When A Servant of God is Down - Pastor Daniel Batarseh

If you have your Bibles, please meet me in the book of first Kings. First Kings chapter 19. And as returning there, we're gonna pray one more time because there is such thing as a healthy fear, and if we should fear anything as a church, it's to do church without the help of the Holy Spirit, without his assistance, his empowerment, his illumination. We need him desperately, and we need to tell him that by faith. First Kings chapter 19, and we're gonna start in verse one, but let's again ask God to help us with this text.

God Almighty, Lord, you give us the permission to call you Father, and we call you Father with freedom and assurance that you love us. Lord, there's so much darkness in our day. There's so much darkness. You are aware of it. But Lord, with the intensity of darkness, we ask for a greater measure of light and of power.

Lord, we humbly admit that we are weak and that we are in need of your strength. Lord, we cannot even comprehend what you have to say unless you help us, and so protect us from being like the Pharisees who knew so much but missed Christ. Lord, we beg of you that your presence would touch our hearts, that your word would be thrusted into our souls, and that we would leave transformed, encouraged, and ready to face another week. Lord, we trust that you have bread for us, so we come hungry to eat at your table. May every man disappear, Father.

May Christ be seen. May he be loved and adored and cherished. May this ministry of the word be energized by the power of the spirit. This is our need. We have no need to receive from a man.

We need it from you, Lord. We trust in you tonight rather this morning. In Jesus' name. Amen. First Kings chapter 19, meet me down here in verse four.

We're gonna spring from there. First Kings chapter 19 verse four, 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, oh Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. If you're familiar with this passage in the book of Kings, you know that this is about Elijah. If you're not familiar with this chapter, well, you just heard the dire and desperate words of one of the greatest prophets in history. This is a man who is petitioning and pleading for his life to be taken by the one who gives life.

And what we see is a man who is not one to carry this kind of burden because he was a man of faith. There was no doubt. He was a man of power, of wisdom, of courage. This is the same man who three and a half years ago, before this time, prayed that there would be a famine in Israel and God answered it. This is the same man who had a trust in God for the impossible where he sees a child raised from the dead not too long before this.

This is the same man who saw an entire nation fall to their knees because by his command, God shoots down fire from heaven for all eyes to see. This is the same man who is now asking to die. His expression to escape was not to leave a ministry or a job, but to escape life itself. When you read a verse like this, it's astonishing and it causes you to ask at least two questions, I'm sure. First question would be, how does a man of God come to such a point as this?

And secondly, you might be asking this question, is it possible for a man of God to express such dark desires? Or is it true that if you're really a man or a woman of God that you would never come to this point? Let's answer the second question first. Is it possible? A resounding yes.

It is possible. Because you cannot debate whether Elijah was a man of God or not. Two chapters before this, we were introduced to Elijah Elijah. And when he steps on the scenes, the very first words out of his mouth were what? As the Lord, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand.

Before whom I stand. This man lived in a constant conscious awareness of the ever present, all powerful God. He lived under the shadow of his wing. He did all things by his word. He was sensitive to God's voice.

He was a channel of God's power and he was no doubt a man of a different sort. There's no questioning that he was a man of God. So then we come to the first question then. How is it possible for someone of such a caliber of faith to reach and crash and crumble like he is in the scene? Here's the thing, we should not be in doubt that the greatest of saints can come to this point.

Those three words, it is enough, has been the sigh of many sincere and genuine followers of Christ. It is enough. And and perhaps not implying that you're finished with life, but perhaps finished with a path of obedience, a fervent, zealous zeal for God or a ministry that he has called you to. There have been many who have sighed in prayer, even cried out loud, it is enough. I'm finished.

I give up. I don't wanna do this anymore. And here's the thing, the reality of Elijah's life is that at this point, it wasn't enough. God had so much more in store for him, but that's where Satan wants to bring all of us. Satan wants us to believe, every single Christian, that you're finished, you're done.

Though you're still breathing, though you still have life, though you still have a future, he wants you to believe that it's done. You're done. There's no point of living anymore. There's no point of serving anymore. And this is what we have to understand.

