There
are times in life when we all feel down. But God's Word shows us the
way to get back up. Look at Elijah, who 'was just like us.' How come he
got so far down? 1) It happened on the heels of a great victory. He
didn't start out in the doldrums, and he didn't fall into sin. No, he'd
just called down fire from heaven and slain 450 false prophets (1 Kings
18:22-39). But that's hard work! So he went from exhilaration to
exhaustion. Weary, defences down and vulnerability up, he fell into a
natural depression because
fatigue strips us of our courage. 2) Fear caused him to lose
perspective. The man of God who'd just faced down an evil multitude,
ended up running from one woman, Jezebel (1 Kings 19). Fear made him
forget God's power; it skewed his perspective and left him feeling
suicidal. Exhaustion coupled with fear is a dangerous combination. It
invites hopeless, wrong thinking, and creates the illusion that your
options are gone. 3) He became isolated. Elijah left his servant at Beersheba and journeyed into the wilderness alone (1 Kings 19:3-4). When you most need support, anxiety,
a sense of inadequacy and fear of failure, will push you into
isolation. At that point you're in the worst possible company; your own.
Elijah thought, 'I am the only one left, and now they are trying to
kill me' (vs10, 14 NIV). Translated: 'It's bad and I can't see it
getting better!' When you're down, it isn't the time to isolate. That's
when you need to reach for God and the people who love you, who can help
you back up. There
are times in life when we all feel down. But God's Word shows us the
way to get back up. Look at Elijah, who 'was just like us.' How come he
got so far down? 1) It happened on the heels of a great victory. He
didn't start out in the doldrums, and he didn't fall into sin. No, he'd
just called down fire from heaven and slain 450 false prophets (1 Kings
18:22-39). But that's hard work! So he went from exhilaration to
exhaustion. Weary, defences down and vulnerability up, he fell into a
natural depression because
fatigue strips us of our courage. 2) Fear caused him to lose
perspective. The man of God who'd just faced down an evil multitude,
ended up running from one woman, Jezebel (1 Kings 19). Fear made him
forget God's power; it skewed his perspective and left him feeling
suicidal. Exhaustion coupled with fear is a dangerous combination. It
invites hopeless, wrong thinking, and creates the illusion that your
options are gone. 3) He became isolated. Elijah left his servant at Beersheba and journeyed into the wilderness alone (1 Kings 19:3-4). When you most need support, anxiety,
a sense of inadequacy and fear of failure, will push you into
isolation. At that point you're in the worst possible company; your own.
Elijah thought, 'I am the only one left, and now they are trying to
kill me' (vs10, 14 NIV). Translated: 'It's bad and I can't see it
getting better!' When you're down, it isn't the time to isolate. That's
when you need to reach for God and the people who love you, who can help
you back up.
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