1 Kings 19:1-9a – Dealing with Discouragement
A man had a checkup and then went in to see his doctor to get the results. The doctor said he had bad news and worse news for him. Which did he want to hear first. The man was a pick shocked and said, “Well, give me the bad news first. The doctor said, “The bad news is that you only have 24 hours to live.” At this the man jumped up, totally distraught and said, “24 hours to live? What could possibly be worse than this?” The doctor replied, “The worse news is that I was supposed to tell you yesterday but I forgot.”
You know, discouraging times happen to the best of us. We all have days when we are faced with less-than-pleasant circumstances, when we are hit by difficult choices, when you wish you could stay in bed all day until the problems vanish. There are days when we feel like Linus, when he told him friend Charlie Brown, "I don’t like to face problems head on. I think the best way to solve problems is to avoid them. In fact, this is a distinct philosophy of mine. No problem is so big or so complicated that it can’t be run away from!"
Today we begin looking at the life of Elijah again, picking up where we left off in February. Elijah was a man of great passion and emotion. When he was up, he was up. But when he was down, he was way down. And 1 Kings 19 finds him, like Linus, running from his problems. But before we read the scripture, let’s recap his life so far.
Elijah was a man of God, a prophet who was not pleased with the wicked King Ahab and his wife Queen Jezebel. He declared that there would be no rain for a long time, which turned out to be 3½ years. Well, someone who says that God is not happy with something tends to get persecuted, so Elijah hid out, being fed by ravens and a widow, who was starving herself.
By and by it came time to confront Ahab and Jezebel, so Elijah summoned all the false prophets, most of whom were paid well by Jezebel to say what she wanted to hear. Elijah and the prophets met on Mt. Carmel, where there was a duel, a battle of the gods. Whosever god burned up a sacrifice would be declared the true god. The false prophets tried all day to get their gods to answer. Of course, because there is only one god, they were simply taking to the sky.
But Elijah prayed, fire came down from heaven in a dramatic moment, and burned up the bull, the stone altar, and licked up all the water in the trench around the altar. The God of Elijah, the same God we serve, proved Himself to be real and true. The prophets were put to death, the rains came, and Israel all turned to follow Elijah’s God. Ahab and Jezebel ran to the altar, confessed their sins, and were saved. Right?
Well, you’d think so, but not quite. Even though Elijah’s God showed Himself, the response was not quite what Elijah had in mind. Let’s read 19:1-2. Now, it’s interesting how this came about. Jezebel vows to kill Elijah, even though he was the winner. Perhaps her husband, who saw the whole thing happen, gave a misleading account and said that Elijah used magic or sleight of hand, some sort of trickery. It’s funny how she dared the gods to strike her dead, the same gods who didn’t bother showing up for the battle. Her challenge for the gods to act was as useless as the requests of her priests and prophets. Their gods were helpless and useless, deaf, dumb and blind.
But yet, Elijah reacted fairly strongly to this threat: v3. He came, he saw, he ran. The boxer Evander Holyfield once said: “It’s easier to become a champ than to stay a champ.” And Elijah found that out. Even though he had just been on the mountain of success, he found himself running through the shame of loss. Folks, you are never quite so close to defeat as after a victory. When you feel powerful and strong, when you feel up, you are still one step away from falling, and feeling down. And it hurts more, because you fell farther.
Now, you could probably say that Elijah fell into a depression because of it. A slump. A time of discouragement. And not just a moment or 2 of it. It lasted a good month and a half. Watch this: Elijah was in Jezreel and he fled 1st to Beesheba. That’s about 28 miles, several days of walking. Let’s say 4 or 5 days. V4 says he went another day by himself, and then returning puts him up to 6 or 7 days. V8 says he traveled 40 days. Altogether, that’s 46 or 47 days, maybe even longer. That’s no simple Monday morning blahs. That’s a long bout of discouragement.
Maybe today you are in the middle of a battle. A battle in your mind. A battle of emotions. A slump that you just can’t shake. A downtime that you can’t seem to get out of. Well, I want to show you some truths that you can cling to, even though it’s hard to see the light of day.
Let’s keep going in the story, to see even more how Elijah felt, and then how God responded. Let’s read v4. Maybe you have felt this way. “I’ve had enough” – I can’t take it anymore. I can’t handle another ounce of pressure. I can’t stand this. I am done. “Take my life” – even though I wouldn’t call him suicidal, he sure wanted to leave this place. And I must admit, I have felt the same. “Lord, take me. I’m done. Get me outta here. I don’t wanna face another day.” And then he prayed this: “I am no better than my ancestors.” I can’t handle pressure any better than the Egyptian slaves. I can’t stand up for the truth any better than they did under the time of the judges, when every person did what was right in their own eyes. I am no more useful in turning people to You than any of these other prophets. I am a weak, powerless, useless, coward. Take me away. I am done.
