‘The Lord asked, “Elijah, why are you here?”’ 1 Kings 19:9 CEV
Tell God your frustrations. After being restored through proper food and rest, Elijah travelled for forty days. Then he went into a cave for the night. In the morning, the Lord asked him, ‘Why are you here?’
Elijah answered: ‘I’ve always done my best to obey You. But Your people have broken their solemn promise to You. They have torn down Your altars and killed all Your prophets, except me. And now they are even trying to kill me!’ (1 Kings 19:10 CEV)
Elijah poured out all his feelings, and God allowed him to let off steam. He wasn’t shocked by Elijah’s complaints. Sometimes it’s helpful to share your feelings with a trusted friend. Venting about all the things pushed down inside you that are contributing to your depression can help with an emotional clean-out.
Elijah had plenty of stuff pushed down inside. Notice his emotions. First, he was afraid. Then he felt resentment, followed by low self-esteem and guilt. ‘I’ve had enough… I’m no better off than my ancestors.’ (1 Kings 19:4 CEV) He was angry because he had worked hard for nothing. He was lonely to the point of despair: ‘Now they are even trying to kill me!’ He was worried.
When fear, resentment, low self-esteem, guilt, anger, loneliness, and worry became tangled together, it can open the door to depression! So God let him spill it all out. He basically said, ‘Elijah, what’s frustrating you? What’s eating you up?’ and Elijah poured it all out. So when you are depressed, what you need to do is—take it to God in prayer.
SoulFood: Num 1–2, Matt 5:13–26, Ps 35, Pro 10:28–29
word4today an adaptation of The Word For Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright 2024
