WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:13.480 Turn to the book of 1 Kings this morning, 1 Kings chapter 19, as we continue on in our series 00:00:13.480 --> 00:00:18.879 ! We're talking about the resilient life, and we started last week talking about dealing 00:00:18.879 --> 00:00:26.400 ! with depression and the things overcoming it along the way, and we find that depression is 00:00:26.399 --> 00:00:34.839 something that is not just a growing problem, but is a problem within individuals from the very 00:00:34.839 --> 00:00:40.280 beginning, and even great, what we might say, great saints of God, even like Elijah, 00:00:40.939 --> 00:00:48.340 faced seasons of depression in their life. I think it's not a matter of if, but when we have to walk 00:00:48.340 --> 00:00:54.780 through, and we walk through all different levels of this. But as we begin looking here, 1 Kings 00:00:54.780 --> 00:01:03.600 chapter 19, if you would, and we'll pick up it and read a few verses here, and take a look here as we 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:11.020 work through this. Let me get the pages separated here. All right. Verse 1 of chapter 19, it says, 00:01:11.159 --> 00:01:16.700 Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and with Ahab he had slain all the prophets with the sword, 00:01:16.700 --> 00:01:23.980 and then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, 00:01:24.439 --> 00:01:31.980 if I make not thy life as the life is one of them by tomorrow about this time. And when he saw that, 00:01:32.060 --> 00:01:37.079 he arose and went for his life, and came to Beersheba, which belonged to Judah, and left his 00:01:37.079 --> 00:01:42.359 servant there. But he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a 00:01:42.359 --> 00:01:48.859 juniper tree. And he requested for himself that he might die, and he said, It is enough. Now, O Lord, 00:01:48.959 --> 00:01:55.060 take away my life, for I'm not better than my father's. And as he lay and slept under the juniper 00:01:55.060 --> 00:02:02.620 tree, behold, the angel touched him and said unto him, Arise and eat. Let's pray. Heavenly Fathers, we 00:02:02.620 --> 00:02:08.800 come before you this morning. Lord, we just thank you for your love for us. Lord, we thank you as we look 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:17.480 in an important reality of walking through seasons of depression, things that happen in our life that 00:02:17.480 --> 00:02:24.060 cause us to be depressed or to be cast down in our spirit. Lord, we pray that you just would help us to 00:02:24.060 --> 00:02:31.340 realize the nature of it. And Lord, also, your provision as we walk through those things in our 00:02:31.340 --> 00:02:36.560 life. And Lord, we just ask all this in your precious name. Amen. You know, we began last week talking 00:02:36.560 --> 00:02:44.039 about depression. It's been a growing problem. When we looked at a few statistics last week, you know, 00:02:44.099 --> 00:02:49.500 that worldwide it said that 30 million people have been diagnosed with depression. You know, when you 00:02:49.500 --> 00:02:56.300 consider the dynamic, it's just in one 12-month period, 3.1 million people between the ages of 12 00:02:56.300 --> 00:03:03.099 and 17 were diagnosed with depression just even here in the United States. You know, we face these 00:03:03.099 --> 00:03:10.199 things. It says that 8.75% of women and 5% of men report having experienced depression. 00:03:11.159 --> 00:03:18.560 And depression leads to the next. That suicide is the second leading cause of death among 10 to 34-year-olds. 00:03:18.620 --> 00:03:24.019 And it can be hard to deal with. It's hard to define because depression takes many faces. 00:03:25.680 --> 00:03:31.019 You know, people deal with it differently in their life, but a lot of the symptoms are very similar. 00:03:31.020 --> 00:03:38.400 You know, feelings of sadness, emptiness, hopelessness. You know, a loss of interest or pleasure in just 00:03:38.400 --> 00:03:46.520 normal daily activities. I mean, when we see those things, insomnia, you know, not being able to sleep, 00:03:46.600 --> 00:03:54.560 but also in sleeping too much. You know, depression is not one of those things that you can just go down 00:03:54.560 --> 00:03:58.780 the list and say, well, if a person has check, check, check, check, check, this must be going on. 00:03:58.780 --> 00:04:05.520 It manifests itself in a lot of ways. And differently amongst people of everything from not wanting to 00:04:05.520 --> 00:04:11.840 eat to want to eat everything that you get a hold of. I mean, the spectrum is broad of the impact that 00:04:11.840 --> 00:04:18.279 it has, and it leads to trouble thinking and concentrating and making decisions. It even impacts 00:04:18.279 --> 00:04:26.759 our ability to remember and to concentrate on things. And any one of those things might be a challenge, 00:04:26.759 --> 00:04:32.560 but when you put them all together, it becomes overwhelming. And we began looking at that in the 00:04:32.560 --> 00:04:41.560 life of Elijah, because Elijah faced a season of very difficult depression in his life. You know, 00:04:41.699 --> 00:04:46.879 say, preacher, why do you call it difficult or even a heavy point of depression when somebody goes, 00:04:47.180 --> 00:04:51.839 I just want to die? Think he said, Lord, just take my life. I'm done. You ought to be able to recognize 00:04:51.839 --> 00:05:02.099 that as coming to a point that depression is taking a prominent place within your life or the life of 00:05:02.099 --> 00:05:08.779 an individual. Depression comes to many degrees. You know, it simply means depressed. They're feeling 00:05:08.779 --> 00:05:13.719 a little down. I mean, depression can be everything from, I'm just feeling ho-hum today, I want to take 00:05:13.720 --> 00:05:20.800 my life. The spectrum is wise, but when we understand that we need to look at, understand the complexities 00:05:20.800 --> 00:05:26.900 of it, because sometimes Christian asks, is depression rooted in physical or spiritual causes? 