We know that it is not a pleasant experience to think such thoughts. And this is not a thought for the the sinner or the worldly professing Christian. This is a temptation that the greatest of men and women face. And we want to avoid it, we don't like to feel it, but sometimes the temptation comes like a flood, and we can't avoid it, and it seems impossible to escape. And so I present to you this morning, a thought that maybe, understanding the causes that would bring somebody of faith to this point will help bring some relief.

Just like it would help us to know the cause for reoccurring ailment. Because if we understand the cause, then we can avoid the cause and maybe we can't avoid them but we can provide immediate remedies to them. So that they don't have a grip on us like it did on Elijah. And so this morning, we have a simple message. It's for those who like Elijah, who have, who currently are, who might in the future, face a pitfall of spiritual depression, as they pursue consecration and holiness unto the Lord.

And so, how? Do we have ingredients? Absolutely. Can I include all of them? Yes.

Can I include just one of them? You better believe it. And so let's go to verse one and let's unpack. How it is that a true man of God, a true woman of God can experience this soulish destitution. This deep sorrow.

As the old man of God used to say, the dark night of the soul. Let's read from verse one. Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. If you're taking notes this morning, here's the first thought. And this is not an order, these are just potentials.

Spiritual depression can come after or during the greatest seasons of victory. This verse is describing what had happened not too long ago. In fact, in first Kings chapter 18, there was a showdown between Elijah and 850 prophets. 850 to one. And we know who won that showdown, the true and living God.

Elijah, by faith presents a wonderful case, and God shows up. And when God shows up, the wicked ruler who is to be blamed for all this compromise in the nation, did not hold back when he raced back to his palace and crashed through those doors to explain to that wicked wife of his all that took place. That Baal was silent and that Yahweh answered and all those prophets that she had raised up and promoted and elected were now slain. It was a defeat for Baal. It was a defeat for a compromising leadership, but it was a victory for this man of God and for the remnant of Israel.

And here's where Elijah missed it and where many people miss it as well. Again, we're talking about those who love God, who pursue God, who serve God, who wanna bear fruit for God. What Elijah needed to prepare for in this moment is what many of us should never fail to believe. That in seasons of great advancements and achievements for God, that is when unique temptations will surface and attempt to rob us of the blessings that we are currently experiencing. It will come, and that is a principle throughout the Bible.

From cover to cover, we see different temptations that come to those who are in great places for God. Oh, I think of King Asa, a man who faced a million Ethiopians that were coming against him. And we are told that the source of his victory is when he cried out to God and God intervened. And after that miraculous deliverance, what do you see? An entire reform come to Israel.

Revival from coast to coast. And after a long period of prosperity and peace, there comes a much smaller threat than a million Ethiopians. But what does Asad not do what he should have done? Pray. He didn't pray.

He trusted in his wisdom and his strength. Why? Because he was proud, and that stretch of victory and prosperity led to his own demise. I think of the Israelites that came out of Egypt, and when they were delivered and experienced that triumph, God had given them gold and silver. For what purpose?

Not to wear jewelry in the desert, I can tell you that much, but to provide ingredients to build a tabernacle for God. But what did they do instead in their triumph? They made a golden calf. I think of Peter, who proved to those disciples in that ship and even to Christ himself of that wonderful act of faith of placing his feet on raging waters. And as he walked on that body of water, he took his eyes off Jesus.

And the moment he took his eyes off the Christ and analyzed the waves, that's when he began to sink. And now we see Elijah. Do we not? Elijah, a great man who saw national revival. And what is he going to meet with?

Deadly disappointment. Deadly disappointment. Disappointment? Yes. Disappointment.

Disappointment from what? Perhaps he had an expectation for God to do something and he didn't see God do it in fullness. Maybe, we're gonna see that in a moment. Or I present this case that might stagger you in light of Elijah's character. Perhaps, Elijah thought he would be something in light of what just happened and it did not come to pass as he thought or had planned.

Where are we getting that from? Look at verse four again. It is enough now, oh Lord. Take away my life, for I am no better than my fathers. Who's comparing?

I'm no better than my fathers. I'm just as much as a failure as they were. You know what Elijah's doing here? What many people do. They tie their joy to their ministry success, And when the success doesn't come, neither does the joy.

You want a recipe for spiritual depression? Identify your identification and your purpose in life with your title, with how people see you, with your success in comparison to other ministries and ministers. You have a beautiful recipe for spiritual depression awaiting you. And that's what he did. In part, he thought to himself, I thought I would be something out of this.

