Mountains, Valleys and Whispers

Arrival Fallacy

Have you ever achieved something glorious and spectacular… and then collapsed into depression and despair?

I remember this the first time I finished a triathlon. So many hours of training. So many hours of running.

And that night, just like… weeping. I don’t know why? I just crashed! Into a puddle of emotion.

From here (relaxing on a bench after) to here (dead on the shore of the Dead Sea)

Sadness… for no reason, really. Nothing that made sense.

This is a common phenomenon, even more so with more successful people. Olympic athletes winning on the podium, for example. It’s known as arrival fallacy.

You reach your goal, your brain releases all the dopamine, maybe even when you’re in the middle of achieving it… and then your done.

And the dopamine falls off. And you look around for the next thing… and there’s no direction, there’s no goal.

And you crash. Into depression.

Only bad Christians do that.

Not Christians, though, right? People of God don’t deal with depression and failure. We have “faith” so that stuff doesn’t apply to us!

From Victory to Failure

Recap - Total victory on Mount Carmel.

Here we have the Greatest of the Prophets, the legend, the one who stands for all the prophets. He has the spirit of Elijah, because He IS Elijah.

And fresh off his greatest victory. The people repented and worshipped the Lord. The prophets of Baal are dead by his hand.

1 Kings 19:1 ESV

Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword.

And Jezebel repented. Nope.

1 Kings 19:2 ESV

Then Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah, saying, “So may the gods do to me and more also, if I do not make your life as the life of one of them by this time tomorrow.”

And Elijah laughed, trusting in YHWH. Nope.

1 Kings 19:3 ESV

Then he was afraid, and he arose and ran for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and left his servant there.

Yeah, God, I know you are more powerful than Baal… but have you seen Jezebel??? She’s scary. I’m going to run! Fled to the Southern Kingdom, the very south end of the southern kingdom, right where the wilderness starts.

And… let’s go farther.

1 Kings 19:4 ESV

But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness and came and sat down under a broom tree. And he asked that he might die, saying, “It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”

Take away my life.

Despairing unto death.

Where does this “I am no better than my fathers” talk come in?

Who said that to him? Who started the comparison? Clearly this is a HUGE deal to Elijah, like something someone said to him once that landed so deeply. It’s part of the story, a deep part of the story he tells himself.

But he despaired unto death.

Reminds me of:

2 Corinthians 1:8 ESV

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself.

This is a thing that happens to Christians… this is a thing that happens to humans.

To the outside, this doesn’t make sense. It doesn’t make sense that Elijah should despair or be afraid… but it isn’t logical. It is human.

Elijah is in the depths of depression and despair.

Under the Broom Tree

Lying down in the wilderness… under a broom tree.

God could mock his pain, here. Kick him, tell him to “fear not...” Instead, he sends an angel:

1 Kings 19:5–6 ESV

And he lay down and slept under a broom tree. And behold, an angel touched him and said to him, “Arise and eat.” And he looked, and behold, there was at his head a cake baked on hot stones and a jar of water. And he ate and drank and lay down again.

Is Elijah “fixed?” No. But God gently gets him up again, meets his physical needs. Elijah lays right back down. And so again...

1 Kings 19:7 ESV

And the angel of the Lord came again a second time and touched him and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.”

Elijah, you’re going to need your strength for what’s coming.

I would think Elijah would say “I know, that’s why I want to die...” but this is enough encouragement, enough to help him go just a bit further.

1 Kings 19:8 ESV

And he arose and ate and drank, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the mount of God.

Horeb, also called Mount Sinai.

All together, Elijah travels a couple hundred miles.

From Mount Carmel to Jabal Musa (Mount of Moses), aka the prime candidate for Mount Sinai.

See the path through that valley? The valley of the shadow of death. The literal lowest (dry) point on the planet earth. Cruising past the Dead Sea.

Maybe a little salty swim like that picture earlier.

From the Mountain to the Valley… and back to the Mountain.

Great man of God - depressed and despairing and just barely dragging himself back to meet God again.

1 Kings 19:9 ESV

There he came to a cave and lodged in it. And behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

How did God speak to him then? We don’t know. What was the tone? “What are you doing here!!!?”

Is God surprised or curious? Or is He asking Elijah to ask himself. Elijah has his answer ready… and I think it’s telling.

1 Kings 19:10 ESV

He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

I am great.

The people stink.

I am alone.

I am afraid.

Now perhaps Elijah has some good reasons for thinking these things. I suspect this is something he has rehearsed over and over and over again. You’ll see why in a minute. I think this is Elijah’s self talk, this is the story he tells himself. And there is some truth in it.

He isn’t the “only prophet left.” The Bible has pointed out other prophets of YHWH both before and after this. God will speak to that in a minute. We know Elijah has no reason to fear. But Elijah is so worked up about this that he would rather die than go on, and now he is presenting his whiny case to God… and God’s going to answer.

1 Kings 19:11–12 ESV

And he said, “Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.” And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper.

Can God be in “in the wind?” All the time in Scripture. Spirit and “breath” are the same word in Hebrew. Pentecost, the Spirit in fire and wind.

Can God be in the earthquake? Absolutely, springing Peter and later Paul out of prison.

Can God be in the fire? 3 young Hebrew men will hang out with him in the fire in a few centuries. Moses encountered YHWH in the fire on this same mountain.

