Police officer Ricky Orlowski was on patrol about 5 pm March 11 when he noticed a minivan with Illinois plates parked on a secluded street near a church and a school. “It’s not a real normal place for someone to sit and hang out, Orlowski said. The officer pulled the vehicle over when he saw it didn’t have working brake lights. For Bart Ross, a lonely man gripped by depression, rage and paranoia, this was the last straw. As the officer approached the van Ross shot himself in the head. Inside the van police found a suicide note in which Ross claimed responsibility for the murders of Judge Joan Leftkow’s husband and mother, saying Lefkow’s decision to dismiss his medical malpractice lawsuit cost him everything.
Ross’ troubles began years ago. A heavy smoker he was treated for cancer of the mouth at the University of Illinois. Surgery to remove part of his jaw bone and radiation saved his life. But the treatment left him disfigured, frustrated, depressed and alone. In a search for someone to blame Ross began a journey through the court systems. As case after case was thrown out of court Ross became more depressed, angrier and his behavior increasingly more erratic. So alone was Ross that as his bills mounted, as he faced eviction from the house he once owned and was forced to sell and begin renting, he couldn’t find anyone to care for his pets. About that time neighbors said they stopped seeing Ross walking his dog or on his porch having a smoke.
Since Feb. 14, 2005, I lived in my car moving around, Ross wrote in a note to a television station and when I got numb enough to care about nothing I finally did it.
A man opened fire with a handgun at a church service in a Wisconsin hotel on Saturday, killing seven people and wounding four before taking his own life. the unidentified 45-year-old shooter "was either a member or somehow affiliated with the church." What prompted the violence at this time we do not know, we can only image. Hurt, frustration, despondence, a sense of hopelessness and failure, failure of self and those around you.
Stories ripped from the headlines of today’s news. Stories of lost and hurting souls in pain. Stories that in some sense we can understand and relate too for most of us at some time or another have faced life’s struggles, and frustrations and have become exhausted, weary, burned out, anxious, despondent, and depressed,, The very depths of our soul have achee with the pain, loneliness, frustration and depression.
Even seemingly strong persons of God on the pinnacle of success face these feelings. Elijah was called by God to minister to the people of Israel, 900 years before Christ, the people of Israel where threatening to replace the true God with the pagan god Baal. Elijah had been called by God to stand in the gap at that critical hour to preserve the faith.
On Mount Carmel Elijah had faced 450 prophets of Baal in a duel to the finish. Each side had prepared a sacrifice to their god and then called on their God to send down fire to burn up the offering. The Prophets of Baal called on their god all morning, shouting and dancing wildly. Elijah mocked them. “You’ll have to shout lounder he scoffed for surely he is a god. Perhaps he is in deep thought or he is relieving himself or maybe he is away on a trip or he is asleep and needs to be awaked. They shouted louder and cut themselves with knives and swords until blood gushed but no fire rained down.
Elijah prepared his offering. He piled wood on the altar and laid the bull upon it and then he soaked with water until the offering was sitting in a pool of water. And then Elijah walked up to the altar and prayed. Immediately the fire of God flashed down from heaven and burned up the bull, the wood, and the altar and the dust around it. The people in contempt for the prophets of Baal seized them and kill all of them. Elijah’s God the one true living God was victorious.
Elijah was so spiritually elated, so pumped up. that he pulled a Forrest Gump 1 Kings 18:40 says Elijah rhe outran horse drawn chariots to the capital city of Jezreel to spread the news of the victory. The only problem was the king and queen of the time were Ahab and Jezebel. The Bible tells us that Ahab did more evil and did more to provoke the anger of Lord, the God of Israel than all the kings before him. Jezebel was known as an evil wicked woman who brought Baal worship to Israel. She was the real power behind the throne of terror and when she heard what Elijah had done she put out a contract on Elijah’s life. The elation of success that Elijah had been riding on came crashing down on him. And suddenly our victorious prophet was so anxious, so panicked that he ran all day into the wilderness glancing over his shoulder occasionally to see if Jezebel’s soldiers were in hot pursuit. And the further he ran the deeper his fear and despair drove him. When we give in to anxiety and begin to panic, it’s like a runaway train hard to bring under control.