00:05:27.680 --> 00:05:36.460 And we talked about that last week, sometimes both, both and, either or. That's what make it such a 00:05:36.460 --> 00:05:42.600 challenge, because oftentimes when we see people, they say, must be sin. I want to encourage you 00:05:42.600 --> 00:05:49.340 just because somebody depressed don't naturally associate it with sin. It may or may not be. 00:05:49.560 --> 00:05:56.000 When we understand that it's just the impact of life seems overwhelming. It comes from a combination 00:05:56.000 --> 00:06:03.900 of factors and these things, and there's always a need for hope in Christ to look and focus or refocus 00:06:03.900 --> 00:06:11.000 our life upon the Lord. You know, and Elijah had to learn this from God himself. He had to learn the 00:06:11.000 --> 00:06:16.819 fact that there's going to be these mountain highs. I mean, when you think about what Elijah went through 00:06:16.819 --> 00:06:22.360 right before this, he called fire down from heaven. I don't know about you, but that's about as spiritual 00:06:22.360 --> 00:06:27.319 high as you can get here on earth. It's like, you pray and fire comes down from heaven? Within a short 00:06:27.319 --> 00:06:36.180 time, he's lying under a juniper tree, exhausted, and saying, Lord, just kill me. The depression in his life 00:06:36.180 --> 00:06:42.740 was real. And we understand, we talked about Elijah and all that had happened there up on Mount Carmel, 00:06:42.840 --> 00:06:52.360 where he called fire down from heaven, and he destroyed the prophets of Baal. And then he prayed, and it 00:06:52.360 --> 00:07:00.000 rained, because it hadn't rained for three years. Had the rain now come. Matter of fact, he had to run to outrun the 00:07:00.000 --> 00:07:06.420 rainstorm. What started as a little cloud in the sky in the distance started to brew. You know, whenever I 00:07:06.420 --> 00:07:10.819 read that, I kind of think of looking at a storm coming across. You know, because when we have such 00:07:10.819 --> 00:07:15.540 open plains like this, you can see a distance, and you'll see a little cloud start coming, and by 00:07:15.540 --> 00:07:20.339 mid-afternoon, you start seeing the thunderheads start rolling. I imagine it's kind of what they saw 00:07:20.339 --> 00:07:25.300 that day. It's like, oh, there's just a little cloud. It's nothing. Uh-oh. Then you can see it start 00:07:25.300 --> 00:07:29.660 rolling up even higher and higher. We better get moving, because we're going to get drenched. 00:07:29.660 --> 00:07:37.320 But we see these amazing victories. But we're going to look here again today about resilience in the 00:07:37.320 --> 00:07:43.980 midst of depression, because I want you to understand and remember that discouragement is a tool of Satan. 00:07:45.120 --> 00:07:52.960 Discouragement is a tool that Satan uses in our life. To also remember that depression is experienced by 00:07:52.959 --> 00:08:00.620 good people. To be feeling low says nothing directly about you as a person, other than the 00:08:00.620 --> 00:08:07.740 fact you have situations in life that are impacting you. You know, the reality is you have situations 00:08:07.740 --> 00:08:11.379 that impact you. Why? Because you're alive. You know, that's really the bottom line. You're still 00:08:11.379 --> 00:08:15.859 breathing. You're going to have problems. You're going to have trials and tribulations and struggles. 00:08:15.860 --> 00:08:23.960 It's part of the dynamic of living. But I want you to also understand hope that there is deliverance 00:08:23.960 --> 00:08:32.039 through God. God designed us. He knew exactly what we need. But let's look at discouragement. We'll 00:08:32.039 --> 00:08:38.180 review a little bit here as that tool that Satan uses. You know, Satan uses discouragement as a tool, 00:08:38.179 --> 00:08:45.819 and he has great timing. You know, sometimes timing's everything. You know, it's kind of like somebody 00:08:45.819 --> 00:08:52.079 trying to tell a joke. Timing is everything. Between where everybody looks at that was just weird, 00:08:52.219 --> 00:09:02.379 or that was funny. The devil knows what time to strike in your life. He knows what arrow to send at you. 00:09:02.719 --> 00:09:06.719 Oftentimes it comes when we're on a high point. You know what happens when everything's going good, 00:09:06.720 --> 00:09:10.259 and you're kind of on the high point. You know what sometimes we do? We put down our guard. Because 00:09:10.259 --> 00:09:13.519 we're not paying attention, we're paying attention to the good things that are going on. 00:09:14.360 --> 00:09:20.740 And we put our guard