WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.879 Well, throughout this month we've been doing a very short series called Christians from 00:00:06.879 --> 00:00:12.839 Monday to Friday, which is in many ways emphasizing the fact that a relationship with Jesus is 00:00:12.839 --> 00:00:16.280 not something that's just confined to a Sunday. 00:00:16.280 --> 00:00:20.080 It's something that should affect every single part of our lives. 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:26.000 So far we've been looking together at, in many ways, we've been focusing on the amazing 00:00:26.000 --> 00:00:30.960 opportunities that our weekly routines bring for us as Christians, whether you work, whether 00:00:30.960 --> 00:00:34.799 you are looking after your family, whether you are studying, whether you're at school, 00:00:34.799 --> 00:00:36.719 whatever you're doing. 00:00:36.719 --> 00:00:42.480 Monday to Friday is an amazing opportunity for you to go out and live the life of a 00:00:42.480 --> 00:00:44.480 disciple of Jesus. 00:00:44.480 --> 00:00:51.359 On Sundays we gather together, and on Mondays we scatter, and we have wonderful opportunities 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:58.159 to make contact with the world and for our conduct to be such that we stand out in an 00:00:58.159 --> 00:00:59.159 amazing way. 00:00:59.159 --> 00:01:07.359 So, for lots of reasons, being a Christian makes Monday to Friday brilliant. 00:01:07.359 --> 00:01:10.519 It makes it absolutely brilliant. 00:01:10.519 --> 00:01:17.840 But at the same time, we are not saying that Monday to Friday is always great, even if 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:19.879 you're a Christian. 00:01:19.879 --> 00:01:27.439 And the Bible recognizes the fact that as Christians, sometimes life from Monday to 00:01:27.439 --> 00:01:32.439 Friday can be really, really hard. 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:37.439 And the reality of how life can be hard is seen very clearly in the passage that we 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:40.840 read about Elijah. 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:46.000 When we think of Elijah, we tend to think of one of the most outstanding servants of 00:01:46.000 --> 00:01:48.399 God in all of history. 00:01:48.400 --> 00:01:54.400 He's one of these big, big names that stands out in the history of God's people. 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:55.960 He was an outstanding prophet. 00:01:55.960 --> 00:01:58.240 He witnessed extraordinary things. 00:01:58.240 --> 00:02:03.200 His dedication to God was incredible when he was surrounded by a whole nation that was 00:02:03.200 --> 00:02:07.600 opposed to him and that was opposed to the Lord. 00:02:07.600 --> 00:02:13.120 The chapter before this, as we said, chapter 18 is one of the biggest triumphs that we 00:02:13.120 --> 00:02:14.120 ever see. 00:02:14.120 --> 00:02:18.120 It's one of the most thrilling events in the whole of the Bible. 00:02:18.120 --> 00:02:21.879 You go forward to the New Testament, to the Mount of Transfiguration. 00:02:21.879 --> 00:02:27.400 Elijah is one of these figures, one of the two, along with Moses who comes and speaks 00:02:27.400 --> 00:02:28.400 to Jesus. 00:02:28.400 --> 00:02:32.360 So when we think of Elijah, it's very easy to think to ourselves, well, he was an outstanding 00:02:32.360 --> 00:02:39.040 believer and everything was brilliant for Elijah. 00:02:39.040 --> 00:02:43.599 But the Bible doesn't just tell us about Elijah's triumphs and successes. 00:02:43.599 --> 00:02:48.080 The Bible tells us much, much more. 00:02:48.080 --> 00:02:52.120 And the chapter that we read, First Kings 19, is a remarkable chapter because it shows 00:02:52.120 --> 00:03:01.200 us that this great man who achieved great things was also a man who really struggled. 00:03:01.200 --> 00:03:06.840 And he reached some incredibly low points. 00:03:06.840 --> 00:03:10.960 And for many of us, that's the reality of life. 00:03:10.960 --> 00:03:16.800 And that's what I want us to think about together tonight. 00:03:16.800 --> 00:03:20.760 And I want us to focus on two things in particular that we see in this chapter because when you 00:03:20.760 --> 00:03:24.600 look at Elijah here, what do you see? 00:03:24.600 --> 00:03:31.560 You see someone who's exhausted and you see someone who is crippled by depression. 00:03:31.560 --> 00:03:37.680 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and had he killed all the prophets with the 00:03:37.680 --> 00:03:42.640 sword, then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah saying, so may the gods do to me and more 00:03:42.639 --> 00:03:48.279 also if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow. 00:03:48.279 --> 00:03:53.919 Then he was afraid and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beoshiba, which belongs 00:03:53.919 --> 00:03:57.159 to Judah and left his servant there. 00:03:57.159 --> 00:04:01.119 But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a boom 00:04:01.119 --> 00:04:09.239 tree and he asked that he might die saying, it is enough now, oh Lord, take away my life 00:04:09.240 --> 00:04:13.360 for I am no better than my father. 00:04:13.360 --> 00:04:20.960 And he lay down and slept under a boom tree. 00:04:20.960 --> 00:04:25.120 I want us to focus on these two headings of exhaustion and depression. