"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT DISCOURAGEMENT AND DEPRESSION"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT DISCOURAGEMENT AND DEPRESSION"

1Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Some explanatory thoughts/application/questions, and a prayer:

The above verse, ( and please notice question between asked Elijah at the end of the verse ) follows a threat by Queen Jezebel, married to one of Israel's most wicked kings, Ahab. If you have been reading the chapters leading up to 19, you will remember that God had used Elijah mightily. But, now following these great victories by God, a simple threat from this woman sent him into hiding, and into discouragement, and I think its fair to say depression.

1. Discouragement which is simply not having courage to face life can happen to anyone.
1Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

The Bible actually says that we are all men of like passions. Sometimes we look at God's servants and think they are super saints, or very different from the rest of God's people. Not so. We are all just men, and Elijah was just a man. And, here was this great man of God scared and discouraged. Giving up hope as it were.

2. Sometimes discouragement can come on the heels of great blessings.
1Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

When you read through this story, and others in the Bible, it's not uncommon to find one thing following another. When you read the biographies of great men, you often read this same sequence. Blessings, and then discouragement. Very interesting. But, it happens more often to many people than we probably recognize

It sure happened to this man Elijah. He was scared to death, and had virtually given up as to the future.

3. Fear ( which is the opposite of faith ) can also contribute to discouragement.
1Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Fear, along with fatigue, can be twin contributors to becoming discouraged. Fear means, we have taken our eyes of the Lord, we are not trusting Him, and we are looking at our circumstances and we are becoming afraid. Fatigue, just being plain exhausted also has a tendency to lower our spiritual view of life, and again, it tends to distract us, we feel very bad physically, emotionally and spiritually. And, the next thing you know, we are discouraged. Such was the case with Elijah.

4. Elijah may have been hiding, but God knew where he was, and asked him a very pertinent question.
1Kings 19:9 And there he went into a cave, and spent the night in that place; and behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and He said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”

Here's the bright spot in this otherwise sad incident. Elijah was hiding out. But, God knew where he was and asked him a question. "What are you doing here Elijah?" In other words, you don't belong here. This is not my will for you. And, in asking this question, it forced Elijah to stop and take stock of what was going on in his heart and mind. God asked him that question to help begin getting back in the saddle as it were, and back to where he should be, and out of his depression.

Some questions:

1. How many people do you know right now that are discouraged?

2. Are you?

3. When was the last time you were discouraged?

4. What happened before you became discouraged?

5. What happened to bring you out of discouragement?.

6. If you are discouraged at this time, I pray that you will not feel condemned, but realize that this happens to many, many people.

7. Will you please take comfort in knowing that God knows where You are, and He wants to lift you up and out of that discouragement.

Here's a few verses to help you if you are discouraged. ( by the way, we will be studying about slaying the giant of discouragement on Sun afternoon July the 20th. I hope you will consider joining us. I believe it may be very helpful to you.

But, here are those verses.

De 31:6 “Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

De 31:7* Then Moses called Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, “Be strong and of good courage, for you must go with this people to the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall cause them to inherit it.

De 31:23 Then He inaugurated Joshua the son of Nun, and said, “Be strong and of good courage; for you shall bring the children of Israel into the land of which I swore to them, and I will be with you.”

Jos 1:6 “Be strong and of good courage, for to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them.

Jos 1:9 “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”

Jos 1:18 “Whoever rebels against your command and does not heed your words, in all that you command him, shall be put to death. Only be strong and of good courage.”

Isa 42:4* He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”

Heb 12:3* For consider Him who endured such hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and discouraged in your souls.

Heb 12:5* And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: “My son, do not despise the chastening of the LORD, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him;

A prayer:

Father. Thank You again this day for Your Word. You do not gloss over the realities of life. And, You do not want us to think we are somehow odd and so much different from other people. Your Word helps us to gain perspective and comfort. We are all pretty much alike. And, the greatest thing we have in common, is that You are our faithful, and loving God. Please come and help anyone who is suffering the terrible debilitating effects of discouragement today, ( people we know, perhaps we ourselves. ) And, Lord is there is a way we can be of comfort to someone who is suffering, than, please put that on our hearts, and maybe the verses above could be shared with them. Thank You Father. In Jesus name, amen.

Pastor Bob Grenier
Calvary Chapel Visalia