Elijah THE man of God in his day was now so far down in the depths of depression he had to look up to tie his shoe. Elijah was stuck in emotional overdrive. He was driven, fatigued, tired, exhausted weary, burned out anxious, feeling like a failure, and running on empty. Compounding his problem, verse 3 tells us that he even ran away from his companion who had always been by side and was trying to go it alone.
One of the great dangers of depression and despondence is its tendency to turn one inward. Let’s admit something this morning. May of us do the same thing. When we are hurting, we withdraw from others. Instead of reaching out, we pull into our shells and then we wonder why we feel so alone. I know some of you are probably going through some incredibly difficult times. Like Elijah you may feel like giving up – that you have no more to give. You may feel like you’ve tried to do the right thing but you just don’t get anywhere. That you are all alone, even God seems distant. But before you throw in the towel I want you to look at Elijah and how God brought him through the pain and healed his soul. (adapted from “Running on Empty” by Brian Bill on Sermon Central)
Elijah has run until he could run no more and collapses under a broom tree in the middle of the desert wilderness. And he prays, “Lord, I have had enough. ( Boy that really sums it up doesn’t it?) Just let me die? Death seems better than the alternative of what Elijah had been going through. Notice God’s response,
He didn’t chastise Elijah or tell him to get over it. He didn’t shake a disapproving finger at him and tell him to “get a hold of yourself Elijahl. This is a sinful attitude…where’s your faith man?
In answer to Elijah’s prayer, God just let him sleep. Then God’s angels brings him a cake of bread, wait a minute cake of bread and an angel – it must have been the first angel cake, anyways The angel gives him bread and water and then lets him sleep some more. The first step to healing your soul is taking care of your physical body, stopping the treadmill of life and getting off, taking time for yourself to rest. Feeding and nourishing your body. Sometimes that even means seeing a doctor or getting psychotherapy. There is no shame in depression. It is a very real problem.
“Psychiatrists say depression is the most common emotional problem in America. It has risen to epidemic proportions in the nation and not one of us is immure. It is not a willful, chosen state of mind, nor is it a sin. It is a signal that something is wrong that we need help , that we need hope. Some of the most sensitive people have suffered from depression. People like Beethoven, Tchaikovsky, Tolstoy and Abraham Hamilton. Winston Churchhill waged a lifelong battle against depression which he called “my black dog.” Even the great protestant reformer Martin Luther got depressed. Once he said “For more than a week I was close to the gates of death and hell. I trembled in all my members. Christ was wholly lost to me. I was shaken by desperation and blasphemy of God!” (from Sermon Central). Depression is very real and can’t be dealt with by just telling someone to cheer up. I read a sign in a service station once which said, “They said to me, Cheer up things could be worse, so I cheered up and sure enough things got worse.”
When you find yourself in the pits of despondence get some rest, take care of yourself physically. It doesn’t sound like the most spiritual fo solutions but God used it to begin Elijah’s journey back to confidence. Then take time to REDISCOVER God.
After Elijah had rested God sent him back to his roots, back to the mountain where Moses received the ten commandments. Back to the place of his heritage, back to his old church, if you will. Observe it took Elijah forty days and nights to get there. Now the mountain wasn’t that far away but when you are that lost in despair it takes a while to journey out of it. It wasn’t a quick fix.
Once Elijah arrived he went into a cave and he slept some more. Then God called to him, “Elijah, what are you doing here?” Two times God asked him what are you doing here. God knew why Elijah was there but he wanted Elijah to tell him all about it. That’s the next step to recovery is tell God all about what is going on in your life. And remember God’s power and might.
“Go out and stand before me on the mountain” the Lord told Elijah. And a violent rushing wind swept across the ridges roaring through the canyons and over the mountains. But God was not in the wind. Then an eerie earthquake ripped through the land causing gigantic rockslides and rumblings of depths of the earth. But God was not in the earthquake. A raging furious fire threaten to consume everything around Elijah but God was not in it. And then, it happened. In the still quiet of the moment the whisper of God came. The contrast between the noise and the silence was uncanny and unsettling and got Elijah attention.