I thought I would be known as something other than this. And look at me, I'm just I'm just like my fathers. I'm no better. But we see something else in verse two. It's not just in seasons of great victory that it can come.

Spiritual depression can come when you focus on apparent failures rather than the successes. Look at verse two. 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. How could Elijah experience disappointment and depression after a national awakening? If there is anyone who would never or should ever feel despair after this moment, it would be this man, Shirley.

Disappointment should be the last temptation or even emotion that this person would sense in his lifetime. But he does. And we have to try to equate this. How is that possible? I mean, if God allows us to see one person come to Christ, we should rejoice and we should because the angels rejoice.

But think about thousands upon thousands falling on their face in one moment. And perhaps we have an indication why this man is about to flee from the scene in such despair. Is it possible that Elijah had an expectation of a different response from the leadership of Israel that did not come to pass? Is it possible that Elijah in his mind thought, surely this would bring Ahab and Jezebel as well to their knees, and instead he receives a message of a guaranteed execution on his head? It is greatly possible that this man, who he himself and they saw and heard God shooting fire from heaven, and not just shooting fire from heaven, but providing rain for a land that was deprived of nourishment for years.

Surely, people would surrender. Surely, not one would dare withhold their hearts from this loving and kind king, but Ahab and Jezebel did. In fact, they become harder and hard. Side note, the miraculous doesn't always provide regeneration. Great acts of power don't always soften people.

There are people in this world who are determined to reject God, no matter what kind of evidence you bring before them. And that was true of Ahab and Jezebel. She just became harder. She became more vicious. And she sends out a word, you're a dead man.

Can you imagine hearing that? When you perhaps are thinking to yourself, once Ahab gets back to that place, there's gonna be revival in the palace, I'm sure of it. Only to get a message back saying, no, we hate you and your God even more. And here's the main thought of this point. Elijah allowed Jezebel's response to eclipse the response of thousands of Israelites who gave themselves over to Yahweh again.

You know, it's amazing. We're interesting creatures, aren't we, as humans? Because we are so quick and willing to accept one negative thing, even in the presence of so much positivity that is blossoming from the same thing. It is astounding how we are more willing to clinch on something that offends us, hurts us, disappoints us, more than the things that bless us, encourage us and stir us. We're magnetized towards it.

Because he says here in verse four again, for I am no better than my father. What is he saying? I'm a failure. Failure? Failure.

Elijah, if we only have one tenth of what you had, the experiences you had, you still come to this point where you think that you're a failure. Oh, yes. Because that's what we're capable of doing. Even the most spiritual can make that mistake. I'm giving this example not because it happened to me, so don't feel bad for me if I'm about to give it.

Okay? But I'm just giving an example. A preacher can preach a message that he has prayed over. A preacher can preach a message in such a way where he himself knows that he's being used by the Holy Spirit, not in a prideful way. And a preacher can preach a message where after the service, he walks off that pulpit and people line up to tell him, thank you for being God's mouthpiece.

You spoke to my heart. You bless me. And out of 99 people that would encourage him, here comes one person who would say, pastor, I didn't like your tone of voice this morning. You're too much you're too aggressive. You were kind of loud.

I was still waking up and you were yelling. I didn't want it. And you know what that preacher can do for the rest of that Sunday afternoon? Dismiss the 99 and just meditate upon that one comment all day, all day, all week. And it could haunt him.

Maybe you can't relate to that, so let's bring it very practical. Never mind being a worship leader or a pastor. Let's talk about an outfit that you plan to buy and you saved up for, and you wore it, and once you wore it for that event, you show up and everybody tells you how beautiful you are. Oh, you lost weight. Oh, how wonderful.

And all of a sudden somebody approaches you and says, why are you wearing that color? Why that color? What happened to you? And what do you leave with? That comment instead of all the praise and the encouragement.

Because that's what we're capable of. That's what we're prone to. And Elijah's proving that here right now. That even a spiritual man can fail to see all that God is doing and instead focus on what he's apparently not doing. Happens all the time.

