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Treasures From the Wilderness
Tracy Osborne  |
Do you remember the deodorant commercial with the catch-phrase, "Never, ever, let them see you sweat"? As a pastor's daughter, I've observed that this is often the mind set of many ministers and their families. Somehow there are those who believe that if you're experiencing deep emotional valleys it's an indication of a lack of faith or a direct result of sin. This is not always the case. Will you visit an O.T. hero with me today? I think he can teach us something about feelings of discouragement and even depression.
In I Kings we read about how dramatically God uses Elijah to deliver God's message to King Ahab regarding an upcoming 3 � year drought. In the midst of famine Elijah is miraculously fed by ravens and then by a widow with a never-ending supply of oil and flour. Then, at his request, God restores her dead son to life. Later, on Mount Carmel fire falls out of Heaven to receive the evening's sacrifice, humiliating the prophets of Baal and resulting in their slaughter. Immediately following this Elijah prays for rain and the drought is ended in torrents of rain. The power of God is so enveloping, Elijah runs ahead of Ahab's chariot all the way to Jezreel. Whew!
What's next? CRASH! Deep discouragement almost always follows spiritual mountaintop experiences. Even after these dynamic moves of God Jezebel refuses to repent and then threatens Elijah's life. This situation is ripe for tremendous discouragement and despair. In fact Elijah runs away into the desert wilderness, he plops down under a tree and asks God to take his life (I Ki. 19:4). Even though this passage is so familiar, can we process this for a minute while we think about situations when we felt like this?
1. Feelings of insignificance: I think Elijah had prayed for years for Ahab and Jezebel to turn from worshipping Baal to the one true God. After the dramatic events on Mt. Carmel, the subsequent massacre of 850 false prophets, and the blessing of rain, one would have thought Ahab and Jezebel would have repented and worshipped Yahweh. Not only did they persist in their rebellion, but Jezebel threatened Elijah's life. Have you ever felt like you have been obedient to the vision God gave you and your diligent, sacrificial service is met with indifference or even resentment? Sometimes those we've been asked to minister to won't respond. In our frustration and discouragement we may be tempted to ask the rhetorical question: "What's the use?"
2. Feelings of loneliness: Elijah runs away into the wilderness, and then he leaves his servant and travels another day's journey into the desert. He chooses to be isolated. When he pours out his complaints before the Lord he tells our omnipresent, omniscient God that he's the only prophet left! Not only is Elijah suffering with feelings of loneliness, in his pain he seeks isolation. Aren't we like that? When we feel lonely and discouraged, we want to be left alone, which in turn makes us feel, you guessed it, more lonely. Also notice he believes he's the only prophet left (I Ki 19:10, 14). He knows that is not true because he's met Obadiah who told him he's hidden 100 prophets of God in two caves (I Ki 18:13). Feelings of loneliness can skew our thinking to the point that the truth seems unimportant.
3. Feelings of Fear/Anxiety: Elijah runs away in fear for his life. Interestingly, he then asks God to take his life. This may indicate he wasn't afraid of dying, but feared that God would allow His enemies that satisfaction. Have you ever worried God wasn't going to come through and wanted to just give up?
4. Feelings of Exhaustion: In I Kings 19:4, Elijah declares, "I have had enough, Lord"! I give up! Have you ever wearied in doing good to the point that you feel you can't possibly go on?
5. Feelings of Depression: All of the feelings listed contribute to feelings of depression. Depression is like a black hole that leaves you feeling powerless. If you can summon enough personal strength to try to climb out yourself, you'll most likely find your emotional footing will slip and you'll land at the bottom of that same pit, wounded and even more hopeless. This may be why Elijah, deep in despair, asked God to end his life in
verse 4.
If this story happened in our present day, I wonder what Elijah's congregation would have thought about this! No doubt they would be ready to summon a pastoral search committee.
But, that is not God's response:
1. He cares for Elijah's physical needs: God sends an angel to feed and protect Elijah. How sweet it is to witness God gently caring for His servant and patiently allowing him physical rest. He cares about our physical needs and doesn't demand immediate recovery. Did you catch that last sentence? Let that marinate in your spirit for a second. How often we can be impatient with our own recovery or push others to just "get over it" in our time frame.
2. He gives Elijah a friend: How lonely the ministry can be! Resist the temptation to isolate yourself. Ask God for a safe friend. Your Elisha may be just around the next bend.
3. God reveals His truth: God is the master of great timing. At the right time, when Elijah can process it, God tells him the truth: "you're not alone; I have reserved 7,000 in Israel who have not worshipped Baal." When we are so discouraged that we can't accept truth, God patiently waits until we're ready to listen. Wow! What a tender master we serve!
4. God gives commissions him: The Lord instructs Elijah to go anoint two Kings and a prophet (vs. 15). It's like He's sending Elijah the message, "Even though you are ready to give up, I still have plans for your future", which then brings, you guessed it, HOPE. After pouring out our heart-aching complaints we sometimes feel guilty like we shouldn't feel that way. God is there to remind us that even though we may have given up on ourselves He hasn't given up on us.
Difficult experiences can cause feelings of deep discouragement and even depression. Accept the fact that feelings are not sinful. When we bring them to the Lord and pour out our hearts to Him, He has an opportunity to responds to us, giving us a clearer revelation of His glory.
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