I am moved to share on a very significant message… and we get right to it!
And we read of his exploits to the glory of God.
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-stories/the-bible-story-of-elijah.html
Why Was Elijah Depressed?
We read of his being called by God and serving God. He had an amazing miracle
Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” 1 Kings 17:1
Elijah was a Man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the earth for three years and six months. James 5:17
For thus says The Lord God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:14-16
The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, “See, your son is alive.” 1 Kings 17:22-23
At the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Israel, today let it be known that You are God in Israel and that I am Your servant and I have done all these things at Your word. 1 Kings 18:36
More: https://bible.knowing-jesus.com/topics/Elijah,-Miracles-Of
Yet! After Elijah called on God and before the whole nation of Isreal showed the awesome power of God! Elijah prayed to The Lord to show the true God’s power. The Lord’s fire came down and consumed the sacrifice, wood, stones, and water. The people knew that Elijah’s God was the true God. Elijah prayed that the drought would end, and the Lord sent rain.
If God had a resume, I’m pretty sure it would include “trained in the use of a flamethrower.” In Exodus He’s lit up a bush and lead people like an ever-moving campfire by night. And in 1 Kings He threw down some heat and lit up some barbeque for Elijah to demonstrate His power. As Elijah promised, he showed himself to be the one true God. In the words of my mother, when things need to get awakened, God will sometimes light a fire under our butt to get us moving.
After three years of drought and barren lands, God told Elijah to meet King Ahab. If he confronted the king, God said he would bring rain to the land. One small detail: AHAB HATED ELIJAH. One big detail: JEZEBEL HATED ELIJAH MORE THAN AHAB. God’s command could have very well been the death of Elijah, but Elijah boldly called out to King Ahab, challenged him to gather all the Israelites and the false prophets to meet at Mount Carmel.
Picture the scene. All the Israelites had come from near and far, all the prophets rolled up, and King Ahab spoke to Elijah. There was a battle of words. Some smack talking was exchanged. Ahab called Elijah a troublemaker. Elijah shot back a retort and even included Ahab’s daddy and family as the one to cause trouble for the nation. You know it gets serious when you start talking about family! Elijah told the king God had brought the drought because the people had turned from the one true God and worshipped Baal. And he didn’t stop there. The 850 prophets who ate at the royal table, who’d condoned Ahab’s sin, were called out too.
This scene may not mean anything to you, but being raised in the ‘hood provides context for what went down in my mind. The king steps to Elijah, but Elijah doesn’t back down and calls out King Ahab to back up the smack he’s been talking. Elijah just lays it down. This is the battle to trump all battles. Neither the Capulets versus Montagues, the Jets versus Sharks, nor Hatfields versus McCoys could rival the drama that was about to see go down.
When the people all gathered on Mount Carmel, Elijah asked them to commit, to choose which God they would serve. Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal, asked them to place a bull on the altar and pray for Baal set fire to the bull. The prophets did as they were told, then wailed and cried out, but nothing happened. They shouted and cut themselves to gain the attention and favor of Baal, but no fire fell.
Elijah, tired of waiting, began to taunt and make fun of the prophets. “Maybe you should pray louder,” he said. (1 Kings 18:27) The insults grew increasingly heated, and, as some theologians describe, Elijah asked if Baal hadn’t answered because he was busy in the bathroom. OH NO, HE DIDN’T!
Yes, he did.
There was no barbecue for Team Baal. No fire or spark sent down and now it was time for God to move. This was the ultimate Hunger Games scenario, and the odds were not in his favor. Consider what Elijah was up against:
- The king and queen who despised Elijah and wanted him dead
- 850 prophets of Baal
- Slim chances of survival if God didn’t show up in fire
- And all of this without proof that God had ever acted as Elijah was asking.
Undeterred, Elijah trusted God, and when it was his turn to call for fire, he upped the ante. Elijah rebuilt God’s altar, dug a trench around it, and prepared a bull to lay across the altar. Then, he drenched everything in water four times over. Why the water? Simple. If the sacrifice lit, no one could claim happenstance or coincidence. It would show that an all-powerful God had done what no other god could do.
And then, in his grand moment with the prophets of Baal pitted against the one man of God, Elijah cried out to God on behalf of the people of Israel. God was the answer to this desert showdown, and only by his power would the people see his greatness. And His greatness, they saw. At Elijah’s cry, God rained fire from heaven upon the altar, and the flames not only consumed the sacrifice, but the wood, the altar and the dust around it. After seeing this amazing display, the people fell on their knees and proclaimed, “The Lord, he is God! The Lord, he is God! (1 Kings 18:39)” And as revival broke out in the land, the dams of heaven broke, too. Much needed rain pattered down on the dusty soil, bringing a new season of fruitfulness to a dead land.