Happens all the time. Happens in leadership, happens in the congregation. We almost have these blinders because we have these expectations instead of seeing what God is doing beyond what we think he should be doing. And instead of receiving joy, instead of receiving a sense of encouragement, we are beaten down. Because we want God to cover these corners, we want God to touch these people at this time, and because he's not fitting our idea of sex, success, our idea of understanding how people can come to the knowledge of Jesus at a certain time, we fail, we crumble.

And this is where we have to understand that spiritual depression can be avoided when we layer our shield of faith with understanding what God is doing. Not only what he's doing, but what he has done in Christ. And what Christ has already done, he even told his own disciples, don't rejoice that the demons bow before you in my name. Rejoice that your name is recorded in heaven already. Don't look to what you're doing.

Look to what I've already done. And when you coat that shield of faith, you are able to protect yourself more and more from the darts of disappointment and discouragement. This is where Elijah fails, unfortunately. Then we come to the third reality. In verse three, 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.

Spiritual depression can come when you focus on threats more than truth. If Satan cannot tempt a man or woman of God, you better believe that his next step will be to threaten them. That is in his arsenal. Persecution and intimidation is not a foreign weapon to him and not a foreign experience to the most faithful. When the enemy can't make a man fall in sin, when an enemy The enemy can't make somebody look at something that he's not supposed to look at or do something he's not supposed to do, then he will do everything in his power to try to intimidate you enough to flee the scene where you're being used.

And that's what he's doing right here. See, we know that there is in part disappointment in Elijah's heart but clearly, he is afraid. This man is now afraid of a woman who just threatened him, when moments ago, he single handedly slaughtered 850 men. You see, this is amazing because Elijah is clearly in a critical point, because this is not his pattern. This is not something that we are familiar with with the character of Elijah.

I'll give you two reasons why. Firstly, when the nation of Israel repented, they didn't just repent and give their hearts to God, they gave their hearts to Elijah. In what sense? Look at verse 40 of first Kings 18. After the revival broke out, the people fall on their faces.

You know who flees the scene? The prophets. At least they attempt to, the false prophets. And Elijah said to them, the people of Israel, seize the prophets of Baal. Let not one of them escape.

And they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the Brook Of Kishan and slaughtered them there. So he had the entire people by his side. Why are you afraid when there's an allegiance now? When there's a partnership now? But secondly, we see something else.

This is not the first time that Elijah was on a warrant for his arrest and his death. Do you remember what happened three and a half years ago before this moment? Ahab called for him when he had prayed for that famine, and he wanted him dead. He actually reached out to other nations, neighboring nations to to ask if Elijah had traveled there to escape. But Elijah didn't show any fear.

Why? Because when that happened in first Kings 17 verse two and three, the word of the Lord came to Elijah and told him what? Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself. Hide yourself. When the threat came earlier, he received a word from the Lord.

But when it comes now, there's no word from the Lord. He's acting in the flesh. Now, is there wisdom in knowing how to flee threats when they come? Absolutely. Jesus himself said, when persecution comes to your town, flee to the next.

There is wisdom in evading and avoiding dangers, but we have considerable hesitation to believe that that was a case for Elijah. He's operating in a fear that caused him to be even more depressed, because that's an important truth for people who serve God. That as you seek to obey God, spiritual depression can be triggered when you realize that your life, that your health, or that your family are at risk of being harmed in your pursuit of obedience to God. And there are many great men and women of God who hear the whispers of Satan to try to get him to quit. I can't help but think of a testimony of a pastor, who in his church was flourishing and growing.

At that time, his young daughter escapes the house and chooses to walk away from the home and not just walk away from the home, but live in total rebellion against God. Was not seen for months and even years, I believe. And while the church is growing and while he's ministering and preaching multiple services and counseling people throughout the week, he himself was dying inside. And on top of that, he testifies that there came a point in that season where he would have been receiving constant thoughts, that if he had not given up on the ministry as soon as possible, that Satan would come after his other children. And he would hear those thoughts in his head.

I came for one, I'm coming for all of them. And what was he sensing? Maybe I should just give up on this whole thing. It's not worth the life of my children. Maybe I should just walk away from it all.

And that is how the enemy works at times. When a man is obeying God, when a woman is obeying God, and the devil can't get him to sin, he will try to threaten them. And this is where we have to understand that you keep your eyes on Jesus. That if God called you to something, he's faithful to provide, protect, guide in every step of the way, and not just your life and those who are associated with your life to help you advance in the will of God. Elijah didn't believe that in this moment.