down. And we see here that sometimes they plummet, our emotions plummet, 00:09:20.759 --> 00:09:26.779 as we're going to find here with Elijah. Because when we understand that the devil doesn't play fair, 00:09:27.779 --> 00:09:33.800 his pattern of attacking is when we're most vulnerable all throughout Scripture. I mean, 00:09:33.799 --> 00:09:37.839 you think about it. We talked about Jesus in the wilderness. He didn't come at the beginning of 00:09:37.839 --> 00:09:44.959 his fasting. If for 40 days, he came at the end when he was tired. He was exhausted. Elijah's 00:09:44.959 --> 00:09:52.120 incredible victory on Mount Carmel, Satan brought out his tool of discouragement and used it as a 00:09:52.120 --> 00:09:58.959 person, Jezebel, to do it. His timing. But we saw that what happened, he used the threat that 00:09:58.960 --> 00:10:03.460 Jezebel made. He says, Jezebel, the queen, a wicked queen, said, hey, I'm going to kill you. 00:10:03.740 --> 00:10:07.680 Now, when we look at that, we say, well, why was he so scared of Jezebel? Well, that's a good 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:11.900 question. You just called down fire from heaven and killed 800 prophets of Baal. But you know what? 00:10:11.960 --> 00:10:20.519 Sometimes things that shouldn't bother us do. Because it hits at a point and a place in our life 00:10:20.519 --> 00:10:27.980 that seems to slip through the cracks. And the devil's a master archer of shooting the darts. 00:10:28.079 --> 00:10:33.299 That's the reason we need to take up the shield of faith that we might prevent those fiery darts 00:10:33.299 --> 00:10:38.899 of the devil to make its way through. Because it's not a question whether they're coming. It's a matter 00:10:38.899 --> 00:10:43.460 of whether we're going to be ready for them or not. You know, I want you to understand that even James 00:10:43.460 --> 00:10:50.840 in James 5, 17 reminds us that Elijah was a man subject to like passions as we are. I want you 00:10:50.840 --> 00:10:56.580 to understand Elijah wasn't superhuman. He was just a man that God used mightily because he was willing 00:10:56.580 --> 00:11:03.400 to trust God. When we understand the dynamic and the point of all these dynamics is because we're 00:11:03.400 --> 00:11:10.220 going to experience times when we're vulnerable to discouragement. The circumstances that fed into it 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:15.420 are real. You know, I want you to understand Elijah wasn't running from fictitious Jezebel. He was 00:11:15.420 --> 00:11:22.340 running from a real live wicked woman who wanted to kill him. Now I want to give you another idea on 00:11:22.340 --> 00:11:26.980 that concept because it wasn't just she might have instructed the killing but she wasn't the only one 00:11:26.980 --> 00:11:33.800 looking to kill him. She would have dispatched many people to go look for him to make sure he was dead. 00:11:34.139 --> 00:11:40.019 But discouragement is a tool of Satan. Secondly here, depression is experienced by good people. 00:11:40.220 --> 00:11:44.560 You know, you can be doing what you might look in your life. I'm doing everything right, Lord. Why is 00:11:44.560 --> 00:11:53.220 this happening? Why is this going on in my life right now? Why is these things coming at me at this 00:11:53.220 --> 00:12:02.920 point? And we see here and understand the necessity of sometimes we're going to be vulnerable to the Lord. 00:12:02.919 --> 00:12:10.519 You know, sometimes we find that God uses and works through even these situations because sometimes 00:12:10.519 --> 00:12:16.159 we mistakenly assume that depression is always rooted in something we did wrong and sometimes 00:12:16.159 --> 00:12:20.979 it's because the devil attacks in what we did right. And we're going to go through seasons of 00:12:20.979 --> 00:12:26.259 depression. There are times when depression is a result of God's conviction and they need to respond 00:12:26.259 --> 00:12:32.480 to that. But remember that sin isn't always the cause. If you're feeling depressed, I'd encourage you to 00:12:32.480 --> 00:12:39.340 get before the Lord like David did oftentimes. Lord, search my heart. Make sure what's going on in there. 00:12:39.639 --> 00:12:43.060 But you know, when you ask God to search you, the other thing he's going to do is come and encourage you. 00:12:43.420 --> 00:12:49.980 God's going to be there. And we read throughout the Psalms that dynamic. And we see here that Elijah, 00:12:50.100 --> 00:12:56.759 the great prophet of God that he was, seemed to take the route of running away, to allow life, 00:12:56.759 --> 00:13:01.759 to overcome. And we see his reaction. Because remember first, he did what when he was experiencing 00:13:01.759 --> 00:13:06.960 this? He sought to be isolated. You know, one of the markers of depression in Elijah's life was 00:13:06.960 --> 00:13:12.039 his desire to isolate himself. Think about in our text there, look at verse three. It says, 00:13:12.139 --> 00:13:16.279 he arose and went for his life and came to Beersheba. And then it goes on and says, 00:13:16.360 --> 00:13:19.960 but he left his servant there, but he himself went a day's journey into the wilderness. 