Suggestion, for a better understanding, read I Kings 19. In chapter 18 Elijah had challenged the prophets of Baal to see if their god would bring down fire to burn their offering. Their god could not accomplish that task. Elijah prayed to God Almighty to do the same thing and He did accomplish that feat, even overcoming greater obstacles. Elijah then took the 450 prophets of Baal to the brook Kishon and killed them. “Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying ‘So may the gods do to me and even more, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by tomorrow about this time,’” (19:2).
“He was afraid and arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba…and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree; and he requested for himself that he might die” (vs. 3-4). Interestingly, the man who wanted to die, never did. God took him to heaven without him having to pass through the valley of death (2 Kings 2).
Who Is This Man?
This man who was so afraid was none other than the outstanding prophet Elijah! He is the prophet of God, doing God’s work in the Northern Kingdom of Israel where Ahab and Jezebel ruled. To get their attention, God had him bring about a three-and a half year drought and famine (I Kings 17:1; James 5:17). He is the prophet who trusted God and has just won a great battle with those false prophets. But, in the next chapter, he is so afraid that he runs and wants to die. A great lesson for us: It doesn’t matter how strong a Christian we may be, whether a preacher, an elder, a deacon, or the “normal” faithful Christian, it is possible to become discouraged!
Why Did He Become Discouraged?
He let the physical become more important than the spiritual. He had won the great battle in the previous chapter because he was focused on God and the spiritual condition of His people. Now, he became more concerned with his physical condition than his spiritual condition. What a great lesson for us. Although our life on earth depends on the physical, what really matters is the spiritual condition of our soul. It’s so easy to get caught up in making a living that we forget to make a life – a spiritual life.
He took his eyes off God and focused on himself. Rather than leaving the situation in God’s hands, he tried to protect himself. Sometimes we get discouraged because we take our eyes off God. When we do that, our situation looms larger and larger and creates more and more fear. He let his fear overcome his faith. Faith and fear cannot exist at the same time in a person. One of the two will prevail! We are the one who determines which will dominate our lives.
He operated on an assumption, rather fact. He said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away,” (19:14). God later answered that by saying, “Yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal and every mouth that has not kissed him,” (19:18). Elijah was having a “pity party” because he felt all alone when in reality, there were 7,000 who were faithful! It is easy to get discouraged when we think we are the only one who is faithful. That is rarely the case! There are others who are striving to serve God just as we are.
How Did God Get Elijah Over
His Discouragement?
First, He let him reach the point of exhaustion before He began to give him answers. No doubt the battle on Mt. Carmel was mentally and physically exhausting. Think of the effort it took to kill 450 prophets! After all that, Elijah then outran Ahab’s chariot to Jezreel. That was a distance of 20 miles. Elijah then ran to Beersheba which was another 100 miles. From there he went a day’s journey into the wilderness. That’s another 20-30 miles. He had run about 150 miles. It is no wonder he requested death and laid down under a juniper tree to sleep (19:3-5). It’s no wonder that he was discouraged! It is easy to get discouraged when one is physically exhausted. But, the flip side of exhaustion is that sometimes when we reach that point mentally and physically, it motivates us to say, “There’s got to be a better solution” and we turn to God.
It’s okay to take some time off. It’s okay to relax. Jesus approved that principle when He said to His disciples “Come away by yourselves to a secluded place and rest a while,” (Mark 6:31). In the case of Elijah, he was being revived by his sleep and then God awakened him and gave him physical food which gave him strength to get over his discouragement, (19:5-7). Getting the proper amount of rest and the proper diet will go a long way in keeping us from getting discouraged!
Second, God sent him to a holy place. Elijah went to Horeb which is the region where Mt. Sinai is located. That was a very special place for all Israelites. That was the place of their origin. That was the place where God made them his holy nation (Exodus 19:5-6). That was the place where God had come down on the mountain, spoken to Moses, and gave Israel their law. What a great place to remind Elijah of his history. If anything could get Elijah over his discouragement, it was this holy place.
When we begin to get discouraged, we need to go to our “holy place!” It might be a hike over our favorite trail. It might be a special place that has special meaning! Maybe it is as simple as a favorite chair where we can think, meditate, and evaluate. We need to go where we can be reminded of our great experiences and the past victories we have enjoyed.
Third, God asked him a penetrating question – “What are you doing here, Elijah, (19:9, 13)? This is probably God who had sent Elijah to Horeb, so God ass not asking for information He did not know. He was asking that question to help Elijah think about himself.
Sometimes, we must ask ourselves, “Why am I here” – “Why am I discouraged?” “Why am I thinking this way?” “Where should I be?” God didn’t need Elijah in Horeb; He needed him back in Israel doing the work He assigned him. God doesn’t need us in the pit of despair, but rather in the battlefield of faith. There are souls who need our influence!
Fourth, God gave Him work to do, (19:15-16). He sent him to anoint some rulers. Sometimes, when we feel down or discouraged or a little depressed, we need to get our eyes off of self and go serve others. First, it gets the focus off ourselves and puts it on others which is our assignment in life. Second, often we will find that those who need our service are in a much worse condition than we. It will help put our situation into a better perspective.
Fifth, God gave him a friend, Elisha, (19:16). He went and recruited Elisha to work with him (19:19-21). They became the closest of friends to the point that Elisha was the only one who got to see Elijah ascend into heaven (2 Kings 1-2). No doubt, having that close friend kept Elijah from being discouraged again, at least not to the degree he had been before.
Everyone needs a friend! This friend should be a person with whom we can confess our troubles and sins. This is the person to whom we can explain why we are frustrated and discouraged. This friend should be one to whom we can question our thinking and listen to our doubts without the friend being judgmental. Solomon stated that principle so well when he wrote, “Two are better than one because they have a good return for their labor. For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up. Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart” (Ecclesiastes 4:8-12).
Conclusion
When we get discouraged, and we will, let’s go back and read again, I Kings 19 and think about the lessons in this great chapter. What Elijah went through can help us when we go through similar situations. What God did to get him over his discouragement, will work to get us over our discouragement.
Wayne Burger