He once had his eyes on God and now he took his eyes off of him. Did not God protect him? Did not God direct him to flee when there was danger and here he is now, running away. And as he runs away, we learn another lesson. How did this man come to this point when he showed faith earlier?

And here's a great reason to the potential of this failure of faith. It's in verse four. 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, oh Lord, take away my life, for I am no better than my father's. Now look at verse five, and he lay down and slept under a broom tree and behold an angel touched them 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.

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. This is a unique story in the bible. Because what we see here is a clear application that after even his courage on a mountain top, no pun intended, after experiencing God doing something wonderful, here he is in a wilderness, in a valley, crumbling, not just spiritually, but clearly physically. And the idea is this, that one of the main reasons that Elijah has come to this point was due to physical exhaustion. And we don't think about that reality.

We don't think about that possibility. We don't think about how that can lead to spiritual issues. But what does this angel do? He he's he's sent by God and the first immediate remedy to this man is get a meal in you and get a good night's sleep. And then he gets up again.

Here's another meal and get some sleep. This is incredible because we don't consider how much Elijah was doing before this moment, do we? If you've wrestled somebody, even for fun for five minutes, you know exhaustion. Here's a man with his bare hands, took down 850 men. And right after taking over 850 men, what are we told?

Look at first Kings eighteen forty six. The last verse before first Kings 19. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah and he gathered up his garment and ran before Ahab on the, to the entrance of Jezreel. It is believed that he ran around 20 miles straight, from the location that he was at to this point. Well you're saying, well the hand of the Lord was upon him, but you're still physical, and you're still human, and you still have a vehicle that is limited.

So this man takes over 850 grown men, and then after that he runs a marathon, and then we are introduced to this scene. No wonder. And we see a physical picture of running non stop, now we look at that in our schedules and we have to ask ourselves, do we do the same? In even service to God. And as he comes to this point where he finally collapses, you have to believe that there is a connection between heightened temptation, and a mind and a body that is deprived of basic needs.

If you don't believe that, then look no further than the temptation of Jesus. If you read our bibles carefully that when Jesus was introduced to the lies and the persuasions of Satan, it was what? After forty days of fasting. When he was hungry, when he was tired, when he was weary, Satan thought to himself, this is the best time to tempt him. And he came.

I know that this doesn't sound deep in revelation, but somebody made this observation. The carnal man is in habit of neglecting his spirit. And the spiritual man is in habit of avoiding and neglecting his physical man. It's very true. Carnal people, worldly people, they don't think about their spiritual state or their condition, but you know what people who are spiritual are in danger of doing?

Pushing themselves, driving, serving to the point where they neglect their physical bodies. And I'm no doctor, but I'm sure nobody would disagree with me on this, doctors in the house, potential doctors in the house. Physical deprivation, physical neglect can lead to how you see the world, feel the world, hear the world. It affects your mental outlook. And that is exactly what Elijah is experiencing at this time, or else this wouldn't make sense.

If we're not impressed by this, if we don't think that this is a need, then let me quote to you one of the most spiritual men that the church has ever known, and Charles Spurgeon, who said in his lecture to his students in a book, I quote, to sit in one posture long, pouring over a book or driving a quill or in our day a computer, is in itself a taxing of nature. But add to this a badly ventilated chamber, a body which has long been without muscular exercise, and a heart burdened with many cares, and we have all the elements of preparing a seething cauldron of despair. So he's speaking to potential ministers and servants, and he's saying, don't neglect your body, your mind, your soul, the basic needs on an emotional level, a psychological level, and a physical level. God comes with that as a solution. And when you put all these things together, burnout is bound to happen.

Burnout is bound to happen. And so we identify those things and we say, well, that's great, but do we have some solutions? And in the very same text, we have solutions. And let me give you just a warning here. I'm not here dismissing the potential need for professional input or medical assistance concerning depression.

But I do not believe that Elijah's problem here was chemical imbalance. I believe Elijah's problem here was due to spiritual and practical neglect, so it's gonna require spiritual and practical answers. Keep that in mind. And I present to you basic ways for you and I to endure and escape spiritual depression if we face it. If we face it.

