKE CARE OF YOUR PHYSICAL SELF
- Rest – 8 to 10 hours of sleep
- Exercise – three to five times a week for at least 20 minutes
- Diet – what you eat & when you eat it
2. TAKE CARE OF YOUR SPIRITUAL SELF
- Devotions – daily time with God
- Worship – daily individual worship & weekly corporate worship
- Quiet – “Be still and know”
3. TAKE CARE OF YOUR RELATIONAL SELF
- Friend – Consistent communication and contact
- Family – Block off time to be together
- Fun – Don’t take your life too seriously. . .at least not all the time
Prayer.
