ELIJAH FIGHTS HIS TOUGHEST BATTLE: DEPRESSION

NOTE: Look for all the signs of depression in this story: withdrawal from friends and family, sleeping too much, loss of appetite, hopelessness, a death wish, preoccupation with the same negative thoughts, loss of enthusiasm, self-pity and despair. But also note that the end of Elijah’s depression came when God, the greatest psychologist, gave him hope and a mission. Everyone needs hope and to feel productive and we all need to be needed.

ELIJAH FIGHTS HIS TOUGHEST BATTLE: DEPRESSION

(I Kings 19:1-18)

Jezebel threatened to kill Elijah--

'fore tomorrow’s end drew nigh!

Elijah was so afraid of death,

That he just wanted to die.

He had endured many trials,

With courage, strength and honor,

But now that he faced Jezebel,

He thought he was a goner.

He ran for his life to Beersheba,

And left his servant there.

In the desert he prayed for death;

His problems were too much to bear.

He told God frankly he’d had enough,

And begged Him to take his life.

Weary from worry, he fell asleep;

He was physically spent by his strife.

All at once, he was touched by an angel,

Which, of course, made him awake.

The angel asked him to get up and eat;

By his head was water and cake.

He ate the simple meal,

Then lay down again to rest.

He was still consumed by grief;

In other words, he was depressed.

Again he was touched by the angel,

With a cake, and water to sip.

 “Arise and eat," the angel said;

"You need strength for a very long trip.”

For forty days and nights he traveled,

Still preoccupied by his plight.

He reached Horeb, the mountain of God;

In a cave he spent the night.

The word of the Lord came to him,

“What are you doing here?”

Elijah told God the predicament,

That was causing him so much fear.

“Go stand on the mountain,” God said,

“For the Lord will soon pass by.”

Elijah now had a mountain to climb;

He must have wanted to cry.

A wind tore apart the mountain,

Yet God was not in the wind.

Elijah most surely wondered,

When would his nightmare end.

When the earth began to quake,

He expected God to be there,

But God was not in the rumble,

So Elijah was still in despair.

Elijah pursued God’s help,

So he looked for Him in a fire.

When God was not in the flames,

Elijah wallowed in his mire.

Then he heard a still, small voice--

He was scared; he could hardly cope.

He pulled his cloak across his face,

But the words brought whispering hope.

God gave Elijah a mission,

For the seven thousand still true.

He wasn’t the only believer,

And he was no longer blue.

Becky Overturf Wall