And so here's the first one in light of the last point. Trust, trust, really trust that God cares about you as a human and wants you to care for yourself as a human. You're not an angel. You're not seraphim or cherubim. You're a man created from the dust.

And this is amazing because, as I noted earlier, the first immediate solution that God gives in this weary saint who is clearly in need for answers, for some solution, for some counsel, was a hot meal. And all the moms say, amen. A nice warm meal and some rest. And I think that's important because it's important to God. And what's amazing is that rest and refreshment are not to be abused and this is not always God's order of solving spiritual depression, but in Elijah's case it was.

Rest and refreshment can be abused. Right? But it is necessary for the zealous servant of the Lord. In fact, Jesus with only three and a half years on this earth to minister the way he ministered, Saw it necessary after he sends out the 12 into a missionary journey. They come back rejoicing and he knows, let's let's go away and rest for a while.

Mark six thirty one. Let's let's go on a retreat and just rejuvenate and reenergize so that we can be more effective for the mission ahead. You know what's amazing is that God, throughout Elijah's life, took care of him in this way, not just in this moment. When he tells him in first king 17, go to the brook, he goes to the brook and he says, I'm gonna send a raven to feed you. I'm gonna send a bird to feed you.

And he does. And after that moment, he sends it to a widow. And he goes to the widow, what's the widow purpose for? Yes, for Elijah to bless her, but for her to take care of him. And now we come to Elijah alone in his lowest point in life, and what does he do?

He sends an angel. Throughout his ministry, God saw this as an important thing. And what's amazing is that when we read that an angel was sent, it was no ordinary angel. Did you see it? We are first told that it was an angel, but when he comes again, what are we told in verse seven?

And the angel of the Lord, that's Jesus. That's the pre incarnate Christ. The pre incarnate Christ. Look how much tender compassion and care God has for his servants. He did not just send an angel or the best of his angels, he himself comes on the scene and nurtures and takes care of his wounded follower and messenger.

You know what's amazing about this? The angel of the Lord appears and he is demonstrating what Isaiah prophesied about the Messiah to come in Isaiah forty two three. You know the scripture, a bruised reed. A bruised reed he will not break and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. That would characterize Jesus Christ and was fulfilled in Matthew's gospel when it is told that he did fulfill this specific prophecy.

He came to heal, to bind, to restore and to renew. But that wasn't just Jesus in his incarnate state. It was the character of God even in the old testament in Christ. Christ shows up as one who would enter into his home and fed and laid to rest and nurtured and took care of. This is important to Jesus.

It should be important to us. But we come to the second point of solution. These are not in order of importance. Do not forsake community, but embrace it. If you're in spiritual depression, do not forsake community, but embrace it.

Look what he does here and it's a small detail on verse three. It says, he was afraid he arose and rent for his life and came to Beersheba, which belongs to Judah, and he left his servant there. Bad move. Bad bad move. Do you know why even the most spiritual would run away from community and people, brothers and sisters in those times of great darkness?

Because of shame and embarrassment. I don't want people to see me this way. I don't have to admit how I feel. I don't want to tell people that I'm weak in faith. I don't want to ask for prayer for counsel because I have this wrong perception of my ministry or God or how I see things in life.

We don't know why Elijah left his servant there. He was afraid, I'm sure, but he didn't even call him. He just runs. Perhaps he didn't want anybody to see them in this kind of condition. And God has given us a body.

God has given us a community to run to and not from. And sometimes the most spiritual thing that you can do, sometimes the most helpful thing that you can do for yourself is pick up the phone and call. Pick up the phone and talk to a brother, talk to a leader and allow them to pour truth into you. Sometimes the most spiritual thing that you can do is just say, I need some counsel. Here's my situation.

Can you shed some light on it because I can't see it? Elijah's not seeing things right here. And we're all prone to that. And if we're ever tempted to think that nobody can see me this way, God has presented a man here to give us comfort. It happened to him.

It can happen to you, but just don't make his same mistakes. And so community is granted for our assistance, but we come to a third truth. Seek God with honesty in your spiritual depression. Seek God with total honesty and transparency. You know what Elijah does do right?

