Depression knows no age, race or gender.
It can strike anyone and everyone.
It did for one of the greatest prophet par excellence, Elijah. No prophet surpassed the turbulence and significance Prophet Elijah's ministry held in the light of the coming Messiah.
This man single-handedly demonstrated the power of God before 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Ashtoreth, both of whom were predominant pagan gods of his day.
First Kings 18 records the glorious and triumphant show-down of God as the true living God who answered by fire.
Not a moment too soon - mere one chapter later - Queen Jezebel, the wife of Israel's king Ahab, threatens Elijah's life, and this sends the recently-victorious prophet into one of the deepest depression recorded in the Scriptures.
Dark times often follow times of great success.
Prophet Elijah traveled 125 miles due south (to Beersheba) running from Jezebel. He is so depressed he asks God to take his life away. As one pastor once said, he was struck with the "Tigger Complex": 'I'm the only one.' (1 Ki 19:10)
Despite the great victory not many days ago, Elijah felt his life an utter failure, and frustrated, fatigued and frightened, he waited for death.
But God not only does not answer his reckless request for death; He in fact never lets him die! As recorde in 2 Kings 2:11-12, Elijah is one of two people in the Bible who never tasted death.
God restores Elijah by three things:
By His Provision (Rest)
By His Voice (Listen)
BY His Promise (receive)
Physical provision - as unspiritual as it sounds - is what revived Elijah enough so he may move on to the next lesson - encounter with God on the very same mountain upon which Moses had met God and received the Ten Commandments.
Sometimes the most spiritual thing a spiritually drained believer can do is to satisfy a very basic necessity of food and rest.
Once that is accomplished, God manifests His presence to Elijah not in the wind, earthquake or fire, but in a gentle whisper.
Perhaps the great wind reminded Elijah of the wondrous miracle of God having parted the Red Sea so that his freed children of Israel can cross on dry land in safety.
Perhaps the earthquake reminded him of the walls of formidable city of Jericho crumbling down.
The fire - he did not to reflect upon history of his people - he'd just seen it; he'd called down upon God to answer by fire.
But the Lord, it says, was not in any of those awesome demonstration of power.
Elijah instead heard God's still small voice - the barest whisper.
And that whisper never really explained why things were happening the way they were. God never really provides emotional comfort for Elijah. Instead, he give him instruction to anoint three people - Hazael, Jehu and Elisha - who would bring about the downfall of root of pagan idolatry by annihilating the house of Ahab and Jezebel.
He was providing Elijah with a promise - which by the way, Elijah never sees fulfilled in his life time.
But it is enough for the once-depressed prophet, who in the same chapter goes to anoint his successor, Elisha, as God instructed.
It is almost a natural inclination for us to withdraw in times of depression. But that is a fatal mistake.
God does not allow Elijah to sit there in that dark cave drowned in self-pity.
He is pushed out into the world with a job and a promise - that there are 7,000 (representing God's perfect number as well as literal number) who were faithful to God.
We are never alone - despite what we may feel at any moment.
We may feel as if we are fighting a losing battle all on our own from time to time, but never allow yourself to swallow such self-pitying deception.
Find rest in God; Listen to His voice; and Receive His promises with a heart of faith and full assurance that God is always in control.
--from Nakwon EM December 17th Sunday Worship Service
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