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:34.160 And first of all, we're going to see how after the great triumph of chapter 18, chapter 19 00:04:34.160 --> 00:04:40.320 tells us that the opposition to God only gets worse and Jezebel's response is not to back 00:04:40.320 --> 00:04:46.080 down, but it's actually to intensify her opposition and she resolves to kill Elijah. 00:04:46.080 --> 00:04:50.080 So Elijah flees and even though he's had this great victory, he doesn't think, well, I'll 00:04:50.080 --> 00:04:51.800 be able to stand up to Jezebel. 00:04:51.800 --> 00:04:55.120 His instinct and his response is to run. 00:04:55.120 --> 00:05:02.760 And verse four describes for us how he wandered into the wilderness alone, isolated and exhausted. 00:05:02.759 --> 00:05:07.000 And so in just a few verses in the historical narrative, Elijah has gone from presiding 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:11.879 over one of the greatest triumphs in the history of God's people, one of the greatest displays 00:05:11.879 --> 00:05:19.879 of the existence and authority of God to lying down under a tree in the middle of nowhere, 00:05:19.879 --> 00:05:21.719 exhausted. 00:05:21.719 --> 00:05:28.159 And we know that he was exhausted because verse five tells us that he lay down and slept 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:34.920 and then he's told to eat and he still doesn't recover enough and he lies down again. 00:05:34.920 --> 00:05:41.680 And verse seven tells us that he needs to replenish his strength for what lies ahead. 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:47.600 Elijah is absolutely exhausted. 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:54.520 And I'm pretty sure that virtually everyone in here can not only picture the fatigue and 00:05:54.519 --> 00:06:00.079 weirdness of Elijah, but I'm pretty certain that you can all say, I think I know how that 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:02.879 feels. 00:06:02.879 --> 00:06:09.319 And for all of us now in life, very, very often we are battling with exhaustion. 00:06:09.319 --> 00:06:13.879 And it's ironic in a way because the last 20 years, I think I've brought so many changes 00:06:13.879 --> 00:06:18.680 into life that give the appearance of making things easier. 00:06:18.680 --> 00:06:21.879 So our phones can do pretty much anything. 00:06:21.879 --> 00:06:25.399 We just pull our pockets out and we've got access to whatever we want. 00:06:25.399 --> 00:06:31.319 Their TV can be recorded or it can be downloaded to fit round whatever we were doing. 00:06:31.319 --> 00:06:35.800 I remember when I was wee, you used to always have to be home at a certain time on Saturday 00:06:35.800 --> 00:06:37.800 for gladiators. 00:06:37.800 --> 00:06:42.279 But not now. 00:06:42.279 --> 00:06:43.279 Not now. 00:06:43.279 --> 00:06:45.639 Fits around everything that we're doing. 00:06:45.639 --> 00:06:50.120 Access to information has never been easier and communication has never been simpler. 00:06:50.120 --> 00:06:53.840 And so it all looks like it's making life easier, but I think that with all of these 00:06:53.840 --> 00:07:00.560 things, the last 20 years have also brought an ever-incleasing level of exhaustion into 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:03.120 our lives. 00:07:03.120 --> 00:07:07.280 And I'm not saying I can explain why that is, but I do wonder whether all of these technological 00:07:07.280 --> 00:07:13.879 advances have actually, in reality, just placed more and more demands on us. 00:07:13.879 --> 00:07:19.160 Because our smartphones mean that we take work to bed with us. 00:07:19.160 --> 00:07:22.560 When you lie down at night and then you can check an email and see that there's something 00:07:22.560 --> 00:07:24.960 you haven't done or something that you need to do. 00:07:24.960 --> 00:07:29.080 The instantaneously of email gives this pressure to reply. 00:07:29.080 --> 00:07:33.640 You always feel that you get an email and think, I must reply to that because everything 00:07:33.640 --> 00:07:37.120 is wanting an instant response. 00:07:37.120 --> 00:07:43.640 And if you've got 30 episodes of Top Gear or Gladiators or Downton Abbey or whatever 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:49.319 it is recorded on your SkyPlus box, you've got to find the time to watch it. 00:07:49.319 --> 00:07:50.800 And you think, oh, I'm not doing that. 00:07:50.800 --> 00:07:53.319 I haven't watched it and I'm not keeping up. 00:07:53.319 --> 00:07:56.919 And all of these things can just add more and more pressure. 00:07:56.919 --> 00:08:00.360 And alongside that, we now live in a world where more and more and more is happening. 00:08:00.360 --> 00:08:05.159 And yet, at the same time, we're constantly being scrutinized with this fear that if something 00:08:05.159 --> 00:08:08.680 goes wrong, then we're going to be blamed. 00:08:08.680 --> 00:08:15.639 And the result of all of that is that for many of you and for many people around us, 00:08:15.639 --> 00:08:20.439 we're absolutely exhausted. 00:08:20.439 --> 00:08:26.280 But the amazing thing about the Bible is that not only is it our book of theology, not only 00:08:26.280 --> 00:08:31.759 is it our book of moral instruction, not only is it a book of spiritual guidance, it is 00:08:31.759 --> 00:08:35.879 also a book for the exhausted. 00:08:35.879 --> 00:08:40.519 And the Bible never ignores the fact that there are times when we are crippled by fatigue 00:08:40.519 --> 00:08:43.200 and we're left absolutely worn out. 00:08:43.200 --> 00:08:47.840 That's why the Bible will give us the testimony of those whose flesh and heart faints and 00:08:47.840 --> 00:08:48.840 fails. 