Though he does many things wrong in this time? He opens his heart before God. Even if it wasn't impressive, even if it's filled with doubt, even if it seems like he's not doing it right. That's not how you pray. This isn't this isn't demonstrating faith.

He saw something of of great need and great help and just saying, Lord, I'm bearing my heart before you. I don't get it. I don't understand it. I don't know how it happened. Here it is.

Do we do so in honor and reverence? Absolutely. But we do so with transparency and humility as well. You know what's amazing? He asked to die.

God doesn't answer it. I thank God he doesn't say yes to all my prayers. I don't know about yours. In the moment, I think he should. And I look back and say, Lord, thank you.

He did not say yes to that prayer. In fact, God goes beyond that. God, I wanna die. No, I'm gonna feed you and make you live. God, I wanna leave.

No, I'm gonna make you a meal that's gonna last you a forty day journey. He goes beyond that. Elijah actually never dies. He takes him up in a chariot of fire. Elijah still has to die.

Sometimes prayer in our disparity is not us receiving answers. Sometimes it's just for our own souls to be consoled knowing that God has given us a listening ear. And that God will take even pathetic prayers, dangerous prayers for ourselves, and will care for us enough to give us exactly what we need even if we're not asking for it. But pour your heart out before God. You don't think that this that's a practical application in this text?

Then how do you explain verse nine? After he is strengthened and he is fed and he had some kind of rest, look what happens. 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? Do you think God really wanted to know? Think God really needed Elijah to tell him why he was in the cave?

Was God not aware of his situation up to this point? No. He wanted Elijah to open his heart. You tell me why you're here. And he gives his answer, and it's filled with disillusionment.

It's filled with wrong perceptions. And what's amazing is that he doesn't receive a rebuke. You come down to verse 13 and God asks it again. What are you doing here Elijah? And he answers the same way.

You know what God is doing here? He was not just being a host earlier, now he's being a counselor. Because you know what counselors do? They listen. They listen.

They ask questions and people give what's on their hearts because there's healing in that. And here's Elijah just pouring out his heart before the one who is never weary from our complaints, from our constant doubt. He's pouring out his heart and God permits it. In fact, God is pleased to heal his servant in this way. Seek God in your transparency and humility.

Don't run from him. Come even if your prayers are broken and fragmented. And here's one final word of hope. Even in the midst of spiritual depression, fogginess, uncertainty, trust that God will eventually bring clarity. You know, when I'm giving you these prescriptions, please do not think that for a moment it will bring immediate relief, because even Elijah needed to go back to bed.

As magical as this meal was, he still needed perpetual rest until he was ready. There isn't a one time, there isn't a pill to heal us and to just have us now back to where we were even better than when we started. No. God's very realistic. But what I love about this is that as he's in a place where he is now speaking to God, he has enough energy to even talk to God and to give him his complaint.

The way God reveals himself is amazing. Let's just read it. I don't have to explain it. Verse 11. 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.

So imagine, Elijah just expressed himself. He comes to the mouth of the cave and God allows this torrent, this wind to come so sharply that he's it's ripping rocks and he's looking around. He's saying, okay, God's about to show up. And the Bible says, but he wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the wind.

What happens? And after the wind, an earthquake so the wind ceases and all of a sudden, Elijah begins to feel and hear the pebbles hitting each other underneath his feet, and he's saying, oh, God is gonna appear from the earth. God is gonna speak from this. But what are we told? But the Lord was not in the earthquake.

And after the wind, an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And verse 12, and after the earthquake, a fire. But the Lord was not in the fire. So perhaps a fire appears just like how it did on Mount Carmel, and this is how Elijah's familiar with God. He shows himself in phenomenon, and in power, and majestic glory.

Here is God. This is gonna take me out of my despair. This miraculous move of the spirit is gonna do something. He's not in the fire. Because that's what we want God to do, right?

When we're in this place. We want God to do something astounding that will take us off our feet, that will sweep us up again and say, oh Lord, how did I fail to see how powerful and wonderful you are? And God often doesn't show up that way to deliver us from spiritual depression. Because how does God choose to come? And after the fire, the sound of a low whisper.

A gentle, silent whisper. This is how God chose to reveal himself to Elijah. This is how God chose to work in his servant Elijah. Quietly. Softly.