In the moment of waiting for the miracle, Elijah repaired the broken altar and called the people by name, “Your name shall be Israel.” I don’t want to glaze over this without recognizing what is needed for revival. First, the enemy knows our name, but calls us by our sin; God knows our sin, but calls us by our name. Sometimes a reminder of who we are is stronger than a rebuke of what we are not. Secondly, altars symbolize prayer, fellowship with God, dying to self, and trusting the will of God. The fact that the altar was in shambles was a powerful symbol of just how far the people were from God.
In life there will be moments where we will be faced to choose our way or God’s way. Will we fight for control, dance at the altar of our own Baals, or will we cry out and surrender to deliverance. Will we put our works on the altar and let them be consumed by fire. How will we respond?
We are finally to the point of this share after this blessed walk with God and having enemies who sought his death Elijah wished to lay down and pass away. Note, not commit suicide but as we have touched on hungry and tired – starving even! He lay down to pass away. He was awoken by an angel and given bread and water… “Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” 1 Kings 19:5
Y’all, what he consumed lasted him on his 40 day fast and journey.
Elijah was also given a specific direction before fasting for 40 days and nights.
And the angel of The LORD came back the second time, and touched him, and said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So he arose, and ate and drank; and he went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights as far as Horeb, the mountain of God.1 Kings 19:7,8 NKJV
We could go on. Your task is learn to hear from The Lord. Submit all your ways to The LORD and God will direct your paths.
Healing Prayers for When You Battle Depression
If you’re feeling depressed, remember that you’re not alone. God is with you always. Don’t be afraid to reach out to people in your family, your church, or your friend circles. Ask them to pray with and for you, and continue to pray each day, asking God to draw you closer to Himself.
If you’re feeling the weight of depression today or if you’ve felt it for quite some time, pray these prayers today:
A Prayer for Battling Depression
Dear Heavenly Father, Thank you that you never change, even when everything around me is changing and unpredictable. (Hebrews 13:8) Thank you that you are stable, even when I feel so very unstable. (Isaiah 33:6) It feels like Satan has been whipping me around! Please sustain me, protect me, and enable me to stand. (1 John 4:4; Psalm 28:7)
I know that because sin entered the world, all of creation is under a curse–all creation groans. (Romans 8:22) Because of this, I struggle physically, emotionally and spiritually. Thank you for how my body is made, and that it sends me warning signals to tell me that I need help. Right now my brain and emotions are telling me that something isn’t right.
Help me to see if there is something physical that is causing my depression. Help me to sift through my circumstances to see if there is a need for change in some way. If I am experiencing depression as a result of a spiritual battle, please bring that to light and show me the best way to fight that battle.
Please lead me to the right source for help. Thank you for understanding what I am going through (Hebrews 4:15), and thank you that Your Word tells me that even Your Son went through hard times emotionally. There were times that He was distressed, grieved, faced loneliness, experienced deep sorrow, and after the death of John He went into isolation (Matthew 14:13). He cried in prayer (Hebrews 5:7-9), and at times he was overwhelmingly sad (Isaiah 53:3). There was even a time that he was afraid his body would not survive the anguish he felt. (Matthew 26:38)
I pray that You would send someone to help bear my burden. (Galatians 6:2) Thank you for again reminding me of how weak I am, and for the body of Christ that you have provided to help bear burdens when we grow too weary to bear them alone. I need someone to come along side me, take my arms, wrap them around their neck, and help me walk until I am strong enough to walk on my own. (Ecclesiastes 4:9)
Thank you for the grace that you have provided. (Hebrews 4:16) I pray You will use this difficult time to cause me to go deeper in my relationship with You, and that You would get the glory for anything that is produced in me. (James 1) Thank you for how you are going to use this time in my life and for all you are doing through this depression. Thank you that You have allowed my weakness to manifest itself in the form of depression, so that You can work more of Your image into my life. (Galatians 2:20; Galatians 4:19)
Thank you that I am not defined by this weakness. Since I am Your child, I am defined by what You accomplished on the cross. Because of Christ’s death on the cross, I can wake up every morning and live life knowing that no matter what I do, think, say, or feel–the cross covers it. Because You offered up Your own beloved Son, I can have peace with You and can face each day with fresh hope and grace. Help me to focus on what is true, and not focus on how I feel. As I sit before the cross, help me to gain a new appreciation for what it actually means for me on a daily basis.
Help me to embrace my weakness as a gift. Remind me that my weakness allows You to work through me even when I am so very weak and feel as though I can do nothing. (2 Corinthians 12:9) Through this time, I pray that you would enlarged my heart that I might love and obey You, and love others more deeply. (Psalm 119:32; Galatians 6:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3-4) Amen.