00:08:48.840 --> 00:08:54.919 And it's God who knows all too well that even youths grow faint and weary and young 00:08:54.919 --> 00:08:59.600 men shall fall exhausted. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:04.679 And what does God think of the exhausted? 00:09:04.679 --> 00:09:06.199 Is he disappointed? 00:09:06.199 --> 00:09:09.120 Is he frustrated? 00:09:09.120 --> 00:09:11.359 Is he angry? 00:09:11.359 --> 00:09:12.679 Is he impatient? 00:09:12.679 --> 00:09:20.279 That's often how we feel, but God is different. 00:09:20.279 --> 00:09:25.559 Because God's opinion of the exhausted are found in Jesus' amazing words, come to me, 00:09:25.559 --> 00:09:29.879 all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 00:09:29.879 --> 00:09:36.759 You could, I think, justifiably paraphrase that and say, come to me, all who are exhausted, 00:09:36.759 --> 00:09:40.320 and I will give you rest. 00:09:40.320 --> 00:09:43.720 God knows and understands our experience of exhaustion. 00:09:43.720 --> 00:09:45.120 Jesus himself experienced it. 00:09:45.120 --> 00:09:46.759 John 4.6 is an amazing verse. 00:09:46.759 --> 00:09:51.759 Jacob's well was there, so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside 00:09:51.759 --> 00:09:52.759 the well. 00:09:52.759 --> 00:09:54.960 It was about the sixth hour. 00:09:54.960 --> 00:10:02.840 Just remember that if you feel absolutely exhausted, Jesus knows what that feels like. 00:10:02.840 --> 00:10:04.639 He knows exactly what that feels like. 00:10:04.639 --> 00:10:11.440 So if you think of all the great aspects of who Jesus is, you think of his wisdom, you 00:10:11.440 --> 00:10:16.080 think of his teaching, you think of the miracles that he performed, alongside that in Jesus, 00:10:16.080 --> 00:10:24.160 there was also a vulnerability to exhaustion in exactly the same way that you and I are 00:10:24.159 --> 00:10:27.039 vulnerable to exhaustion. 00:10:27.039 --> 00:10:32.279 And for that reason, the Bible is the place where we should go in our exhaustion. 00:10:32.279 --> 00:10:38.000 There we will find people who feel exactly the same way as we do, and there we will 00:10:38.000 --> 00:10:42.839 find the God who cares for those who are utterly worn out. 00:10:42.839 --> 00:10:46.159 And that's what we see when we look at Elijah's situation. 00:10:46.159 --> 00:10:52.279 He's exhausted, so God gives him exactly what he needs. 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:56.959 He gives him rest, and he gives him nourishment. 00:10:56.959 --> 00:10:59.839 We see that in verses 5 to 8. 00:10:59.839 --> 00:11:03.079 God gives him an opportunity to rest. 00:11:03.079 --> 00:11:06.120 God gives him food and water. 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:11.199 And that reminds us of a fundamental biblical truth. 00:11:11.199 --> 00:11:14.639 God likes rest. 00:11:14.639 --> 00:11:17.799 Now by that, we do not mean laziness. 00:11:17.799 --> 00:11:24.199 God does not want people to be idle or inactive or lazy, but God does expect us to balance 00:11:24.199 --> 00:11:31.039 the busyness of work and the activities of our lives with regular rest. 00:11:31.039 --> 00:11:33.799 That's one of the great purposes in establishing the Sabbath day. 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.199 God firmly believes in rest. 00:11:37.199 --> 00:11:42.240 And the problem that we often have is that the more tired we get, the harder it is for 00:11:42.240 --> 00:11:47.000 us to rest, because we're plagued by guilt and frustration over all of the things that 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.440 we're struggling to do. 00:11:48.440 --> 00:11:49.559 And very often that's the case. 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:52.440 The more tired you get, the more you think, I need to do this, and I need to finish that, 00:11:52.440 --> 00:11:53.440 and I'm not getting this done. 00:11:53.440 --> 00:11:57.200 And it weighs down on us more and more and more and more. 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:02.519 And the simple and wonderful answer is just to listen to God. 00:12:02.519 --> 00:12:10.519 And the theological truth is that when we rest, we are glorifying and honoring God, 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:15.039 because we are simply saying, Lord, I need what you have given. 00:12:15.039 --> 00:12:19.519 I need to do the very thing that you have told me to do. 00:12:19.519 --> 00:12:26.719 So when you are exhausted, when you stop and rest, you are not letting God down. 00:12:26.719 --> 00:12:31.719 You are actually glorifying Him. 00:12:31.719 --> 00:12:36.919 So if you're exhausted, then think about how you can rest. 00:12:36.919 --> 00:12:43.679 And when you rest, praise the God who likes rest. 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:49.759 Often we think that our resources are unlimited and that we can keep going and keep going 00:12:49.759 --> 00:12:52.259 and keep going. 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:56.679 But it's God whose resources are unlimited, not ours. 00:12:56.679 --> 00:12:58.079 And He understands that. 00:12:58.079 --> 00:12:59.079 And we don't. 00:12:59.079 --> 00:13:00.479 That's why we read at the start. 00:13:00.479 --> 00:13:04.199 The Lord is the everlasting God, the creator of the ends of the earth. 00:13:04.199 --> 00:13:05.879 He doesn't grow faint or weary. 00:13:05.879 --> 00:13:07.599 His understanding is unsearchable. 00:13:07.599 --> 00:13:12.399 So He gives power to the faint and to the one who has no might. 00:13:12.399 --> 00:13:14.600 He increases the strength. 