10 Nov How do you deal with discouragement?

1 Kings 19:1-18

1 Kings 19:11-14 – ¹¹ And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. ¹³ And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁴ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

Have you ever said, “God, I’ve had enough!”? Like, one day your life seems to be working out as you expected. Everything is fine. The sun is shining. God is good and life is well. But then the next day, your world turns upside down. Nothing works out as you expected. You know that God is good, but it doesn’t feel like God is good. It feels like God has forgotten you. It feels like you are alone, under attack, and God does not care. It is as if you are walking in total darkness and cannot see a way out. You are very discouraged. And you wonder how much longer you have to be in that situation. So, you say to God, “I’ve had enough.” Have you been there? I’m not trying to scare you, but if you haven’t, you will. It’s a condition that is famously known in history as the dark night of the soul or what we call today spiritual depression. And this is a lot more common problem than we might think.

Tonight, we are on our third sermon on the life of Elijah and Elisha titled, “Living by faith.” Let me remind you what happened last time. Elijah has just won a great victory against the prophets of Baal. They had the fire from heaven contest, and he won. And his victory was overwhelming. The prophets of Baal called the name of Baal for 6 hours and nothing happened. When the time came for Elijah to call on God, it took less than a minute for God to answer him with fire from heaven. And the people were chanting, “The Lord is God, the Lord is God” and they slaughtered the prophets of Baal. What a moment. It’s like Elijah had just won the World Cup. But right after that, right after that spiritual high, Elijah falls into a spiritual low. He experiences spiritual depression. Isn’t that the story of our life sometimes? Right after some spiritual high, we fall into a spiritual low. It certainly has been that way for me. Let me share with you a pastors’ secret. Do you know what is the worst day of the week for pastors? It’s Monday. Because on Sunday, pastors are on a spiritual high. They have been working and praying all week to deliver that sermon on Sunday. They have high expectations of what God would do on Sunday. But on Monday, they realise how weak they are and there is nothing they can do to change people. They remember all the faces that fell asleep during the sermon. They hear the same complaints about the same issues people have. They still face the same ministry challenges. So, they feel discouraged. But this is not only a problem for pastors but also for many of you. You obey God, you experience some success, you are on a spiritual high, but then life takes an unexpected turn. Your marriage falls apart, your kid walks away from the Christian faith, you get laid off from work, and you find yourself wondering, “Did I do something wrong? Why is this happening to me? God, where are you? Are you even there?” This is what Elijah experienced in our passage, and this is what we are going to talk about tonight. How do you deal with discouragement?

Here are my three points for the sermon: spiritual depression; kindness of God; instruction from God.

Spiritual depression

1 Kings 19:1-4 – Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. ² Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.” ³ Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there. ⁴ But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

What happened at the end of chapter 18 is Elijah went ahead of Ahab to the city of Jezreel. This is strange. Jezreel is where Ahab and Jezebel lived. And they have been trying to kill Elijah and they put a price on Elijah’s head. Elijah is a wanted man. So, why would he go into the city where there is a price on his head? Because Elijah expected a revival to break out. Elijah had just witnessed the people of Israel return to God. He expected Ahab and Jezebel to repent of their sins or the people would cast them out. Elijah was utterly convinced that God would do something great in Jezreel or he would never have gone there. But then reality hits him. Ahab tells Jezebel everything that happens at Mt Carmel. And instead of acknowledging Elijah and the God of Elijah, she sends a message to Elijah, “May the gods kill me if you are not dead by tomorrow.” Instead of a hero welcome, Elijah receives threats. He expected Ahab and Jezebel to repent or be removed, instead, Jezebel vows to kill him. When he hears that, Elijah is afraid and runs for his life. He goes to Beersheba and leaves his servant there. This is equivalent to him saying, “I don’t need your help anymore. I am quitting. I am done with ministry.” And then he goes to the wilderness where he says to God, “I can’t do it anymore. I’ve had enough. I am completely out of fuel. I have nothing left. Just end everything for me right now. Kill me.” Elijah is suicidally depressed. But note, Elijah does not try to kill himself. He knows he doesn’t have the right to end his own life. Life and death belong to God. Listen. It is never okay to end our own life under any circumstance. To decide between life and death is God’s prerogative alone. To take our own life is sinful in the eyes of God. Elijah does not try to end his own life; he asks God to take away his life.