00:13:20.419 --> 00:13:24.439 In other words, he went 15 to 20 miles on into the wilderness past anybody else. 00:13:24.440 --> 00:13:28.320 You know, sometimes isolation can be a sign of depression, but it's also 00:13:28.320 --> 00:13:33.540 the perpetrator of depression. You know, when we isolate ourselves, it magnifies 00:13:33.540 --> 00:13:43.600 what's going on. It magnifies that dynamic. And we see and understand the picture here because 00:13:43.600 --> 00:13:51.480 Elijah's pulling away in isolation. But look over to Psalm 102 for a moment. Psalm 102 in verse seven 00:13:51.480 --> 00:13:58.139 says this, I watch in him as a sparrow alone upon the housetop. Mine enemies reproach me all the day 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:07.700 and they are mad against me or sworn against me. Here's David. He's recognizing that dynamic 00:14:07.700 --> 00:14:14.899 of feeling isolated that everybody's against him. And when you sense yourself emotionally withdrawing, 00:14:15.000 --> 00:14:19.980 especially from family and people at church, you're walking a very dangerous path. You know, 00:14:19.980 --> 00:14:22.940 sometimes that's the first thing people do is they walk away from family. They walk away 00:14:22.940 --> 00:14:26.500 from church. They walk away from this very support God's given to them. 00:14:28.980 --> 00:14:35.360 Those around them that love them and want to desire to see them thrive and to see them 00:14:35.360 --> 00:14:44.360 be a part. But we notice something else that he isolated himself from God. It tells us in verse four, 00:14:44.360 --> 00:14:53.200 but he himself went, you know, Elijah didn't consult God in it. When he was up on Mount Carmel, he was 00:14:53.200 --> 00:14:58.840 consulting God. He was asking God, Lord, what am I to do? Here, Elijah doesn't even ask. 00:15:00.820 --> 00:15:06.360 You know, oftentimes we get in trouble when we don't seek God for direction in what God would have. In 00:15:06.360 --> 00:15:13.240 his isolation, he didn't consult God for direction or help. He went into the wilderness and sank into despair. 00:15:13.240 --> 00:15:22.240 So here we find Elijah. He's in the wilderness under the juniper tree. That's where we left off last 00:15:22.240 --> 00:15:27.799 week because we know how he got there. But the important part, what did God do when he was there? 00:15:28.080 --> 00:15:34.139 You know, here he is. He despaired for his life. You know, another marker in Elijah's downward 00:15:34.139 --> 00:15:40.159 spile was his despair. Look at verse four. It tells us this, and he says, 00:15:40.159 --> 00:15:49.059 and he requested for himself that he might die and said, it is enough. Now, oh Lord, take my life, 00:15:49.159 --> 00:15:54.399 for I am not better than my father's. You know, Elijah's despair was not based in reality, 00:15:55.519 --> 00:16:00.379 especially not. You think about that. He's pleading. He's crying out for God to take him, 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:05.339 the very God he should have been crying out and said, Lord, help me. Lord, I need your help. I need 00:16:05.340 --> 00:16:11.860 your encouragement. You know, here's a man that God worked miracles through and was soon. You're 00:16:11.860 --> 00:16:17.940 going to see God gave him some things that he was going to work some miraculous things after. 00:16:19.500 --> 00:16:25.800 But when you're tempted to despair in life, don't. Hold on to God's promise to provide a way. 00:16:25.799 --> 00:16:33.759 You know, think about, turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 10. 1 Corinthians chapter 10 and verse 13. 00:16:35.579 --> 00:16:38.019 The Bible tells us something here. He says this, 00:16:38.099 --> 00:16:43.740 No temptation hath taken you, but such is common to man. But God is faithful, who will not suffer 00:16:43.740 --> 00:16:49.879 you to be tempted above that you're able, but will with the temptation also make a way of escape that 00:16:49.879 --> 00:16:57.159 you may be able to bear it. I want you to understand this applies not just for our temptation of sin, 00:16:57.220 --> 00:17:01.840 but also in the moments when the devil's attacking, when we feel low, that God says, 00:17:02.320 --> 00:17:06.940 I have a way for you to walk through it, to be able to overcome it. You know, the Bible's written 00:17:06.940 --> 00:17:12.599 for our learning. You know, in Elijah's life, we can learn there's great things on the other side. 00:17:12.599 --> 00:17:20.759 Even when we're feeling down, doesn't mean it's the end. That God says there's still great things 00:17:20.759 --> 00:17:26.859 that can come ahead. You know, if you've lived very long, you see life's got a lot of cycles to it. 00:17:29.159 --> 00:17:36.059 You know, the longer I live, the more I realize how much the cycles of life come and go. It's part 00:17:36.059 --> 00:17:41.799 of living. And Elijah here was despair and wanted to be taken to heaven. You know, it's interesting that a 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:46.019 little later on, he was, God did take him to heaven, but it wasn't in his point of despair. 00:17:46.319 --> 00:17:48.339 He got a chariot ride up into heaven. 00:17:52.159 --> 00:17:58.500 You know, when we understand what's happening here, it, when we understand that this happens 00:17:58.500 --> 00:18:03.740 to people throughout the scripture, you know, think about Job. Did Job merit all his family dying, 00:18:03.740 --> 00:18:09.379 all his goods being taken? When you read the book of Job, you'll find Job had a series of 00:18:09.380 --> 00:18:16.720 depression he was dealing with. And I think rightly so, the things he was facing were pretty traumatic. 