00:13:14.600 --> 00:13:18.840 Even young people faint and grow weary. 00:13:18.840 --> 00:13:21.399 Young men shall fall exhausted. 00:13:21.399 --> 00:13:28.199 But they who wait in the Lord shall renew their strength. 00:13:28.199 --> 00:13:34.439 Exhaustion is something then that we all feel from time to time. 00:13:34.439 --> 00:13:40.720 And it's something that God understands and that God can help us with. 00:13:40.720 --> 00:13:47.480 Exhaustion can be a good feeling in a certain sense because it can bring an element of satisfaction 00:13:47.480 --> 00:13:48.560 with it. 00:13:48.560 --> 00:13:54.279 So if you go on a Saturday and go and walk up on Monroe in Scotland and you get home 00:13:54.279 --> 00:13:56.800 at night, you will feel exhausted. 00:13:56.800 --> 00:13:59.120 Your legs will feel sore. 00:13:59.120 --> 00:14:05.040 But it's a good feeling and you can often rest well in that context. 00:14:05.040 --> 00:14:09.560 But that's not the kind of exhaustion that Elijah experienced in these verses. 00:14:09.559 --> 00:14:18.559 This severe physical exhaustion will eventually inevitably have an effect on our minds. 00:14:18.559 --> 00:14:21.159 And that's where we see that Elijah wasn't just exhausted. 00:14:21.159 --> 00:14:26.759 I think we can justifiably say that he was also depressed. 00:14:26.759 --> 00:14:35.159 And as hard as physical problems are, it's the battles in our mind that are the hardest 00:14:35.159 --> 00:14:36.159 of all. 00:14:36.159 --> 00:14:42.199 There's a wonderful quote from Spurgeon that I just want to read out to you. 00:14:42.199 --> 00:14:48.519 The mind can descend far lower than the body, for in it there are bottomless pits. 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:53.360 The flesh can bear only a certain number of wounds and no more, but the soul can bleed 00:14:53.360 --> 00:14:55.279 in 10,000 ways. 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:57.319 I've put it up twice. 00:14:57.319 --> 00:14:59.679 Sorry, I didn't mean to do that. 00:14:59.679 --> 00:15:05.600 The soul can bleed in 10,000 ways. 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:11.960 Depression combined with depression is a horrible combination. 00:15:11.960 --> 00:15:16.279 Because in that situation, we feel utterly worn out and at the same time, we feel utterly 00:15:16.279 --> 00:15:21.840 dismayed at ourselves, dismayed about all that we are and all that we fail to do and 00:15:21.840 --> 00:15:24.879 all that's going wrong in our circumstances. 00:15:24.879 --> 00:15:31.440 In that situation, resting is not so much a relief, but an immense challenge. 00:15:31.440 --> 00:15:34.320 And that's where we find Elijah. 00:15:34.320 --> 00:15:36.879 He's broken and depressed. 00:15:36.879 --> 00:15:39.480 We see that he's dismayed by his own failings and weaknesses. 00:15:39.480 --> 00:15:42.080 He says, I'm no better than my father. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:43.480 His circumstances leave him distraught. 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:46.920 He says, I've been jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts, for the people of Israel have 00:15:46.920 --> 00:15:51.000 forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars and killed your prophets with a sword and 00:15:51.000 --> 00:15:55.920 I, even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away. 00:15:55.920 --> 00:15:59.680 Elijah's in this awful situation where he feels like a complete failure and he feels 00:15:59.680 --> 00:16:01.840 like the whole world is against him. 00:16:01.840 --> 00:16:06.480 And that is very, very often where depression will leave you. 00:16:06.480 --> 00:16:11.000 We feel that the world and our circumstances are conspiring against us. 00:16:11.000 --> 00:16:19.600 And within us, we feel an overwhelming sense of inadequacy, frustration, failure and despair. 00:16:19.600 --> 00:16:25.399 And so if we look within, we feel bitterly disappointed. 00:16:25.399 --> 00:16:32.000 If we look around, we feel troubled, threatened and insecure. 00:16:32.000 --> 00:16:41.039 And all the time, we feel that God must be utterly disgusted with our behavior. 00:16:41.039 --> 00:16:49.039 We think God must think that we're so rubbish and so far from what we should be and that 00:16:49.039 --> 00:16:51.639 we're a huge disappointment to him. 00:16:51.639 --> 00:17:00.960 And that raises the question, what should we make of Elijah's behavior in this passage? 00:17:00.960 --> 00:17:05.559 So you read 1 Kings 19, what do you think of Elijah? 00:17:05.559 --> 00:17:07.680 And how should you judge his behavior? 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:10.720 What do you think? 00:17:10.720 --> 00:17:14.879 It's an interesting question because many people interpret this passage by being quite 00:17:14.879 --> 00:17:17.000 hard on Elijah. 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:20.519 So he's viewed as somebody who's wallowing in self-pity. 00:17:20.519 --> 00:17:23.960 He's somebody who's being disobedient to God by running away. 00:17:23.960 --> 00:17:30.240 He's often kind of criticized as a coward because of his fear of Jezebel. 00:17:30.240 --> 00:17:38.920 And it's easy to come to this passage and to interpret it as a way of avoiding depression. 00:17:38.920 --> 00:17:40.879 So you look at all the things that Elijah did. 00:17:40.879 --> 00:17:41.879 He ran away. 00:17:41.879 --> 00:17:42.879 He doubted. 00:17:42.879 --> 00:17:43.879 He feared. 00:17:43.879 --> 00:17:46.920 And you can say, well, Elijah did all of these things wrong. 