Unshaken by Depression

We’ve looked at the testimonies of a lot of different people through out the bible. We have looked at Peter, the Woman with the issue of blood, Joshua and Caleb, and the admonition of James to have unshaken faith. Of the people that we have and will look at, this particular individual is one of my favorite because of the relatable nature in which we find him. To give you context for the following passage, we meet a man (specifically a prophet) by the name of Elijah who the Lord used pretty greatly. Up unto this point, Elijah has proclaimed that there will be no rain for several years and he has healed a widow’s son. The events of 1 Kings 18 and 1 Kings 19 are some of the biggest events of Elijah’s life.

I can remember this day because there was a lot of buildup.  The day was May 2, 2015.  It was my junior year of college and a bunch of my friends and I had gone in together to buy a Pay-per-view boxing match.  It was Manny Pacquiao vs. Floyd Mayweather Jr.  Most boxing matches you don’t remember; my guess is, you at least have a recollection of this one.  This long anticipated fight between the two split the boxing world in half. The fight started off bad with both Mayweather and Pacquiao missing punches within the first round! Then all of a sudden, Mayweather throws a jab-jab-right with one minute left in the first round. The fight has officially begun! That fight lasted 12 rounds and was listed as the most sold out flight of the years surrounding it. I decided that day that I’m not a huge fan of boxing.  What I do recognize is that there is this draw to see a fight. Whenever there’s a fight, there’s a crowd that forms, right? In our passage tonight, we see more than one battle in Elijah’s life.

The Physical Battle 1 Kings 18:20-22

1 Kings 18:20–22 KJV 1900

So Ahab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the Lord; but Baal’s prophets are four hundred and fifty men.

When we first find Elijah he is in a competition with the prophets of Baalim

All with the idea of proving that Baalim was not a god and that the God of the Bible was the true God.

If you picture this mountain top experience imagine a mountain top filled with over 450 prophets of Baalim, 400 prophets of Asherah, and the prophet Elijah all getting ready to sacrifice

The test is simple

1 Kings 18:25 KJV 1900

And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under.

Prepare the altar for the sacrifice but do not light a fire.

Each of them is to call upon their respective God and whosever God answers by sending down fire from heaven

That is the true and living God.

As these prophets stood on the mountain

They begin to do some outrageous things hoping to get the attention of Baalim

The Bible tells us that they had danced around the altar

1 Kings 18:26 KJV 1900

And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made.

Elijah begins to taunt them

He uses terms known to the followers of Baalim

Was the God musing on the action (was he deep on that)?

Was he sleeping?

Was he talking to someone else?

They began to cut themselves with knives and with lancets

The bible says that the blood gushed out upon them.

1 Kings 18:27–29 KJV 1900

And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is talking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded.

The time arrives for Elijah to step up and pray to God and for God to do something miraculous.

He makes this an almost impossible tasks from human standards

He has the people dig trenches and fill the trenches with water.

On top of that, he tells them to pour water on the sacrifice

Basically to drench the sacrifice

They do this three different times

Elijah calls upon God to prove himself by sending down fire

He does.

God shows up to the scene with the very thought of proving to each and every person that He is the true and only God.

We often expect God to show up during the mountain top experience

We expect God to be there when things are going right, going according to plan

We often feel closer to God when things are going right

As if God is blessing us a special bit more than normal

It is during the valley sessions that it becomes harder to expect God to show up.

The Personal Battle

1 Kings 19:1–10 KJV 1900

And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again. And the angel of the Lord came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the Lord came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.

After going against over 850 prophets and adamantly proving that God is the one and only true God

Ahab tells Jezebel, his crazy wife about all that Elijah had done

About how the prophets were slain by Elijah

This sets Jezebel off and basically swears that Elijah would die the same way that the prophets died.

This causes Elijah to go on the run

Now there are a lot of things that I believe contribute to the decisions of Elijah

Physical Exhaustion contributed to taking his eyes of the Lord

Elijah had just finished calling down fire from heaven

No doubt he would have been physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausted.

He just got done going through emotional peaks and valleys

One man just standing at the foot of Mt. Carmel proclaiming

“How long hault ye between two opinions, If Lord be God serve him”

The Bible tells us that he girded up his loins and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel

It is a tiring thing to minister day in and day out

But let alone do something as miraculous as call fire down from heaven.

Surely he thought that this would bring great revival, that Jezreel would renounce Baal and proclaim God

Loneliness contributed to taking his eyes of the Lord (v.4)

Elijah took a stand against the majority

One preacher against 850 false prophets

A hostile nation

He leaves everybody behind

As he travels to Beer-sheba

The Bible says that he even left his servant there and even walked an additional day into the wilderness to escape this punishment

Understand that this battle is a personal one

An internal one

A battle between dedication and desolation

Would Elijah continue in the work and calling of the Lord

Or would he throw in the towel because of the opposition that he faced

Some of the greatest battles that we will ever face are the most internal and personal battles

They are not public battles or even battles that others see but they are the ones that we deal with internally

What I find amazing is that in both scenarios, God shows up.

On the mountaintop experience when God had to prove himself to all of the false prophets

This was a very public thing!

Word that the God of the Israelites sent fire down from heaven and even rain after years of a drought

That made news, that spread throughout the city

But under the juniper tree after doing something miraculous

God shows up for Elijah

In this private, personal manner.

Physical Care

The Bible states that while he was sleeping under a juniper tree

God made provision for him by providing a cake and a cruse of water.

Sent his angel to wake him up

Spiritual Care (cf v.4;18)

Elijah seems to think that all of his work is in vain, that he trained for three years for one event and it didn’t even bring revival

It is so easy when we are discouraged to say but “I did this.. or I did that.. “

He even says that he is no better than his father’s whose work was in vain

He ask God to just take his life because it is worth nothing.

God then confirms that all of Elijah’s work has not been done in vain.

It is here that God reminds Elijah that all of his training, all of his tenacity, all of his faithfulness is not done in vain but rather had a purpose.

Because Elijah was faithful in the work there was a remnant that stood with Elijah (v.18)

These men stood at the foot of Mt. Carmel and heard Elijah ask the God on high to send fire down

And when God did

It solidified in their hearts who God was and they were convicted. Over 7,000 were influenced

The average Christian experiences both the mountaintop and the valley. We do so because life is filled with ups and downs, the truth is if you’re like me most of the time you live your life in the valley. The valley is very different than the mountaintop, the valley is where life becomes challenging, the valley, where many battles are fought and where feelings are hurt and attitudes are developed. The valley is the place in life where we struggle everyday with fears and our hopes and painful circumstances. The valley for us is inevitable, because we find ourselves there for various reasons. It may be spiritual warfare, or the actions of others, or because of our own rebellious actions, or even due to the hand of God Himself we will find ourselves in the valley. In the mountaintop is where we come to meet God; but the valley is where God comes to meet us. Either way, God always shows up. Either publicly and privately. If you are in a valley with no source of help I would encourage you to look for God. Set your eyes on the one who can provide light to the path out of the lowest valley.