The Lord of the Depressed

In our last post, we explored the two means by which successful men like Elijah fall into depression - self-righteousness, and self-pity. Elijah felt he had done everything right and the people who had just repented were to blame for his fear of Jezebel.

In this post, I want to talk about the Lord in our depression. Recapping 1 Kings 19 we learn a few things.

First, we learn that the Lord does not leave us when we are depressed.
1 Kings 19:12–13 (ESV) And after the earthquake a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. 13 And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

We know the Lord gets closer to Elijah here because he speaks in a low whisper. The laws of physics teach us that you only hear whispers when you are closest to the source of it. God has not only stayed by Elijah, but He's also come closer as Elijah has grown sadder. Even as Elijah wraps his face in his cloak the Lord speaks. I love this moment. The Lord does not leave.

Second, we learn the Lord sustains us. This is the meaning of the "Angel Food Cake" in the earlier part of the chapter on two occasions, one of which was supernatural nourishment for the 40-day journey to Horeb. 

1 Kings 19:7–8 (ESV) And the angel of the LORD came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” 8 And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

But there's more to the presence and provision of the Lord for His despondent soldiers. At the end of the chapter, the Lord gives Elijah a purpose to pass on.

1 Kings 19:15–16 (ESV) And the LORD said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. 16 And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place.

Here Elijah is given the task of finding some successors in the next generation of Israel's life. Now, this is not what you think. It is not the end of Elijah's ministry. God is not suggesting here that since Elijah is depressed He's moving on from him to younger talent. Elijah will accompany Elijah for many many years and reluctantly take his place as prophet. But what you do see here is the Lord giving Elijah an external focus for the next phase of his life. Elijah, like every other person in the work of God's redemption, will pass the ministry on to others who will outlive him.

If you want to kick depression in the butt, go do something that empowers someone else. Raise up someone else to do what you do. Find a teammate. Get someone else trained and enlisted in the mission of Jesus. Pour yourself into a younger protege or pupil who can surpass you because they will gain from the experience and wisdom you have acquired. Or do so some service project. Go visit that person who is sick in the hospital. Rake that neighbor's lawn. Assist that elderly woman next door. I am telling you - this is the often-ignored, counterintuitive way God breaks us out of our self-absorbed, self-pitying rut we often find ourselves in. 

You know what happens when Elijah finds Elisha? He's so overjoyed at the opportunity he runs home to say good-bye and sacrifices 12 yoke (24 total) of oxen and follows Elijah from that moment. 

1 Kings 19:19–21 (ESV) So he departed from there and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen in front of him, and he was with the twelfth. Elijah passed by him and cast his cloak upon him. 20 And he left the oxen and ran after Elijah and said, “Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you.” And he said to him, “Go back again, for what have I done to you?” 21 And he returned from following him and took the yoke of oxen and sacrificed them and boiled their flesh with the yokes of the oxen and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and went after Elijah and assisted him.

This shows us that the best effect Elijah could have was on a personal relationship with someone he deliberately invested in to do the job after him. Perhaps life has you too focused on what you want to accomplish. Maybe it's time to focus on accomplishing something great IN and FOR someone else.