What Elijah experienced is not unique only to him. It is a quite common experience in the Bible. It happens to many spiritual giants. Let me give you one other example from the Bible. Do you know that Moses also asked God to kill him? Read Numbers 11. Moses was caught up in the middle between the Israelites and God. The Israelites were complaining about not having meat to eat, and God was angry at them for not being grateful. And Moses said to God, “What did I do to deserve this? Did I conceive these people? They are not mine. They are yours. So, why should I carry their burden? I can’t do it. If you are going to treat me like this, just kill me. I’ve had enough.” That’s Moses. Do you see? Elijah and Moses were not immature Christians. We are talking about spiritual giants who experienced tremendous success in their ministry. But they got suicidally depressed.

Here is my point. Spiritual depression can happen even if we do everything right. Spiritual depression can happen to anyone, and it will happen to everyone. It doesn’t matter who we are. We can be heroes of faith, or we can be newbies of faith, it does not exempt us from spiritual depression. Many people have the wrong idea about Christianity. They think that if they trust God, all their troubles will go away. If they really trust God, then God will give them their best life now. But that’s not Christianity. Following God does not exempt us from troubles. Obeying God does not bring an end to life’s problems. Christians get hurt. Christians get discouraged and depressed. Christians get afraid and run for their lives. Sometimes, Christians are suicidal. Our natural tendency when we experience spiritual depression is to ask the question, “What did I do wrong? What did I do to deserve this? Is God punishing me?” We live with the assumption that as long as we stick to our daily spiritual disciplines, there can be nothing wrong. So, when we meet people who are going through spiritual depression, we ask these questions. “Have you prayed? Have you read the Bible? Have you fast? Have you served in the church? Oh, you haven’t. That’s probably why. You need to start serving. We need more teachers in the children’s ministry. Do that and you’ll be well.” We tend to be very moralistic. Or, the other approach is to say, “Do you know what’s your problem? It’s your lack of faith. What you need is more faith. If you have more faith in God, you won’t experience spiritual depression.” We tend to be very spiritually judgemental. But that’s not the testimony of the Bible. The Bible tells us that we can do everything right and still experience seasons of darkness.

But how did Elijah get there? The text gives us hints. Elijah is drained physically, emotionally, and spiritually. He is drained physically because he is always on the move. He ran 30 km from Mt Carmel to Jezreel. Then when Jezebel threatened him, he ran 150 km to Beersheba. Then he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. And after this, he will make his way to Mount Horeb. By the time he gets to Mount Horeb, he would run close to 500 km on foot. It is safe to say that Elijah is physically exhausted. And physical exhaustion can lead to spiritual depression. Let me read to you an insightful quote from Martyn Lloyd Jones. He was a very good doctor before he became a full-time pastor. “When you are physically weak, you are more prone to attacks of spiritual discouragement and depression. If you recognize that the physical may be partly responsible for the spiritual condition and make allowances for this, you will be better able to deal with the spiritual issues.” Did you get that? People who are physically weak are more prone to emotional struggle and spiritual depression.

Elijah is also drained emotionally. This is the problem of unmet expectations. Elijah expected spiritual revival to break out, instead, he had to run for his life. Elijah thought he got everything figured out. He thought if he got the formula right, everything would turn out right. But instead of a hero welcome, Elijah experienced wave after wave of trouble. He had no control over the situation, and he felt powerless. He was overwhelmed. Do you see? We live with this assumption that if we do A then God will do B. We assume that we can control the outcome. So, when things do not turn out the way we expected, we get disappointed. It’s not that we stop believing in God. We still believe that God is good, loving, all-wise and all-powerful. Yet why didn’t he come through for us? And we find ourselves wondering where things went wrong. It is very draining emotionally. Unmet expectations can lead to spiritual depression.

Elijah is also drained spiritually. Elijah had stood against the prophets of Baal. But as soon as he won that battle, he had to face Jezebel, the mistress of Baal. So, Elijah had been in constant spiritual attacks, and he lost sight of God. He was bold against the prophets of Baal, but he was a coward against Jezebel. He gazed his sight on God in one battle, he took his eyes off God in the other battle. Relentless spiritual attacks can bring us to a point of discouragement. We need to remember this. As long as we are in this sinful world, we are constantly in spiritual warfare. The enemy will continue to attack us. Do you know when is the best time for the enemy to attack us? After a spiritual high. It is right after we experience a spiritual high that we are most vulnerable to the enemy’s attack. That’s what happened to Jesus. Right after Jesus experienced a spiritual high where the heaven opened and God the Father said, “This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased,” do you remember what happened next? He was driven into the wilderness for 40 days and 40 nights without food and water, and he was tempted by Satan. Have you experienced that? You trust God, you obey God, you experience a spiritual high, and then you are suddenly hit by wave after wave of trouble, and it is very hard for you to understand why. So, you question, “Why would God have allowed that? I am confused. This does not make any sense.” Constant spiritual attacks can lead to spiritual depression. So, this is what Elijah experienced. And now we will see how God deals with Elijah’s spiritual depression.