00:18:18.700 --> 00:18:24.920 They're overwhelming emotionally, physically, can be overwhelming spiritually, but yet God 00:18:24.920 --> 00:18:31.440 brought him through and still blessed. Matter of fact, in that season, you'll find oftentimes God grows us 00:18:31.440 --> 00:18:38.539 through those situations because it helps us to know who he is and what he can do. 00:18:40.759 --> 00:18:47.140 Moses faced it. Moses faced great despair. When you read through the book of Exodus and 00:18:47.140 --> 00:18:53.820 Numbers and Deuteronomy, and you read through all the things that went on, there was moments 00:18:53.820 --> 00:18:59.160 Moses was pretty upset with things. Moses was like, Lord, why in the world should you bring me out? 00:18:59.160 --> 00:19:04.320 Let me bring these people out here. You know, Moses was sometimes discouraged. He was frustrated. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:07.540 You know, I want you to understand it wasn't just people in the Old Testament. 00:19:08.380 --> 00:19:12.980 Saints of every generation have faced this. Because remember, it's such as common to man. 00:19:14.360 --> 00:19:19.840 In other words, when we face seasons of discouragement and depression, it's nothing that 00:19:19.840 --> 00:19:24.040 somebody else hasn't already faced. But what do we do? We say, no, it's only me. 00:19:24.039 --> 00:19:33.200 You know, the devil loves to use that only me thing. I'm so special. Nobody else has ever had 00:19:33.200 --> 00:19:38.000 to deal with this. You say, preacher, that's rough. I'm like, but you know, sometimes we don't say it, 00:19:38.000 --> 00:19:46.420 but that's how we think it. We get depressed thinking, hey, why is it only me who faces this? 00:19:46.420 --> 00:19:53.100 The reality is, it isn't only you. There's been others before you who face it, and the Lord tarries, 00:19:53.180 --> 00:19:57.920 there'll be some after you. But that God walks them through. You know, when we realize that 00:19:57.920 --> 00:20:04.320 throughout history, you'll find even great hymns were written because of discouragement. You know, 00:20:04.320 --> 00:20:11.120 perhaps you've heard the song that begins like this. There's a fountain filled with blood drawn from 00:20:11.119 --> 00:20:17.159 Emmanuel's veins, and sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains. 00:20:18.659 --> 00:20:27.719 It was written by William Cowper. It describes his salvation experience. What you might not know 00:20:27.719 --> 00:20:34.679 is how, that is that Cowper came to faith in Christ while he was committed to an insane asylum after 00:20:34.679 --> 00:20:40.819 having attempted suicide. It was through a faithful witness of a Christian doctor, Nathaniel Cotton, 00:20:41.119 --> 00:20:47.619 at the asylum that Cowper understood the gospel and trusted Christ as his Savior. He still went 00:20:47.619 --> 00:20:53.979 through series of, and times of depression, and three more times he ended up in a hospital. 00:20:55.979 --> 00:21:02.579 His pastor was John Newton, who wrote Amazing Grace. When we understand the picture, he was speaking how 00:21:02.579 --> 00:21:09.039 God brought him through the circumstance. You know, Satan's darts of discouragement is going to be 00:21:09.039 --> 00:21:19.019 there, but don't give in to despair and say, God, I'm done. Rather, turn to the Lord and let him lead you 00:21:19.019 --> 00:21:27.740 through the situation. Because not only did Elijah feel or want to be isolated, he despaired for his life, 00:21:27.839 --> 00:21:34.460 but he also felt alone. You know, what drove Elijah's desire for isolation and his sense of despair? 00:21:34.460 --> 00:21:41.120 You know, he saw all these things take place. But you think about Elijah, what led him to this place? 00:21:41.340 --> 00:21:48.039 He said, Lord, he felt alone. Think about in verse 10, look down at verse 10 in chapter 19. 00:21:48.799 --> 00:21:53.299 It says, he said, I've been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts, for the children of Israel 00:21:53.299 --> 00:21:58.079 have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, slaying thy prophets with the sword. 00:21:58.079 --> 00:22:04.799 And I, even I only am left and they seek my life to take it away. He felt alone and he convinced 00:22:04.799 --> 00:22:09.419 himself he was alone. Think about that. He says, Lord, I'm the only one you got left, 00:22:09.559 --> 00:22:14.619 which we know a little later wasn't the truth. Tells us in verse 18 and that same passage, 00:22:14.759 --> 00:22:20.339 it says that God says, no, sorry, I got some news for you. There's 7,000 others just like you. 00:22:20.579 --> 00:22:25.859 Said, you're not alone at all. You just try to make yourself alone. But here we find Elijah, 00:22:25.859 --> 00:22:31.299 his time of depression, he felt that he was alone in a desperate place and there was no one 00:22:31.299 --> 00:22:37.419 who stood with him. You know, oftentimes that's what the devil wants to do. So there's nobody there 00:22:37.419 --> 00:22:45.839 with you. There's nobody standing alongside and no one understands how I feel. No