But Elijah is honest in this. He had learned to recognize the presence of his Master… the voice of his Master. And he was not tempted to seek or imagine meaning and answers where God wasn’t speaking.

That would be the “religious” interpretation. Oh, everything is a sign and a portent. I think God’s showing something here… but He isn’t in these signs of great elemental power.

Then came a low whisper. “Hey… Elijah.”

God is present at last. The “word of the Lord came” before… but know God is there in a whisper, somehow in a way that he wasn’t before. His Shekinah presence, maybe the same way Moses caught sight of just the edge of him before. Probably why Elijah shields his face now.

1 Kings 19:13 ESV

And when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his cloak and went out and stood at the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

What does He say? The answer to all of Elijah’s questions? No… the very same question.

And Elijah trots out his very same answer. This is why I think this is the story he tells himself. Here it comes again. The same pride. The same excuses. the same fear.

1 Kings 19:14 ESV

He said, “I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away.”

I am great.

The people stink.

I am all alone.

I am afraid.

In a sense what God says next sounds a bit like “get back to work, Elijah.” We will unpack it a bit, there’s still some compassion and grace in there.

There’s a repeating pattern of doubles here. Elijah lies down to die… God feeds him. Elijah lies back to die… God feeds him, and then Elijah is ready for the next journey.

God asks him why he’s there… and Elijah trots out his story.

God sends wind and earthquake and fire, and then shows up in a gentle whisper… and even though all the words are the same, something has changed radically. After this, Elijah is ready for the next journey.

I think when Elijah speaks the second time, maybe, just maybe, maybe he hears how hollow and empty his little self-story is. Maybe it echoes on the mountain, when he hears it out loud in the very presence of God, how empty, how dramatic, how wrong he is.

Maybe we have these same excuses.

Oh God, I’m the only one doing it right. Help me, Lord.

The world is out to get me, everyone’s against me!

No one else has the challenges that I face, I am special and a victim and I should get special treatment!

The amazing thing is God doesn’t smack him. He feeds Elijah in his weakness and despair. He shows up again and again, 4 times now so far in this story. He listens to Elijah’s cries. Without rebuke, which is remarkable.

He gets Elijah back up each time, and He leads him to the next step. And here He goes again.

1 Kings 19:15 ESV

And the Lord said to him, “Go, return on your way to the wilderness of Damascus. And when you arrive, you shall anoint Hazael to be king over Syria.

Go “back the way you came.” Literally, maybe spiritually too? Hundreds of miles North, further North than Mt. Carmel, way further. You went the wrong way, Elijah, now go back.

You are afraid of this Queen? Now you will go and appoint new kings all around. New king in the North, Damascus/Syria, new king of Israel instead of Ahab and Jezebel.

1 Kings 19:16–17 ESV

And Jehu the son of Nimshi you shall anoint to be king over Israel, and Elisha the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah you shall anoint to be prophet in your place. And the one who escapes from the sword of Hazael shall Jehu put to death, and the one who escapes from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha put to death.

It’s going to take a bit… but Ahab and all his family are going to die and new king is coming.

And, there’s light at the end of the tunnel for you, Elijah. You aren’t alone. Go find Elisha, he is going to be your companion, your assistant, and then finally your replacement.

And, you think you’re alone, even in Israel. There are 7,000 of my people who have stayed faithful.

1 Kings 19:18 ESV

Yet I will leave seven thousand in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him.”

God listens. He hears us. He knows our weakness… He shows compassion.

God listens. He hears us. Then He speaks.

And if we are wise, we listen.

We listen to the still small voice.

God is not surprised at your despair. He is not helpless in the face of your depression.

You feel helplessness and alone. You aren’t… because God hears us.

And then He speaks.

And we listen.

This is not a “get off your butt right now.” Look how patient God was with Elijah. He kept him taking the next step, He didn’t leave Elijah to wallow.

He relentlessly pursued Elijah.

Get up and eat…

Get up and eat, again… Take the next right step. The next meal.

Okay, now the next 40 days.

Okay, now the next year. Not long now.

But all along God speaks in different ways. By angel. By the “word of the Lord”.

By quiet whisper.

God speaks and we listen.

It is hard to hear a whisper over our own shouting.

Elijah was shouting the whole time, wasn’t he. WOE IS ME! I AM ALONE! I AM GOING TO DIE!!!!!!

Maybe it took all that wind and earthquake and fire just to quiet the man down. He’s still talking, but maybe less.

God still the voices in our heads. The ones that say we aren’t as good as everyone else. The ones that say we are better than everyone else.

The ones that say they are out to get me.

The ones that say we are going to fail.

The voice that says we are going to die.

Drown out all other voices, Lord, especially my own.

Teach me to hear your quiet voice. The voice that says “No, you are not alone. I am with you. And I have a purpose for you, I have joy for you, I have tomorrow for you, I have life for you, I will deliver you.”

2 Corinthians 1:8–10 ESV

For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again.

Communion

What is the true end of all things?

God was with Elijah in his despair unto death.

But God went further than listening to us in our despair. He, Jesus, the Word of the Lord, entered into all of our despair unto death.

“God my God, why have you forsaken me!” He cried on the cross.

Everything about our sin and darkness, our depression, our despair, our “alone-ness”… Jesus took it all.

And we remember His death until He comes.

Because it doesn’t end there.

He joined us in our despair unto death, that we could join Him in live everlasting.