Sometimes not so observable and tangible, but still effective. See, in those moments we want God to speak loud. We want him to boom from heaven. We want him to, again, just shake us up out of that place. And instead, he comes in a whisper.

Instead, he comes through his written word and he speaks to our hearts. This is how he mainly speaks. And that was enough for Elijah. And through that gentle whisper, through that quiet and soft manifestation of his revelation, he begins to give answers to him and bring clarity to his confusion. So what does he say?

Elijah says, listen, I'm jealous for you. The people of Israel have forsaken your covenant. Like, if they couldn't fully turn to you after this moment of Ahab and Jezebel couldn't surrender now, then forget it. I have nothing to live for. Take me out of here.

I want an early departure. And God says, no, actually I have I have things for you to do. Isn't it amazing? Elijah says, it's enough. I'm done.

Surely there's nothing left. And he goes, no. In fact, I need you to actually go anoint this king. I need you to go to this man, and I need you to raise up another prophet named Elisha. It's not over until I say it's over, Elijah.

But he does so gently. And so he realizes, there's things still to do. And he says, forget the past, forget what didn't happen, forget even what happened, move on and continue to serve me. Lord, I'm the only one. There's nobody else who stood for you.

There's nobody else who spoke your word true and pure like me. Actually, there's 7,000 others who have not bowed their knee to Baal or have kissed him with their mouth. And all for a sudden, with this clarity, verse 19, we are told, so he departed from there. That's it. He moved on.

He escaped, and you better believe that he had a strength, a vigor, and a faith that was restored and renewed. So you wait on the Lord in those moments. Because as you serve God, things will happen that you don't understand how they happen or why they happened. And we want answers right away, don't we? Or we want something God to do to to to shake us out of it, as I said earlier.

No. God speaks slowly and reveals things from time to time. And we have to trust that process. And so it reminds me of this amazing Psalm, in Psalm 37 verse 24. Though he being the righteous fall, though he fall, he shall not be cast headlong.

Why? For the Lord upholds his hand. For the Lord upholds his hand. What does that mean? It means that even when we hold God's hand, sometimes we trip.

Even when we're in close fellowship with the Lord, sometimes we stumble. And it's not because God hasn't led us perfectly, it's because of our own steps. But this is what we're guaranteed as we're walking with him. He's holding our hand the whole time. And even as you are falling, he will promise this one thing that you won't crash on your face, and hurt yourself or destroy yourself.

He'll always pick you back up with his arm. You know, with messages like this, you wonder, Lord, is this gonna is this gonna be able to help anybody currently? And sometimes it does. But this is what we need more than anything, to hold on to this word. To hold on for a season to potentially come.

You know the causes. Provide the remedies. And if you're in it right now, here are the solutions for you. Take them and know that even the greatest have fallen in this pit, but have escaped when they have trusted in the Lord. I wanna tell you this, that we have to prepare even as a church, that if God is gonna do wonderful things, the enemy will try to do different things to try to distract or discourage or divide.

But we have stories like this to help us know. Isn't it amazing that God has given us stories like this to help us know? We can avoid it and we can experience perpetual goodness and mercy if we just trust in God and apply his wisdom. Let's pray together. Father, this morning, Lord, we just meditate on one simple truth from this man's life, that it's possible for wonderful men and women of God to know sorrow that is crippling.

But we ask today, Lord, that if anyone is is in that place, if anyone senses this darkness, these clouds that seem to hide your face, that, Lord, you would have spoken through your word. Lord, help us not look for the fire, the earthquakes, the wind. In times of need or even in moments like this, help us just trust in the voice of God given to us through the written scriptures. And help us trust that in your timing, you reveal things when we have no answers. Help us believe that our confusion and our exaggeration is healed by you when we give it to you.

Help us believe, Lord, that you care for us, not just in spirit, not just in soul, but our very bodies. You care how much we've rested. You care how much we've eaten. And Lord, we know that that is not a call for indulgence. It's not a call for gluttony.

It's not a call for laziness. But Lord, you you care that these vehicles that are used for your glory would be taken care of. Lord, such simple but profound truth that you yourself came to Elijah's head and you provided a meal by him and shade underneath that tree. Lord, we love you and we honor you, and we just wanna worship you in light of your goodness even when we fail you with our prayers and with our trust and faith. In Jesus' name, amen.