Elijah - The Lonely Prophet
We are introduced to Elijah in 1 Kings 17. Elijah is a prophet during a time of real rebellion against God. King Ahab is a wicked king married to an even more wicked queen. They both led Israel into rebellion against God. 1 Kings 16:33 says of Ahab, "He did more to provoke the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel than any of the other kings of Israel before him." This is the environment in which Elijah walked. His first encounter with King Ahab was not a positive one for the King. Elijah told him that God was stopping the rain for the next few years. God, being the all-wise God he is, immediately had Elijah leave the area for safer ground. Elijah lived by Kerith Brook and ate whatever the ravens brought him. In case you are wondering, according to the Audubon Field Guide, ravens can eat almost anything but mainly feed on insects, rodents, lizards, frogs, small eggs, carrion, and garbage. When the brook dried up, Elijah was told to go live in Zarephath because the Lord will have a widow provide for him. Zarephath is located between Tyre and Sidon in the land of the Phoenicians. What an odd place for God to send Elijah. While Jerusalem is a long way from Zarephath, it is the home country of Jezebel, Israel's queen.
Nevertheless, Elijah traveled to Zarephath and met a poor widow gathering sticks to prepare the last meal for her and her son before they died of hunger. Elijah told her not to be afraid but make the bread and give it to him, for God would provide for them. And God did provide for them through the long years of the drought.
After three years of drought, God told Elijah to go to King Ahab and tell him God was sending the rain. Elijah was about to have a mountain top experience. All of Israel was summoned to Mt. Carmel along with all the prophets of Baal and Asherah - 950 of them. Here, the prophets of Baal and Asherah tried their hardest to get the attention of their gods but only received silence. Elijah set the stage for God to be magnificently displayed to all the people. As a result, the people saw that God was the only god who answered the call. Elijah had all the prophets of Baal and Asherah killed. Read the full story in 1 Kings 18.
What do you suppose are the emotions Elijah is experiencing? Perhaps pride that God showed up in such a great way and proved without a doubt that God is the only God. Maybe he felt vindicated that he had been telling the truth about God all along. I wonder if he felt invincible at that moment? It was a short-lived moment though. As soon as King Ahab returned home, he told Queen Jezebel all that had happened. She was furious and put a hit out on Elijah. Elijah heard about it and was scared to death, so he ran as fast as possible. After a day of running, "he sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. 'I have had enough, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.'" (1 Kings 19:4)
What happened to the confidence and strength he had on Mt. Carmel? One woman's threat was enough to rock his world and cause him to doubt his existence. Like Elijah, we don't live on the mountain top. Oh, it's fantastic to be there, but we must come down from the mountain and live in the valley. Peak emotional experiences generally seem to lead to low emotional experiences. To paraphrase Norman Cousin's quote, "For every emotional high, there is an equal but opposite emotional low."
Was Elijah depressed at this moment? Let's look at some markers for depression:
Fatigue - Elijah just ran the entire day the day before. He was exhausted. He is being set up for depression.
Feelings of helplessness - Elijah thought he was helpless before the anger of Queen Jezebel.
Pessimism and hopelessness - Look at his comment, "I have had enough, Lord, take my life." He sees no hope for his situation. 9He seems to have forgotten how God showed up on Mt. Carmel.)
Suicidal thoughts - He has just prayed to God to die, to take his life. Definitely suicidal ideation at the least.
Notice that while Elijah was focused on God, he was strong. When he took his eyes off God and focused on his problems, he became depressed. Emotions come from thoughts. Change your thoughts and you change your emotions.
Key Points:
Emotional highs are generally followed by emotional lows. Be prepared. Don't park your faith in either place.
Keep your eyes focused on God instead of your problems.
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