Kindness of God

1 Kings 19:5-8 – ⁵ And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” ⁶ And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again. ⁷ And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” ⁸ And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

The first thing God does is he gives physical rest to Elijah. God sent an angel to Elijah. We would think that God sent the angel to rebuke Elijah. “How dare you doubt God? How dare you ask God to kill you? Have more faith. Stop being weak. Here, read John Piper’s latest book on faith.” But he doesn’t. There is no rebuke, no lecture, no sermon. Do you know what the angel does? While Elijah is sleeping, the angel bakes hot bread for Elijah. This is the only place in the Bible where an angel bakes bread. And when he finishes baking, the angel says to Elijah, “Get up and eat. You are tired. You are exhausted. You need food. Eat and then sleep some more.” So, God’s solution to Elijah’s depression is, “Have a nap and eat some hot pancakes.” Why so? Because God understands Elijah has a physical nature and lives in a physical world.

Listen. Sometimes what we need is not prayer. Sometimes what we need is not a sermon. Sometimes what we need is not to read a Christian book. Do you know what we need? Sometimes what we need is a good sleep and a good fried rice. So, one of the ways we deal with spiritual depression is to take a good nap. Not now though. Some of you are very eager to apply the sermon right away. Here is what we must not miss. We cannot separate our physical well-being from our spiritual well-being. Our physical and spiritual health are more connected than we think they are. I know this firsthand. Whenever I sleep less because of watching Manchester United lose, I find myself easily triggered. It affects my emotions, and in turn, it affects my spiritual health. I get annoyed easily and I complain a lot. But when I have good consistent sleep and exercise regularly, it is a lot easier for me to be joyful and focus my mind on God. Let’s continue.

1 Kings 19:9-10 – ⁹ There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” ¹⁰ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

The second thing God does is he listens to Elijah. Elijah makes his way to Mount Horeb. And once he gets there, God asks him, “What are you doing here Elijah?” When God asks questions, it is never to get information. God knows all things. God asks questions to give information. This is an invitation from God for Elijah to pour out his heart. He is inviting Elijah to speak. What God does is he ministers to Elijah psychologically. This is something that we need to embrace. Living by faith does not mean we are not being honest about our emotions. We do not pretend our emotions are not real. Not every emotion we feel is legitimate, but we can’t correct the source of our emotions if we are not honest about it. Expressing our emotions helps us figure out what is going on inside our hearts.

The Psalms are filled with examples of people pouring out their hearts to God. They say things like, “I don’t feel God. I get nothing out of coming to church. I feel nothing when I worship. I receive nothing when I pray and read the Bible.” But do you know what they do? They talk to God. They pour out their hearts to God. Do you see? What you must not do is stay away from God because you do not feel God. It is only making it worse. “But I don’t feel anything.” That’s okay. Be honest with God about it. If you are angry at God, tell him you are angry at him. If you are disappointed in God, tell him you are disappointed in him. If you don’t feel God, tell him you don’t feel him. Because if God is not real to you and you stay away from him, he will stay unreal to you ten times longer than if you go to him. But if you talk to him honestly, slowly but surely, you will start to feel God. It’s like when you wake up in the middle of the night and it is completely dark. When you first open your eyes, you can’t see anything. You can then close your eyes, and you won’t see anything. Or you can keep your eyes open for a while and they will adjust. Slowly, you can see a bit of light coming through the door and you can see. And this is what you must do in spiritual darkness. You must keep your spiritual eyes open and talk to God, and you will find the darkness starts to lift. Listen. God is not afraid of our bad theology. God is not scared of our doubts and questions. But he wants us to bring our doubts and questions to him. He is inviting us to pour out our hearts to him. So, God deals with Elijah’s physical and emotional needs. But he doesn’t stop there. Now he will deal with Elijah’s spiritual needs.