one else works as 00:22:45.839 --> 00:22:52.899 hard as I do. No one appreciates me. No one has it as bad as I do. I'm the only one around here making 00:22:52.900 --> 00:22:56.380 a difference. And I'm the one that carries all the way. You know, those are dangerous thoughts 00:22:56.380 --> 00:23:02.320 they have to guard ourselves from because it's very easy to get caught up in them. 00:23:03.580 --> 00:23:09.580 But you notice what they're focused in? I. When we understand you're not the only one working for 00:23:09.580 --> 00:23:20.860 the Lord. God's work goes on in the midst of God's people working with the Lord. When you hear yourself 00:23:20.859 --> 00:23:27.399 thinking this, you need to be careful because thinking that focuses on self and takes our eyes 00:23:27.399 --> 00:23:36.359 off the Lord. I, I, I, I, instead of Lord, what am I to do? It's the difference between pride and humility. 00:23:36.959 --> 00:23:42.579 Pride always says I'm better than somebody else. It's kind of that introverted pride that says I'm 00:23:42.579 --> 00:23:48.199 better than having to experience this. You know, oftentimes pride tells us, Lord, I don't deserve this. 00:23:48.200 --> 00:23:53.080 But we need to understand that no matter what comes into our lives, even the darkest points of 00:23:53.080 --> 00:24:00.140 depression, we can be sure that he'll never leave us alone. God will never leave you or forsake you. 00:24:01.279 --> 00:24:05.559 Because let's look at the third one here quickly. Deliverance is possible through God. 00:24:06.259 --> 00:24:11.519 You know, one of the blessings of Elijah's story that even through, though he felt so low and followed 00:24:11.519 --> 00:24:18.059 some concerning markers of despair and despondency, God brought him out and through. Because we see 00:24:18.059 --> 00:24:21.960 something here that takes place that ought to encourage you, we see the touch of God. 00:24:23.839 --> 00:24:26.059 Notice here the touch of God. Look at verse five. 00:24:26.059 --> 00:24:30.679 And he lay and slept under the juniper tree and behold, there was an angel touched him and said 00:24:30.679 --> 00:24:36.940 unto him, arise and eat. And he looked and behold, there was a cake baking on the coals and a cruise of 00:24:36.940 --> 00:24:42.019 water at his head. And he did eat and drink and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again 00:24:42.019 --> 00:24:47.379 the second time and touched him and said, arise and eat because the journey is too great for thee. 00:24:48.059 --> 00:24:52.879 And he arose and did eat and drink and went in the strength of that meet 40 days and 40 nights 00:24:52.879 --> 00:24:59.460 unto Horeb the mount of God. You know, when we have those points, I want you to understand God comes 00:24:59.460 --> 00:25:08.279 and touches your life. Encourages you, brings you through those things. It's a real dynamic, 00:25:08.839 --> 00:25:12.759 you know, because when you think about how does God touch our lives and meet our needs 00:25:12.759 --> 00:25:20.799 when we're low, he does it through three means. He does it through the local church because the 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:26.359 connection you have at church helps you walk through those situations. When you isolate yourself 00:25:26.359 --> 00:25:34.519 from God's people, you know what? The devil's got a victory. He does it through the word of God and 00:25:34.519 --> 00:25:40.759 he does it through his spirit. You know, we need to be careful that we need to understand the 00:25:40.759 --> 00:25:47.539 importance of not pulling away when you're having struggles, but getting closer. You know, think 00:25:47.539 --> 00:25:53.639 about that in context of Hebrews chapter 10, look down at verse 24. Hebrews 10 and verse 24 says this, 00:25:54.019 --> 00:26:00.180 and let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works. Well, how can somebody provoke 00:26:00.180 --> 00:26:07.940 you unto love and good works if you're by yourself? How are you going to provoke somebody else to love 00:26:07.940 --> 00:26:13.880 and good works if you're not there? Notice what it says, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves 00:26:13.880 --> 00:26:19.539 together as the manner of some is, but exhort one another and so much more as you see the day 00:26:19.539 --> 00:26:24.200 approaching. You know, I want you to understand God says you need to be around where the word is, 00:26:24.279 --> 00:26:30.100 where the spirit's working and where God's people are, because those are tools that he gives you to 00:26:30.099 --> 00:26:37.539 walk through those seasons of life. It's things that he gives to us. God ministers through us through 00:26:37.539 --> 00:26:45.639 his word as you read it, as you hear it preached, as you listen to other godly Christians talk about 00:26:45.639 --> 00:26:50.179 how God has impacted their life. You know, that's the reason that if you're feeling low, you don't need 00:26:50.179 --> 00:26:54.939 to be isolated. You need to find somebody to talk to. Because when we get that spiritual and biblical 00:26:54.940 --> 00:27:01.700 encouragement, what we find in Colossians 3 takes place, look over to Colossians 3, chapter 15, 00:27:01.759 --> 00:27:03.340 verse 15. It says this, 00:27:03.380 --> 00:27:07.660 And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you're called in one body. 00:27:08.059 --> 00:27:13.440 And be ye thankful that the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing 00:27:13.440 --> 00:27:20.779 one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. 