When the Dark Days Come

We spent a lot of time this summer looking at how to live well as citizens of God’s kingdom while we are still living on earth.

We talked about suffering for Christ, standing up for him, and how to honor him as we do.

Part of what we talked about last week was what to do with the anxieties we feel as we walk with Jesus. Some of the final words to us in 1 Peter challenge us to cast all our cares on God because he cares for us.

Today, I want to look at the flip side of the concern coin: depression.

You may not have realized this, but depression and anxiety are, in some ways, simply the opposite sides of an emotional coin.

Biblical counselor Brad Hambrick explains it this way: When we face a threat or a challenge, there may be an artificial energy boost that comes into play. That is the fight or flight system kicking in, and that is what we experience as anxiety. We can’t sustain that, though, so we eventually hit an emotional crash where we can’t do what we need to do—that’s depression. Eventually, we may get rested enough that we want to reengage and do all the things we haven’t, and when we see what is waiting on us, it leads us back to anxiety.[1]

Some of us live in this cycle, and we wonder if the Bible has anything to say about it.

Let me be clear, just like I hope I was last week: there may be traumatic experiences or biological and physiological issues that contribute to your experience with anxiety and depression. It is good and God-honoring to seek help from a counselor or a physician with those issues.

We also recognize that, in ways that are more complex than we sometimes imagine, we are spiritual beings who inhabit these physical bodies.

Most of us fight with anxiety and depression at some level, so we want to take time to see what the Bible teaches us about facing dark days.

To do that this morning, I want to go back to the Old Testament book of 1 Kings.

We are going to pick up in 1 Kings 19 as we look at a man named Elijah.

The book of James tells us that Elijah is a man just like us that God used in some extraordinary ways.

In fact, we are picking up in his life right after one of the most incredible moments in the Old Testament.

The people of Israel had turned away from worshiping God and were worshiping a false God named Baal.

Elijah proposed a test: he would meet everyone on Mt. Carmel. He would build an altar to the one true God, and Baal’s priests would build on to Baal. Whichever God responded by lighting the altar was the one true God.

The prophets of Baal tried everything they could, but Baal never answered. When it was Elijah’s turn, he went so far as to completely douse his offering in water so everything was soaked. God responded powerfully by sending fire from heaven so hot that it burned up not just the offering and the wood but even the stones of the altar.

The people instantly declared that the Lord was the one true God, killed 450 prophets of Baal and seemed like they were back on track.

Right after that, God sent rain, breaking the three-year drought God had imposed because of their idolatry.

Sounds like everything is going great, doesn’t it? God has clearly demonstrated his power, the people are worshiping him, and Elijah is on top of his game.

Unfortunately, the mountain-top experience on Mt. Carmel didn’t last long.

We are going to see that Elijah gets some bad news and sinks into a deep depression, to the point that he is almost suicidal.

In this section, we will see God come alongside Elijah at his weakest moments and show great grace.

As we will see, one truth comes out loud and clear: when the dark days come, we need God’s presence more than his power.

Read with me 1 Kings 19:1-4.

Do you see the predicament Elijah is in? The wicked queen is mad that Elijah ordered the death of her prophets. She is furious with him…Alice in Wonderland Queen of Hearts kind of furious…off with his head!

We are told we have two basic responses to threats we face: fight or flight.

I will give you one guess as to which one kicked in here with Elijah…look back at verses 3-4.

Elijah throws in the towel. In spite of having seen God demonstrate his power in a historic, incredibly amazing way, he is just done.

He has swung into that emotional crash that leads to dark days.

And that is exactly where God meets him. In that moment, Elijah discovered that he needed God’s presence more than he needed God’s power.

By the way, I acknowledge that strictly speaking, this may seem like splitting hairs…God’s presence and power are closely related. We also acknowledge the truth that he is present everywhere, even when we are not aware.

However, practically, you likely know what I mean.

Whenever we think of God’s power, we think of the Mt. Carmel-type experiences; times when God does something supernatural that makes everyone stand back and go, “Wow!”

That’s what we want when we get down or depressed, isn’t it? We want God to do something to shake us out of this fog. We want him to intervene and make our problem go away.