00:17:46.920 --> 00:17:50.240 That's what left him in a depressed state. 00:17:50.240 --> 00:17:52.920 Here we are finding instructions as to how not to be depressed. 00:17:52.920 --> 00:17:59.039 The key message of this passage is don't be like Elijah in 1 Kings 19. 00:17:59.039 --> 00:18:04.400 Yes, be like him in 1 Kings 18, but don't be like him in 1 Kings 19. 00:18:04.400 --> 00:18:08.599 That's how some people approach this passage. 00:18:08.599 --> 00:18:15.279 I don't think they're right. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:20.879 Because I think the truth is there's times when we're all like this. 00:18:20.879 --> 00:18:24.839 And I think the lesson of this passage is not so much about avoiding depression, but 00:18:24.839 --> 00:18:30.920 rather about how God deals with those who are depressed. 00:18:30.920 --> 00:18:36.599 And the vital truth that I want us to see, especially if we are flat or depressed ourselves, 00:18:36.599 --> 00:18:41.960 is that God is not hard on Elijah. 00:18:41.960 --> 00:18:46.319 He's amazingly patient and gracious towards him. 00:18:46.319 --> 00:18:49.480 And we have to look quite closely at the text to see that. 00:18:49.480 --> 00:18:55.720 In verse seven, we see that God leads Elijah to Horeb. 00:18:55.720 --> 00:18:57.920 God's angel prepares him for his journey. 00:18:57.920 --> 00:19:01.680 God leads Elijah through his depression. 00:19:01.680 --> 00:19:07.759 Now Horeb is another name for Sinai, the mount where God gave his commandments. 00:19:07.759 --> 00:19:13.000 And you have to ask yourself, is it a coincidence that God's covenant spokesman Elijah ends 00:19:13.000 --> 00:19:16.200 up back where God's covenant law was given? 00:19:16.200 --> 00:19:19.720 So we think of Elijah wandering off into the middle of nowhere, running away in fear, 00:19:19.720 --> 00:19:26.319 and yet all of a sudden we find he's actually at this key location in the history of God's 00:19:26.319 --> 00:19:29.680 covenant dealings with his people. 00:19:29.680 --> 00:19:34.119 I don't think we can say that Elijah was just running away from God aimlessly when Vershade 00:19:34.119 --> 00:19:38.119 tells us that his destination was the mount of God. 00:19:38.119 --> 00:19:43.239 And so despite Elijah's frail mental state, God was never abandoning him. 00:19:43.239 --> 00:19:45.639 God was in fact leading him. 00:19:45.639 --> 00:19:52.599 And it's a reminder that if you are depressed, never, ever forget that God will never stop 00:19:52.599 --> 00:19:55.599 leading you. 00:19:55.599 --> 00:19:59.559 God is not a part-time shepherd. 00:19:59.559 --> 00:20:02.399 Every time we wander off, he will lead us back. 00:20:02.400 --> 00:20:05.680 Every time we can't see the way he will still be our guide. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:13.000 Every time our soul sinks into depression, he is still by our side. 00:20:13.000 --> 00:20:16.640 Elijah was in the depths of despair, but not for one moment. 00:20:16.640 --> 00:20:24.440 Not for one moment was he outside the care and protection of God. 00:20:24.440 --> 00:20:31.000 And neither are you. 00:20:31.000 --> 00:20:39.680 But don't forget that although God was leading Elijah, Elijah still felt horrendous. 00:20:39.680 --> 00:20:41.599 And that brings us to our next point. 00:20:41.599 --> 00:20:46.000 God leads Elijah and God speaks to Elijah. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:49.759 God reveals himself to Elijah by speaking to him. 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:53.400 And we saw that in the passage how Elijah has these conversations with God. 00:20:53.400 --> 00:20:55.759 I want us to notice just two important things here. 00:20:55.759 --> 00:21:00.079 First, I want you to notice that there's a lot of repetition in all of this. 00:21:00.079 --> 00:21:04.839 So in verse nine and in verse 13, God asks the same question to Elijah. 00:21:04.839 --> 00:21:08.079 And both times, Elijah gives the same reply. 00:21:08.079 --> 00:21:13.240 And it seems to be the case that Elijah's frame of mind in this chapter is the same. 00:21:13.240 --> 00:21:18.319 At the beginning, he's depressed, and then after at least 40 days, he is exactly the 00:21:18.319 --> 00:21:20.199 same. 00:21:20.199 --> 00:21:24.319 And the truth that's been revealed to us here is that God is well aware that depression 00:21:24.319 --> 00:21:28.279 is not fixed overnight. 00:21:28.279 --> 00:21:33.279 And God does not expect you to feel better straight away. 00:21:33.279 --> 00:21:37.119 And when we are low in our feelings of self-worth and when we're feeling insecure, you can 00:21:37.119 --> 00:21:41.599 be told something again and again and again, and yet it struggles to sink in. 00:21:41.599 --> 00:21:46.480 The same things, the same worries, the same fears can bother us again and again and again. 00:21:46.480 --> 00:21:50.240 They can come before us night after night after night. 00:21:50.240 --> 00:21:58.240 But God's patient, repetitive conversations with Elijah remind us that God is happy to 00:21:58.240 --> 00:22:08.720 tell you again and again and again that he loves you and that he will be with you. 00:22:08.720 --> 00:22:15.680 And you can go back to God with the same worries and fears and doubts and struggles and insecurities 00:22:15.680 --> 00:22:22.400 and as the perfect Father, God will listen to you again and again and again and again. 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:27.319 When we think negatively about ourselves, it's virtually impossible to avoid the conclusion 00:22:27.319 --> 00:22:29.679 that everybody else thinks the same. 00:22:29.679 --> 00:22:32.799 So if we think that we're a waste of space, we think that God thinks that we're a waste 00:22:32.799 --> 00:22:33.799 of space. 