00:27:20.779 --> 00:27:26.279 And then, of course, the Holy Spirit directs our hearts and guides us. You know, look over to John 00:27:26.279 --> 00:27:32.740 chapter 14. John 14 and verse 16 says, And I will pray to the Father, and he shall give you another 00:27:32.740 --> 00:27:41.319 comfort that he may abide with you forever. You know, Jesus is telling his disciples before he goes 00:27:41.319 --> 00:27:46.139 to the cross, he says, Hold on, guys, I might go away, but I'm going to send the comfort of the one 00:27:46.140 --> 00:27:51.040 that's never going to leave you. We need God's comfort, and we need the comfort of the Holy Spirit 00:27:51.040 --> 00:28:00.100 when those moments, when we're struggling, it refers to that reality that he is a helper and an aid to us. 00:28:01.940 --> 00:28:11.600 Not only in the aspect of emotionally, but also in proximity. He says he'll never leave us or forsake us. 00:28:11.599 --> 00:28:16.379 The Bible says that when you're saved, you're sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise. He is the 00:28:16.379 --> 00:28:23.119 earnest of our salvation, our redemption. He's with you. He's present to comfort and help and to carry. 00:28:24.119 --> 00:28:30.099 But depression has a way of skewing our perspective to the reality of what's really there. 00:28:31.519 --> 00:28:36.199 Even as a believer, sometimes we skew the reality. Well, God's not really there with me. God says, 00:28:36.200 --> 00:28:43.460 yes, I am. But we have the touch of God, but also the provision of God. You know, God provides what's 00:28:43.460 --> 00:28:51.460 needed. The physical provision, notice what took place. The angel that God sent to Elijah came bearing 00:28:51.460 --> 00:28:57.440 gifts, a cake baked on the coals and a curse of water, or a cruise of water. You know, think about 00:28:57.440 --> 00:29:01.960 that for a moment. What did Elijah need? He needed a couple things very important physically. 00:29:01.960 --> 00:29:10.340 What he went through, number one, would have been emotionally and spiritually and physically 00:29:10.340 --> 00:29:16.819 exhausting. Sometimes when you're feeling down, the best thing you can do is get some rest. To 00:29:16.819 --> 00:29:23.360 understand that depression has a physical component. Sometimes depression is brought on by 00:29:23.360 --> 00:29:30.579 serious physical illnesses. I mean, there are things of deficiencies and malfunctions within our bodies or 00:29:30.579 --> 00:29:36.659 chronic diseases that you're facing. If you're struggling with persistent depression with an 00:29:36.659 --> 00:29:40.980 unidentified cause, it might be good to get checked out and say, hey, what might be looking at? What do I 00:29:40.980 --> 00:29:47.679 need to do here? But not all physical needs require a doctor to diagnose. God provided for the two basic 00:29:47.679 --> 00:29:54.279 ones, sleep and eat. You know, when people get depressed, think about that. One of the things we talked about 00:29:54.279 --> 00:30:00.279 at the beginning, what gets affected? Your eating habits and your sleeping habits. You need to keep them 00:30:00.279 --> 00:30:08.359 in proper perspective. There's no substitute for that, but also spiritual replenishment. After meeting 00:30:08.359 --> 00:30:15.099 Elijah's physical needs, God redirected Elijah's focus to his deeper need, a need for spiritual 00:30:15.099 --> 00:30:22.200 replenishment. Look at verse 11 here in chapter 19. And he said, go forth and stand upon the mount before 00:30:22.200 --> 00:30:29.059 God. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and break in pieces 00:30:29.059 --> 00:30:34.000 the rocks before the Lord. But the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind, the earthquake. But the 00:30:34.000 --> 00:30:38.680 Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. And after 00:30:38.680 --> 00:30:47.720 the fire, a still, small voice. God helped Elijah to refocus, which drew attention to God and not to Elijah. 00:30:47.720 --> 00:30:56.640 It wasn't in the great powerful storm that God sent that day, but it was in the still, small voice of God. 00:30:57.860 --> 00:31:03.860 You know, sometimes when it comes to the need for spiritual replenishment, we become our own worst enemy. 00:31:04.200 --> 00:31:11.220 Instead of taking time and placing priority on hearing the small, still voice of God, we look to ourselves, 00:31:11.220 --> 00:31:19.460 we look at our circumstances, we give up in despair. When we be better to stop and to pause and to spend 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:27.180 time with God, allow God to recalibrate our thinking in our hearts towards him, to get those things 00:31:27.180 --> 00:31:35.079 correct. And so, you know, as we look at the reality of a biblical recovery or working through a depression 00:31:35.079 --> 00:31:44.099 that comes, we need to be replenished physically and spiritually. But as we close here, I want to look 00:31:44.099 --> 00:31:50.699 at five specific actions that we can look through from Elijah that can help us work through those 00:31:50.699 --> 00:31:58.019 seasons of life. The first one, always remember to get proper rest and nutrition. You know, eat right. 