“God, I’m depressed and crushed under the weight of this thing. I need you to change my spouse, change my health, change my job or my schoolwork.”

That isn’t how God normally works, though, as we will see in Elijah’s life.

Instead of seeking God’s power in those dark moments, we need to first seek his presence.

Why? Because, as we will see in this passage, God’s presence brings three gifts.

We seek God’s presence first because he gives us:

1) Comfort

Let’s look at what happens next. Read verses 5-8.

I love how this unfolds.

Depressed and exhausted, Elijah falls asleep under a tree.

When he wakes up, he finds something incredible: an angel has fixed him a hot meal.

This isn’t just any angel, though. How is He described in verse 7? “The angel of the Lord”

Anybody remember what we have said about that phrase before? Who is this?

The angel of the Lord is how Jesus is described before he comes to earth as a baby.

It wasn’t just an angel baking bread; it was God himself!

Elijah was running scared, which means in that moment, he didn’t think God could take care of him and protect him from Jezebel.

So, when Jesus shows up, the first gift he gives Elijah is comfort.

It is interesting to notice here that God didn’t rebuke Elijah at first or confront his wrong beliefs.

Elijah shouldn’t have been afraid of Jezebel. Sure, she had killed other prophets, but Elijah had just seen God demonstrate his power on Mt. Carmel.

God shows his grace and mercy here, though, by comforting his servant.

Look again at verses 5-6…

God gives him something to eat and lets him rest.

We hinted at it earlier, but don’t miss this: God’s first provision for Elijah’s soul was a nap and a meal.

We are limited, frail creatures whose bodies get tired and hungry.

Sometimes, in the dark days, you need to pay attention and take some time to rest and replenish yourself physically, not just spiritually.

The spiritual restoration was coming, but it began with God giving him physical rest.

In your battle with depression and anxiety, when was the last time you slowed down and took a day off and rested or ate a good meal?

Sometimes, you need more than a day off and a nice meal—there may be something going on in your body that you need some medication to help correct.

Have you pursued that?

Elijah was exhausted, and before God could do the work his soul needed, he needed to rest.

Once he had rested, though God began working deeper as he wandered around for forty days and nights.

Notice though that, at first, there is no command; simply a gracious provision for a weary body and soul.

Isn’t that what Jesus promises those who come to him?

Matthew 11:28–30 CSB

“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take up my yoke and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

As we seek his presence, we find that God gives us his comfort.

When the Apostle Paul looked at all the hardships he endured in his life spent serving the Lord, he had this to say:

2 Corinthians 1:3–5 CSB

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. He comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any kind of affliction, through the comfort we ourselves receive from God. For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

When dark days come, when everything seems to be closing in, we don’t need God’s power to fix the problem, we need his presence to bring comfort.

However, as we see in Elijah’s life, God’s presence brings at least two more gifts with it.

After feeding Elijah a second time, Jesus leaves and Elijah sets out on a long, meandering walk.

He ends up on Mount Horeb, which is another name for Mount Sinai—the mountain where God first gave the 10 Commandments and the Law to Israel.

There, we find God giving Elijah two additional gifts.

The next gift God’s presence brings is…

2) Correction

Pick up with me in verse 9-13.

There is a phrase that we find often when we look at Elijah’s life: “…the word of the Lord came to him…”

Once again, God is speaking to his prophet.

After over a month of wandering around with apparently the heavens seeming silent, God speaks.

This time, however, there is a twist: God didn’t tell him to come hide in a cave. That may be why he asks Elijah a simple question – “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Elijah’s response seems frustrated, discouraged, and hopeless.

“Sure, God, you have done all these things, but for what? The nation is still evil, and they are going to kill me if I go back there.”

This prophet who stood so strong and believed God’s Word has faltered.

God has already given him comfort and sustained him. Now, it is time for God to offer correction.

Elijah was wrong. God hadn’t abandoned him, God’s plan wasn’t failing, and Elijah wasn’t the only one left.

However, the next phase of God’s activity wasn’t going to look exactly like what Elijah had seen previously, so God corrected his wrong ideas.

How? By demonstrating his power, but not demonstrating his presence with it.

Elijah had seen God’s power clearly and boldly displayed on Mt Carmel in fire and the rains that followed. God had shown his power through Elijah in flashy, dramatic ways.