Instruction from God

1 Kings 19:11-13 – ¹¹ And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. ¹² And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper. ¹³ And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Don’t miss the significance of these details. God tells Elijah to go out and stand before him. And God passes by and there is strong wind, earthquake, and fire. Why strong wind, earthquake and fire? Because that’s how we expect God to come. We expect something spectacular. We expect something powerful, something miraculous. And that’s not wrong. God can do that. On that very same mountain, Mt Horeb, which is another name for Mt Sinai, God revealed himself to Moses through the burning bush – fire. Then when Moses led the people of Israel to Mt Sinai, God revealed himself through earthquake and thunder. On the day of Pentecost, God revealed himself through the wind. Wind, fire, and earthquake are frequent representations of God’s presence that we see throughout the Bible. But in this case, God is not in any of them.

What does it tell us? It tells us that God’s answer in our lives does not always come in the ways we expect. Rather than wind, fire and earthquake, God reveals himself through something else. He reveals himself through a low whisper. What does it mean? When we talk about a whisper, we are talking about a spoken word. When Elijah hears the low whisper, he walks out. He knows God is there. And church, this is what we need. Listen. If we want to hear God speak to us, don’t seek him in the spectacular; seek him in his word. One time, Jesus tells a parable about Lazarus and the rich man. The rich man is in hell, he looks up and sees Father Abraham and Lazarus. He says, “Father Abraham, if Lazarus come back from the dead and go and talk to my brothers who are still alive, then they won’t go to hell. They will believe him.” And Abraham replies, “Even if somebody came back from the dead, that’s not going to change their hearts. They have Moses and the prophets, and they refuse to believe.” Do you know what it means? It means that if they won’t listen to the Scripture, they won’t listen if somebody has risen from the dead. So, if we want to encounter God, if we want to hear from God, don’t go looking for signs in the sky. Go to the Bible because they are the voice of God. Then I love what God does next.

1 Kings 19:14-18 – ¹⁴ He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” ¹⁵ And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria. ¹⁶ And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. ¹⁷ And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death. ¹⁸ Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

Once again, God asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” This is the second time God has asked the same question. God never repeats himself just because. When God repeats himself, he has a reason. And just like God asks the same question, Elijah gives the same answer. But then God responds to Elijah’s answer. And God’s response to Elijah is very instructive. It tells us three things we need to do when we are discouraged. Number one, keep doing what we ought to do. God sends Elijah back to do his job as a prophet. He is to go back, speak God’s word, and anoint God’s people. This is important. Do you know what is the number one temptation when we are discouraged? It is to quit. We quit coming to church. We quit reading the Bible. We quit going to MC. We quit serving. We throw the towel and give up. But God tells Elijah to go back to doing what he was doing. In other words, if we were praying before, keep praying. If we were reading the Bible before, keep reading the Bible. If we were serving before, keep serving. If we were going to MC before, keep going to MC. Continue to do what we ought to do. Don’t quit.

Second, confront the lies. God asks, “What are you doing here Elijah?” He replies, “I have been very jealous for the Lord.” Then God asks again, “What are you doing here Elijah?” And Elijah gives the exact same answer. Do you know why God asks twice? Because Elijah gives a half-truth answer. Yes, Elijah was jealous for God, but now he is asking God to kill him because he is afraid of Jezebel. He is not jealous for God anymore. Then Elijah says, “And I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.” And God replies, “No, you are not. You are not the only one. I have 7000 others who have not bowed to Baal.” Do you see? God has to correct Elijah. What Elijah does is he puts God in a box. He thinks he has got God figured out. Tim Keller puts it nicely. “One of the reasons we are so discouraged and so depressed is we put God in a box, and therefore, we get too pessimistic and sometimes we get too optimistic.” Here’s what’s happening. Elijah thinks, “Because of what happened on Mount Carmel, now God has to do this and that. This has to happen.” Elijah is too optimistic about his own plan. And he is disappointed because his plan did not come to fruition. In other words, God has not let Elijah down. Elijah’s plan has let Elijah down. And God says, “You can’t put me in a box Elijah. You can’t control me. You are disappointed because you think I have to do this and that. But that is not my plan; that is your plan. That is not my thought; that is your thought.” At the same time, Elijah is too pessimistic about God’s plan. Elijah thinks he is the only one left while the truth is God has many others who have not bowed their knees to Baal. We can never put God in a box. We have to confront the lies we believe with God’s truth.

