Elijah is too tired to run anymore. And so, he prays again. This prayer is very different from the faith-filled prayer that God answered on Mount Carmel ( 1 Kings 18.36-37) in front of the priests and prophets of Baal, the members of the court, and the common people. This is a simple, short prayer of desperation.
In 1 Kings 19:4, Elijah states that he is no better than his fathers. What was he talking about?
When Elijah finally is still, guilt comes crushing in on him. He realizes that his quick exit has hijacked what could have been a great opportunity for reformation in Israel. He realizes that he has disappointed those who needed him. And he’s powerless to do anything about it. Thus, in a painful moment of self-reflection, knowing full well the history of his people, he sees himself for what he really is.
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That can be a painful revelation for anyone of us, can’t it — that is, seeing ourselves for what we really are? How grateful we should be for the promise that, sinful as our lives have been, in Christ God will see us as He sees Jesus. What more hope can we have than that, by faith, we can claim for ourselves the righteousness of Christ? (See Philippians 3:9.)
Nevertheless, depression has a way of sucking us into a dark whirlpool of self-loathing. And sometimes we begin to think that death is the only way out.
This seems to be the case for Elijah. It’s all too much for him. He says, “It is enough! Now, LORD, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!“ (1 Kings 19:4).
The good news is that the great Healer doesn’t condemn Elijah. God understands better than we do what we are up against as we fight depression.
“We may have no remarkable evidence at the time that the face of our Redeemer is bending over us in compassion and love, but this is even so. We may not feel His visible touch, but His hand is upon us in love and pitying tenderness.” — Ellen G. White, Steps to Christ, p. 97.
God knows and understands that “the journey is too much” (1 Kings 19:7) for us, but sometimes He has to wait until we stop running. Then He can intervene.
Sometimes people who are drowning become so confused that they will fight a lifeguard off. The lifeguard then has to back off and wait to perform a rescue until the victim actually becomes unconscious.
| What hopes and comfort can you find from the following texts: Psalm 34:18, Matthew 5:1-3, Psalm 73:26, Isaiah 53:4-6? |
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