Now, God sends a strong, supernaturally powerful wind, but not his presence.

He sends an earthquake that shakes the ground underneath and around him, but not his presence.

He sends a fire, just like on Carmel, but this time, he doesn’t send his presence.

Finally, there is a sound of a voice, a soft whisper.

This time, Elijah recognizes God’s presence and goes out to meet him.

We don’t know exactly why God did things this way. We do know that this event marks a turning point in Elijah’s ministry, and the way God works through him from this point forward isn’t nearly as outwardly dramatic as before.

Perhaps Elijah was disillusioned with the fact that Jezebel was still alive and there were still people worshiping Baal. God hadn’t wiped them off the face of the earth yet.

Maybe Elijah made the mistake we make from time to time: we think God’s presence and activity will always look flashy and dramatic and that everything will look the way we expect.

Perhaps today you need to stop looking for God to kill the Jezebels in your life and start listening harder for his voice in the midst of your situation.

Could it be that you’re looking for the wind, the earthquake, and the fire, when God isn’t interested in showing himself that way in your life right now?

This morning may be the gentle correction you need: Stop looking for his power to destroy every situation you hate and start listening for the soft, quiet voice of his presence.

You may think he isn’t keeping his end of the bargain, so you are running somewhere God never told you to go. Stop—what are you doing here?

“But Sean, he feels so far away” – That goes back to what we said last week: your feelings don’t have brains, so tell them what is true.

For those who follow Christ, we know he is with us whether we feel it or not.

In his final instructions to us before He went back to heaven, Jesus reminded us:

Matthew 28:20 (CSB)

...And remember, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

Peter told us last week that God’s hand is mighty and he cares for you.

On the dark days when depression creeps in, remember that he is with you and he is able to accomplish his plan, even when it doesn’t seem like it.

That leads us to the third and final gift we see of God’s presence:

3) Clarity

Pick up again in verse 14.

Elijah repeats his previous statement.

How does God respond? Read verse 15-18

When God responds, he gives Elijah clarity about what is going on in his life.

Elijah finds out what his next steps are as well as the fact that one of his key statements, that he was the only one left, isn’t true.

When God draws near and speaks, he shows Elijah his perspective.

Isn’t that what you and I need? Our field of view is so narrow…we see so little of what is going on around us.

Not only that, but we are completely clueless as to what our future holds. We can make plans and projections based off what we see, but ultimately, God is the only one who knows with certainty what is going to happen.

So what do you do when the dark days come and you scratch your head in confusion?

Seek his presence.

God’s presence has a clarifying effect on our souls, bringing peace and direction when all was see is chaos and confusion.

He knows what is happening, why, and what he desires to see next.

Notice, though, that the clarity God gives doesn’t always answer every question.

Did God say anything about Jezebel directly here?

Did He say how He was going to keep Elijah safe as he traveled back all the way through Israel into Syria?

No—but He clearly showed that he was in charge, that he was keeping his word, and that he had a plan for everything Elijah was enduring.

Are you facing dark days? Do you feel like God isn’t hearing your prayers? Perhaps you aren’t listening for the right thing.

Maybe you’re looking for power when God wants to give you his presence first.

You’re looking for the wind to change the direction of your trouble or the earthquake that will bring your problem crashing to the ground or the fire that will destroy that situation that has you distraught.

Don’t give up.

Look for his presence to bring comfort. He may challenge you to think rightly about what he is doing, but he does it because he loves you. When he shows up, ask him to give whatever clarity he sees fit to you in your situation.

Truly, Elijah was a man just like us. When faced with an enemy who wanted to kill him, he ran and hid.

Don’t you wish he had stayed strong? What could God have done had Elijah not run?

He didn’t perfectly obey, so Elijah leaves us wanting more.

There was another servant of God who would face death for us: Jesus.

He didn’t run from those who tried to kill Him, even though He was completely innocent.

In fact, He leaned into it.

Elijah experienced the comforting presence of God in his darkest days, and Jesus experienced the wrath and abandonment of God in his.

Yet he did it for us; so that we could be near and experience his presence.

Endnote:

[1] Adapted from Brad Hambrick’s comments in his first video here: https://bradhambrick.com/depression/