00:22:33.799 --> 00:22:42.000 But God's opinion of you is never, ever shaped by the way you view yourself. 00:22:42.000 --> 00:22:48.439 We think that our weaknesses are a reason to hide from God, don't we? 00:22:48.439 --> 00:22:54.480 So you think maybe about the fact that you get tempted by stuff is a reason to hide to 00:22:54.480 --> 00:22:56.119 God, hide from God. 00:22:56.119 --> 00:23:01.319 The fact that you get tempted by awful things, you think, well, for that reason, I should 00:23:01.319 --> 00:23:02.319 hide from God. 00:23:02.319 --> 00:23:13.719 The truth is, there is a reason to run to God because God says that Jesus experienced 00:23:13.719 --> 00:23:20.219 every temptation that we face yet without sin and for that reason, we should confidently 00:23:20.219 --> 00:23:23.919 go near to him and find grace and help. 00:23:23.920 --> 00:23:28.440 God expects us to need him, God knows that we are weak, God does not mind reassuring 00:23:28.440 --> 00:23:30.720 us again and again and again. 00:23:30.720 --> 00:23:34.960 You've got these great words in Psalm 42, it says, why are you cast down on my soul 00:23:34.960 --> 00:23:37.400 and why are you in turmoil with me? 00:23:37.400 --> 00:23:40.519 Hoping God, for I shall praise him, my salvation. 00:23:40.519 --> 00:23:44.920 Then they're repeated a few verses later and then they're repeated in the next Psalm as 00:23:44.920 --> 00:23:46.160 well. 00:23:46.160 --> 00:23:52.279 God does not expect you to recover instantly. 00:23:52.279 --> 00:23:57.559 God does not mind reassuring you again and again and again. 00:23:57.559 --> 00:24:02.519 Remember we read at the start the passage from Isaiah chapter 40 and it said there that 00:24:02.519 --> 00:24:04.799 God does not grow faint or weary. 00:24:04.799 --> 00:24:09.799 You've got this great description of God as the Creator, the one of unlimited power, 00:24:09.799 --> 00:24:13.440 the one who never gets weary. 00:24:13.440 --> 00:24:17.440 And so you think to yourself, God, that's speaking to us of the fact that God's all 00:24:17.440 --> 00:24:24.680 powerful and in his sustaining of the planets and the stars and of life and of light and 00:24:24.680 --> 00:24:26.400 all the different things that are going on. 00:24:26.400 --> 00:24:29.920 In God's providence, in God's sustaining, he never grows weary. 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:32.279 In his ruling power, he never grows weary. 00:24:32.279 --> 00:24:35.279 And that's true and that's where my mind tends to go. 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:42.360 But the fact that God never grows weary, it's also telling us about God's policy in regard 00:24:42.359 --> 00:24:51.079 to reassuring and comforting people who are brokenhearted and depressed. 00:24:51.079 --> 00:24:58.679 He does not grow faint or weary. 00:24:58.679 --> 00:25:08.959 God never gets weary with you when you struggle and when you're afraid and when you're feeling 00:25:08.960 --> 00:25:16.400 low, he does not grow faint or weary. 00:25:16.400 --> 00:25:19.759 The second thing I want you to notice is where God's voice is heard. 00:25:19.759 --> 00:25:22.880 So we saw the repetition of it all, but also where God's voice is heard. 00:25:22.880 --> 00:25:24.680 We've got these great description here. 00:25:24.680 --> 00:25:30.400 You have the wind and the earthquake and the fire, but God's not in any of these. 00:25:30.400 --> 00:25:35.840 Instead, his voice is heard in a small whisper, a low whisper. 00:25:35.839 --> 00:25:40.240 And the key point to notice here is that very often when we are depressed, we can often 00:25:40.240 --> 00:25:45.919 think that we need an earthquake in our lives or that we need a hurricane or we need something 00:25:45.919 --> 00:25:47.679 dramatic to take place. 00:25:47.679 --> 00:25:52.319 So we think that our circumstances are needing to change. 00:25:52.319 --> 00:25:56.799 We need to change job, change house, change husband, change wife, change everything, that 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:01.199 there needs to be an earthquake in our lives. 00:26:01.200 --> 00:26:07.360 Just not to say that sometimes our circumstances can be damaging, but it's important to remember 00:26:07.360 --> 00:26:17.559 that you don't need an earthquake in your life when what you really need is to listen 00:26:17.559 --> 00:26:19.640 to the voice of God. 00:26:19.640 --> 00:26:23.799 And Eli didn't need the earthquake or the wind or the fire. 00:26:23.799 --> 00:26:27.160 He needed to hear God's voice. 00:26:27.160 --> 00:26:31.800 And that's where we need to remember the crucial truth that God's word is true. 00:26:31.800 --> 00:26:36.440 Now that might seem like the most basic thing to say, but God's word is true. 00:26:36.440 --> 00:26:41.440 Now that's something that if you struggle with depression, you really have to remember 00:26:41.440 --> 00:26:43.160 that God's word is true. 00:26:43.160 --> 00:26:49.160 Yes, that's obvious, but it's essential to grasp it because so often depression cripples 00:26:49.160 --> 00:26:54.920 us because it convinces us of things that are false. 00:26:54.920 --> 00:27:01.560 And it magnifies things that are only half true, and it turns them into overwhelmingly 00:27:01.560 --> 00:27:03.920 distressing thoughts. 00:27:03.920 --> 00:27:05.759 That's what happened to Elijah. 