If we want to rediscover God, it is important to emotionally downshift. We need to remove some of the noise and clutter from our lives. God is hard to hear when we’re so inundated with the very things that drive us to the depths of despair. When we are so busy moving that we don’t have time for God. Stop and listen for the still small voice of God and he will lead you out your cave, the hole you have dug yourself into. The voice of God will come to you in the most holy of places, like the mountain where the ten commandments were give, like in church or when you reading your Bible or doing a devotional. God will show the you way out of your current predicament…..But it probably won’t be in the way you would expect
Look with me again at verses 15-17. (READ) God leads Elijah out of his anguish and misery by giving him an Orientation of Otherness. God didn’t fix Elijah’s problem, he didn’t make Ahab and Jezebel disappear into thin air. He did even send armies again them. The death warrant for Elijah still existed. Instead God told him to quit focusing on himself and start looking out for others. Get back to the work of God.
When we forget our own worries and get interested in helping others with their needs, we will snap out of our discouragement. During a lecture on mental health someone once asked Dr. Carl Menninger, a national renown psychiatrist: "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."
When you are discouraged, beaten, frustrated, down in the dumps, depressed and you are ready to the tell the I have had enough – stop, rest, take care of your physical needs, rediscover God, remember his power and might, listen for the stillness of his voice and develop an attitude of otherness.
During the 1st part of the 20th century, J. C. Penney was a real man who presided over a very real and powerful empire of over 1,700 stores. At the time he had the country’s largest chain of department stores, each one bearing his name. But, although his enterprise made him incredibly wealthy, J.C. Penney’s life was not devoid of setbacks and troubles. In fact, beginning in 1929, events took place that nearly cost Penney his life
When the Great Depression struck the country, it came at a time of great financial vulnerability for Penney. In the good times, before the Depression, Penney had overextended himself and had borrowed heavily to finance many of his ventures. But when the Depression hit banks began to request repayment of his loans sooner than anticipated. Suddenly cash flow was tight, and Penney was finding it difficult to meet payment schedules. Constant and unrelenting worry began to take a toll. "I was so harassed with worries that I couldn’t sleep, and developed an extremely painful ailment," he said.
Concerned about his deteriorating health, Penney checked himself into the Kellogg sanitarium at Battle Creek, Michigan, (kind of the Mayo Clinic of its era). There, Dr. Elmer Eggleston, a staff physician, examined Penney, declaring that he was extremely ill. Penney later recalled "A rigid treatment was prescribed, but nothing helped," He was constantly tormented by periods of hopelessness and despair. His very will to live was rapidly eroding. "I got weaker day by day. I was broken = nervously and physically, filled with despair, unable to see even a ray of hope. I had nothing to live for, I felt that I hadn’t a friend left in the world, that even my family had turned against me."
Alarmed by his rapidly deteriorating condition, Dr. Eggleston gave Penney a sedative. However, the effect quickly wore off, and Penney awakened with the conviction that he was living the last night of his life. "Getting out of bed, I wrote farewell letters to my wife and to my son, saying that I did not expect to live to see the dawn." Penney awakened the next morning, surprised to find himself alive. Making his way down the hallway of the hospital, he could hear singing coming from the little chapel where devotional exercises were held each morning. The words of the hymn he heard being sung spoke deeply to him. Going into the chapel, he listened to the singing, the reading of the Scripture lesson, and the prayer.
"Suddenly something happened," he said. "I can’t explain it. I can only call it a miracle. I felt as if I had been instantly lifted out of the darkness of a dungeon into a warm, brilliant sunlight. I felt as if I had been transported from hell to Paradise. I felt the power of God as I had never felt it before."
In a life-transforming instant Penney knew that God, with His love, was there to help. "From that day to this, my life has been free from worry," he declared. "The most dramatic and glorious 20 minutes of my life were those I spent in that chapel that morning."
The words from the hymn that spoke so eloquently and miraculously to J. C. Penney were these (sing it with me if you know it).
Be not dismayed whate’er betide, God will take care of you;
Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you.
God will take care of you, through every day, o’er all the way;
He will take care of you, God will take care of you.