00:31:58.019 --> 00:32:03.019 Don't go attack the ice cream jug. You know, chocolate soothes the soul. But you know what? 00:32:04.599 --> 00:32:10.180 In excess, it becomes a problem. There's a value to understanding your physical limits and replenish 00:32:10.180 --> 00:32:16.720 before you reach the brink of despair. You know, you think about in the ministry of Jesus, there was times 00:32:16.720 --> 00:32:23.859 there was no leisure so much as to eat, the Bible tells us. In Mark chapter 6, I mean, sometimes life just goes 00:32:23.859 --> 00:32:32.879 crazy. We need to recognize your physical limits and pull back. Because Jesus also told them to go away into 00:32:32.879 --> 00:32:43.579 what? Rest a while. Rest can be important. Secondly here, refuse to dwell on negative or untrue thoughts. You 00:32:43.579 --> 00:32:52.939 know, Elijah was repeating the thinking about that he was alone for God. And that dynamic affected his attitude, it 00:32:52.940 --> 00:32:58.860 affected his spirit, it affected all that he did, because our thinking impacts what we do. 00:33:00.140 --> 00:33:04.460 You know, look it over to Philippians chapter 4 for a moment. Philippians chapter 4 and verse 8. 00:33:07.019 --> 00:33:09.019 Bible tells us here this, it says, 00:33:09.019 --> 00:33:18.680 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, 00:33:18.680 --> 00:33:23.840 whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report, 00:33:24.380 --> 00:33:33.420 if there be any virtue, if there be any praise. Now notice that last phrase, do what? Think on these 00:33:33.420 --> 00:33:42.700 things. What you spend your time thinking about impacts what you do and how you respond to the things around 00:33:42.700 --> 00:33:50.539 you. Thirdly, refocus on the Lord by spending time in his word and in prayer. You know, the greatest help for 00:33:50.539 --> 00:33:58.140 Elijah was in hearing the still small voice of God. Sometimes you've got to walk through those things. Just because 00:33:58.140 --> 00:34:08.139 you read the Bible doesn't mean it's going to just go away instantaneously. That's another falsehood, because it's not like a 00:34:08.139 --> 00:34:12.139 one-time magic pill. You know, you take the pill and you're going to feel better. You know, it's kind of like the old 00:34:12.139 --> 00:34:16.099 thing when the doctor tells him, go home, take an aspirin and call me in the morning. That's not the way it works. 00:34:16.339 --> 00:34:25.759 But look over to Psalm 119 for a moment. Psalm 119, a constant process of the word of God helps us walk through. 00:34:27.319 --> 00:34:29.879 Psalm 119 verse 81 tells us this, 00:34:29.880 --> 00:34:44.860 In other words, David understood that he needed to keep seeking God, that the comfort was going to come 00:34:44.860 --> 00:34:50.320 from the Lord. It comes from the assurance that we can trust what God says. 00:34:51.980 --> 00:34:55.400 Prayer, you know, think about Philippians 4 and verse 6 tells us this, 00:34:55.400 --> 00:35:16.220 Number four, submit to God's will and seek his direction. I hear the pitter-patter, so we're going to get 00:35:16.220 --> 00:35:23.720 done here so the herd doesn't overrun us. You know, God twice asked Elijah what he was doing in the cave. 00:35:23.719 --> 00:35:27.259 God had to give him direction. He needed to seek God's direction. 00:35:27.739 --> 00:35:31.779 Seek others when you're going through it. Seek direction from other godly people. 00:35:32.559 --> 00:35:36.319 Seek direction from God's word. Seek direction through prayer. 00:35:36.939 --> 00:35:43.000 Understand what's going on. You know, Ephesians 5 tells us to redeem the time because the days are evil. 00:35:44.179 --> 00:35:48.459 Wherefore, be not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is. 00:35:48.460 --> 00:35:54.079 You know, we talked about that even in the life of Joseph this morning. You know what made difference? 00:35:54.400 --> 00:35:58.880 When Joseph chose to forgive, he understood that he was still operating in the will of God. 00:35:59.260 --> 00:36:01.440 God had his hand upon all that was happening. 00:36:02.559 --> 00:36:06.539 But to encourage, or to, excuse me, to engage in serving the Lord and others. 00:36:06.639 --> 00:36:12.119 You know, one of the best things to do if you're feeling isolated, alone, and depressed is to get up and go help somebody else. 00:36:12.119 --> 00:36:20.059 Because you know what? It gets your focus off you and onto something else and onto something that also needs accomplished. 00:36:20.400 --> 00:36:22.139 Galatians 6.10 says this, 00:36:22.219 --> 00:36:29.819 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. 00:36:29.980 --> 00:36:31.799 You know, we need to find ways of serving. 00:36:31.800 --> 00:36:43.300 You know, as Elijah was there under the juniper tree, the devil used that tool of discouragement in his life. 00:36:44.300 --> 00:36:46.960 He experienced a reality we all face. 00:36:47.080 --> 00:36:54.400 But I want you to also understand that the same reality that God delivers through those things. 00:36:56.019 --> 00:37:00.340 Important elements when we work through the ups and the downs. 00:37:00.340 --> 00:37:02.280 of life. 00:37:02.800 --> 00:37:03.400 Let's pray.