00:27:05.759 --> 00:27:08.400 He thought he was the only one left. 00:27:08.400 --> 00:27:11.240 He thought all hope was gone. 00:27:11.240 --> 00:27:17.880 And the key response is to listen to the still, gentle, unchanging truth of God's word. 00:27:17.880 --> 00:27:21.120 So when we're depressed, we feel like we're a waste of space. 00:27:21.120 --> 00:27:24.720 That's not true. 00:27:24.720 --> 00:27:29.160 That's not the theological truth that God's word presents before us because the theological 00:27:29.160 --> 00:27:36.519 truth of God's word is that you are created as the handiwork of God made in his image 00:27:36.519 --> 00:27:43.799 and eternally precious to him, made as the apple of his eye and the one who can hide 00:27:43.799 --> 00:27:47.039 in the shadow of his wings. 00:27:47.039 --> 00:27:53.120 And that's probably not how you feel, but it's theological truth. 00:27:53.119 --> 00:27:57.199 Our state of mind can leave us full of regret about our mistakes and our sins. 00:27:57.199 --> 00:28:01.279 So we think I've mucked up so much in my life and I've caused so much damage and I've 00:28:01.279 --> 00:28:02.799 done so many things that are wrong. 00:28:02.799 --> 00:28:07.239 And yet the truth of God's word says, come, now let us reason together. 00:28:07.239 --> 00:28:11.119 Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be white as snow. 00:28:11.119 --> 00:28:16.399 Though they're red like crimson, they shall become as wool. 00:28:16.399 --> 00:28:19.759 Depression can leave us despairing about everything that's gone wrong in our lives. 00:28:19.759 --> 00:28:20.759 We're full of regret. 00:28:20.759 --> 00:28:21.839 We think, why did I do this? 00:28:21.839 --> 00:28:23.039 Why am I like this? 00:28:23.039 --> 00:28:24.519 Why is this happening in my life? 00:28:24.519 --> 00:28:30.559 But God's word, the truth of God's word gently reminds us that our times are in God's hands, 00:28:30.559 --> 00:28:37.319 that before we were born, God's eyes saw our unformed substance. 00:28:37.319 --> 00:28:41.359 In his book, we're written every one of them the days that were formed for us, when as 00:28:41.359 --> 00:28:48.279 there were yet none of them, as Psalm 139 tells us. 00:28:48.279 --> 00:28:52.519 And perhaps worst of all, we tend to be crippled by the fact that we blame ourselves for everything 00:28:52.519 --> 00:28:53.519 that's wrong with us. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:28:57.960 We see ourselves as the biggest problem that there is. 00:28:57.960 --> 00:29:02.519 And yet we must remember the truth of the Bible, and we must remember the truth of the 00:29:02.519 --> 00:29:07.680 Bible, the fact that the fallen state of the world and the misery that that brings into 00:29:07.680 --> 00:29:14.279 people's lives is not your handiwork, ultimately. 00:29:14.279 --> 00:29:17.879 Ultimately it's the handiwork of the devil. 00:29:17.880 --> 00:29:25.320 And he is our enemy, and Elijah's despair is ultimately due to the powers of darkness 00:29:25.320 --> 00:29:30.080 turning people away from the true and living God. 00:29:30.080 --> 00:29:34.800 And yes, we are all guilty sinners, and yes, we are not what we should be before God, but 00:29:34.800 --> 00:29:39.760 God's ultimate enemy is not you. 00:29:39.760 --> 00:29:42.280 It's the devil. 00:29:42.279 --> 00:29:48.920 And God's desire is to liberate you from his clutches and to restore you to a perfect 00:29:48.920 --> 00:29:52.160 relationship with himself. 00:29:52.160 --> 00:29:56.160 Very often we're depressed because we convince ourselves of the reality of things that are 00:29:56.160 --> 00:29:59.519 ultimately not true. 00:29:59.519 --> 00:30:07.480 And so that's why God's word is where we go in order to find the truth. 00:30:07.480 --> 00:30:19.160 Finally, we see that God has plans for Elijah. 00:30:19.160 --> 00:30:23.440 Elijah takes this journey through the passage that we read. 00:30:23.440 --> 00:30:27.720 He runs away, he heads south, he ends up at Horeb. 00:30:27.720 --> 00:30:31.799 But the key point is that the journey is not over. 00:30:31.799 --> 00:30:37.399 The Lord says to him, go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus, and there he 00:30:37.399 --> 00:30:43.319 instructs him to anoint a new king over Syria, a new king over Israel, and to call Elisha 00:30:43.319 --> 00:30:47.919 as his assistant and as his ultimate replacement. 00:30:47.919 --> 00:30:51.839 The key point that I want us to see here, and that I think has been said before us in 00:30:51.839 --> 00:30:59.759 God's word here, is that if we are in the midst of depression, so often we forget that 00:30:59.759 --> 00:31:03.079 there is a bigger picture. 00:31:03.079 --> 00:31:07.319 Very often we can take a screenshot of our lives, so you can take a screenshot with your 00:31:07.319 --> 00:31:12.839 phone of something that you're reading or of a video or whatever, and it's like we snap 00:31:12.839 --> 00:31:14.879 that moment. 00:31:14.879 --> 00:31:17.440 And we think that's it. 00:31:17.440 --> 00:31:23.359 We think that's the whole story, this brief window, this tiny screenshot. 00:31:23.359 --> 00:31:32.639 And that's the tragic mindset that can leave people feeling suicidal. 00:31:32.639 --> 00:31:40.319 Elijah wanted his life to end because he thought that that was it, that this was the whole 00:31:40.319 --> 00:31:43.199 story. 00:31:43.200 --> 00:31:54.360 And Suicide is a tragic self-confidence in our own judgment. 00:31:54.360 --> 00:32:01.720 We think that this is the whole story, and there's nothing more. 00:32:01.720 --> 00:32:06.680 And yet the passage is reminding us that we are part of a much, much bigger picture. 