Third, trust God is in control. God reminds Elijah that even though things seem to be out of control, it is never out of God’s control. God knows exactly what he is doing. He tells Elijah that he already prepared the next king of Israel, Jehu. He already appointed the next king of Syria, Hazael. God even already prepared Elijah’s successor, Elisha. God is saying, “Elijah, I’ve got this. I am working out my plan. I am always sovereign in triumph or despair. Things are never hopeless. You might not understand my way, but you can trust me.” It might feel like the end of the world to Elijah but that is not true. God’s plan is still in motion. Do you see? When we are in the midst of discouragement, it is easy for us to think that somehow God has changed, somehow God has lost it. But that’s not true. It’s like this. There are many days when the sky is dark and cloudy. But it does not matter how dark the sky is, the sun is always shining. It could be thundering and lightning, overcast for days, weeks or months. But we know that the sun never stops shining. Something has come over and overcast the sky but that has nothing to do with the sun. It would be wrong to panic and say, “The light is gone. Oh no, the sun is gone.” No. The sun still shines. The sun is going nowhere. It’s just that we happen to be in a place of darkness. Amid discouragement, we must remind ourselves that the sun is still shining, and God is still in control.

Can you see how comprehensive the Bible is? The Bible teaches us that our physical, emotional, and spiritual well-being are connected. We are physical beings, so we need food and rest. We are emotional beings, so we need to pour out our hearts. We are spiritual beings, so we need the truth of the Bible. Christian must have all three balances, not one over the other. So maybe, what we need to battle our discouragement is to eat good food and have a good sleep. Or maybe what we need is to have people who we can talk about God, pour out our hearts, and do life together. Or maybe what we need is to pray and read the Bible more. All three aspects are important, and we must pay attention to all of them. But I am not saying that if we pay attention to these three things, then the darkness will immediately be lifted. I am not saying that. I don’t know when God is going to change our situation. But here is what I know. God is faithful and he will come for us. As we continue to press on to him, we will find that God is always there with us. So that when it is over, we will find ourselves more in love with God than before.

But how can we be sure that God will come for us? Here is how. What Elijah experienced at Mount Horeb is only a shadow of the reality that we know. Wind, earthquake and fire are not only manifestations of God’s presence, but they are also tokens of God’s judgment. Yet when the wind, earthquake and fire came, Elijah was not hurt. Why? Because he was hidden in a cleft of the rock. The rock absorbed those things and that’s why they did not touch Elijah. The rock received judgment, and Elijah heard the low whisper. This story points us to something that we see with much greater clarity. Do you know that while Jesus was on earth Elijah came to see Jesus? But he was not alone. Elijah came to see Jesus together with Moses. And Moses had the same experience as Elijah. God hid Moses in the cleft of the rock as his glory passed by so that Moses wouldn’t be destroyed by God’s glory. But when Elijah and Moses met Jesus on earth, they saw Jesus in his glory, and they were not destroyed. How come? Because Jesus was the rock that protected them from God’s judgment. Do you know what happened when Jesus died? Jesus got the earthquake. When Jesus died, there was an earthquake. The judgment of God came down on Jesus and tore him to pieces. When Jesus died, he inherited the wind. Wind often speaks of God’s curse. Jesus took God’s wind so we could get God’s whisper. And last week we saw how the fire of God’s wrath fell on Jesus. So, Jesus Christ is the rock of our salvation. Jesus absorbed the judgment of God for us so that we can receive grace and have a personal relationship with him through his word.

Let me close with this. Elijah heard the whisper of God, but we have something better. We have the whisper of God that became flesh, Jesus Christ. And Jesus confronts the lies that we believe. He tells us that we are never alone because he loves us and died for our sins. He tells us that our situation is not hopeless because he is resurrected, and he is king. He tells us that it’s okay for us to not be in control because he is in control. He tells us that there is a future for us because he will never leave us nor forsake us. What Elijah heard was a low whisper. But today, God screams to us, “Look at my son. Look at the cross of Jesus Christ.” So, listen to Jesus. No matter how dark it is, when we look to Jesus, we know that God is not finished with us yet. We might not know what God is doing, but we know for sure we will overcome because we are fighting a battle Jesus has already won. Let’s pray.

Discussion questions:

1. What struck you the most from the sermon?
2. Out of the three aspects of spiritual depression (physical, emotional, spiritual), which one do you find yourself most susceptible to? How can you better guard yourself?
3. Why is it crucial for you to be honest before God about your condition?
4. Look at the three ways to battle discouragement. Which one do you tend to neglect the most when discouraged and why?
5. How does looking to Jesus help you battle discouragement?