Wow. Powerful words. I don’t blame him for feeling that way. Feeling as if you don’t matter, that what you do doesn’t matter, that your life makes no difference, is good cause for depression. Psychologist Abraham Maslow said this: "Without exception, I have found that every person who was sincerely happy, radiantly alive, was living for a purpose or a cause beyond himself." And In the movie Pearl Harbor, recalling the attack on Hawaii by the Japanese, bringing the US into WW2, there is a scene in which the lead character Rafe says to an English officer: "I’m not anxious to die sir, just anxious to matter."
That’s all Elijah wanted. He wanted to matter. He wanted to know that what he was doing would work. It would change the wayward nation. And you need to know that your life matters. That your job is important. That your family is significant. That the world would be no better off if you weren’t in it. That what you do and who you are matters.
Well, v5 says that Elijah prayed and fell right to sleep. But, he was woken up by an angel. And the angel came bearing gifts for the downcast prophet – v6a. Fresh bread and refreshing water for his desert journey. Elijah consumed it and rested again. Funny about rest: sometimes we get worn out simply because we don’t get enough rest. Funny how the condition of our physical body impacts our spirits.
And this happened again – v7-8a. Angel, food, water. And then he was ready to move on. V8 says he was strengthened enough to keep going. And keep going he did. He walked night and day for 40 days, a journey of 175 miles. It was supernatural, there’s no doubt about it. You can’t walk 40 days and night with no sleep and no more food. Unless God’s doing things out of the ordinary. Which in this case He did.
Now, a little bit of math. 175 miles divided by 40 is about 4-3/8 miles every 24 hours. 4-3/8 miles is exactly 7km, within 24 hours. He walked both night and day. To walk only 7 km in one day is to walk VERY slowly. It’s as if he were dragging his feet the whole way. That is either the sign of someone who has lost hope, or of children: dragging feet.
You know, for a man of God who did such wonderful things, he sure was human. That’s what the NT book of James says: a man just like us, a man of like passions. That’s why I take heart in the life of Elijah. He’s so real. And yet, God used Him mightily. God had mercy on this guy, who knew better. God showed him patience. And God’s response to Elijah will comfort us in our dry and discouraging times too. Watch what this story means, in connection with God’s response to His prophet.
The 1st truth about how God deals with the discouraged is: God wants the best for us. He really does. Sometimes it seems as if He’s picking on us, or He loves other people more, or we don’t get what we deserve, when in fact our discouraging times have nothing to do with those things at all.
Think about it. Elijah could have been eating well from the queen’s table. But because he was faithful to God, he chose not to. Better the little God gives us than the much Satan promises us. It is better to be faithful and have difficulties than to be unfaithful and have things seem better. God wants what is best for us, but that doesn’t mean a trouble free life. I read a statement by William Lyon Phelps that sums it up: “If happiness were based on ease and freedom from worry, the happiest individual in the world would be an American cow.” Pursue the higher, the better. Pursue what God wants, and accept what He gives you.
The 2nd thought about how God deals with the discouraged is: He knows where we are. Sometimes we doubt if God understands or even knows what’s going on. But He does. He sent an angel to where Elijah was, and He knows where you are too. Even if you feel distant, that doesn’t mean you are. One of the verses of the hymn “The Solid Rock” says: When darkness seems to hide His face, I rest on His unchanging grace. He knows where you are and where you are headed, even more than you do. Trust Him even when you can’t see Him.
And the 3rd thought about how God deals with the discouraged is this:
God knows what we need. He knew that Elijah thought that he needed to run, and God let him. He knew when Elijah needed rest, and He gave it to him. And God knew when Elijah needed to eat, and He provided. And God knew that ultimately Elijah needed to spend some time with Him, and that happens as we progress through the chapter. And also next week, God knew when Elijah needed to be pulled back and placed on his feet, and God did that. Folks, God knows what you need before you ask Him. He knows what your needs are better than you do. He knows when you reach the end of your rope more closely than you do. God will sustain you and carry you in the dark times, even when you don’t know how to go. Even when you say, “Alright, that’s enough. I can’t take anymore. I want to get out of this. I want to leave. I am done,” God knows that your limits stretch farther than you think they do. Even when Elijah thought he was done, God had a lot more for him.
And He has more for you too. He’s got more in store for you than you can possibly imagine. He wants to carry you through your depression, your discouragement, your despair, your hopelessness. But you have to let Him help you. You can’t give up or give in. You may be one day away from getting out of this thing. Keep holding on. Keep trusting, keep praying, keep asking, keep searching. Keep going. F.W.Faber said it this way: “Blessed is any weight, however overwhelming, which God has been so good as to fasten with His own hand upon our shoulders.”
Folks, dealing with discouragement means letting God deal with you.