00:32:06.680 --> 00:32:11.080 Notice that at no point does God disagree with Elijah. 00:32:11.079 --> 00:32:15.679 He's well aware of the desperation of the situation for Israel and for Elijah himself. 00:32:15.679 --> 00:32:20.079 God doesn't go to Elijah and say, oh yeah, actually it's not that bad. 00:32:20.079 --> 00:32:24.919 He acknowledges the fact that things are difficult. 00:32:24.919 --> 00:32:33.480 God does not expect us to think that everything is always perfect, but he does expect us to 00:32:33.480 --> 00:32:36.279 remember that his plans are wiser than ours. 00:32:36.279 --> 00:32:44.399 His judgment is superior and his ways are not our ways. 00:32:44.399 --> 00:32:47.359 He expects us to trust him. 00:32:47.359 --> 00:32:53.359 That's what he wanted Elijah to do, and that's what we need to do. 00:32:53.359 --> 00:32:59.079 But the last thing I want you to notice in the passages is a really important little 00:32:59.079 --> 00:33:00.079 word. 00:33:00.079 --> 00:33:07.079 I often say this, the big words in Scripture are amazing, the little words are also amazing. 00:33:07.079 --> 00:33:11.519 And there's a little word in God's question to Elijah. 00:33:11.519 --> 00:33:15.319 You can see that at the very bottom of the screen there, God comes to Elijah and he says, 00:33:15.319 --> 00:33:21.079 what are you doing here, Elijah? 00:33:21.079 --> 00:33:32.399 And I think that the word here is beautiful because it reminds us that here is the place 00:33:32.399 --> 00:33:42.279 where God will meet us, even if that is at the very depths of your depression. 00:33:42.279 --> 00:33:53.559 And it's a reminder that God wants us to talk to him wherever we are and in whatever situation 00:33:53.559 --> 00:33:54.559 we find ourselves. 00:33:54.559 --> 00:33:59.879 He wants us to pour our hearts out about what has left us in this condition. 00:33:59.879 --> 00:34:07.079 God wants to meet us and is ready to meet us here, whatever here is for you tonight. 00:34:07.079 --> 00:34:13.319 But it also reminds us that God doesn't want to leave us here. 00:34:13.319 --> 00:34:18.719 He doesn't want to just leave you in the depths of depression. 00:34:18.719 --> 00:34:26.319 He will meet with you so that he can show you where to go because we're on a journey 00:34:26.319 --> 00:34:29.480 just like Elijah was. 00:34:29.480 --> 00:34:35.079 And what we always have to remember is that that journey will only be over when you enter 00:34:35.079 --> 00:34:44.920 into paradise and there depression will be one of the many former things that will have 00:34:44.920 --> 00:34:49.840 passed away. 00:34:49.840 --> 00:34:53.199 So what does God think of the exhausted and the depressed? 00:34:53.199 --> 00:34:58.920 Well, he knows exactly how you're feeling. 00:34:58.920 --> 00:35:02.319 He knows exactly where you are. 00:35:02.320 --> 00:35:07.080 When you may well be a man or a woman of great sorrows, you might be well acquainted with 00:35:07.080 --> 00:35:15.360 grief and maybe Monday to Friday in your life is really tough. 00:35:15.360 --> 00:35:20.960 But God knows what that is like and he knows how to help. 00:35:20.960 --> 00:35:27.360 If you're exhausted, if you're depressed, you can go to God. 00:35:27.360 --> 00:35:35.640 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. 00:35:35.640 --> 00:35:46.599 Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all. 00:35:46.599 --> 00:35:56.039 Where else can you go to find hope like that? 00:35:56.039 --> 00:36:01.480 What in the world can give the depressed and the exhausted a peace and a comfort and a 00:36:01.480 --> 00:36:09.360 security that can compare to what Jesus will give you? 00:36:09.360 --> 00:36:11.800 Let's pray. 00:36:11.800 --> 00:36:24.519 Dear God, our Father, we thank you for all the joy and happiness that life can bring 00:36:24.519 --> 00:36:29.000 and for the many, many things that we can be thankful for. 00:36:29.000 --> 00:36:33.840 But we also come before you acknowledging that very often life is really hard and often 00:36:33.840 --> 00:36:38.679 we're exhausted, often we are depressed. 00:36:38.679 --> 00:36:45.199 And for some people, that may be a very, very big part of their lives. 00:36:45.199 --> 00:36:56.039 And we thank you that your Word gives hope and comfort and help to the exhausted and 00:36:56.039 --> 00:36:58.439 the depressed. 00:36:58.439 --> 00:37:04.279 We thank you so much that you know us to our very core and that you are ready to meet with 00:37:04.279 --> 00:37:07.639 us wherever we are. 00:37:07.639 --> 00:37:12.639 And we pray for those who struggle with exhaustion, for those who have got a lot of pressure at 00:37:12.639 --> 00:37:16.199 work or a lot of worry or concern. 00:37:16.199 --> 00:37:22.239 We pray for those also here who have battled depression in their lives. 00:37:22.239 --> 00:37:26.279 And we pray that they would know your continuing help and strength. 00:37:26.279 --> 00:37:34.239 We also want to thank you for all the mental health support that is provided through our 00:37:34.239 --> 00:37:35.879 healthcare service. 00:37:35.879 --> 00:37:38.359 And we pray for all those involved in that work. 00:37:38.359 --> 00:37:40.319 And we thank you for them. 00:37:40.320 --> 00:37:46.200 And we pray, Lord, that in everything, and we would remember that we can come to you 00:37:46.200 --> 00:37:48.160 just as we are. 00:37:48.160 --> 00:37:59.320 Help us, Lord, and help us not to trust our minds when they're broken. 00:37:59.320 --> 00:38:01.840 Help us to always just trust your Word. 00:38:01.840 --> 00:38:10.280 Amen.