All my life, I’ve struggled with it—what I feel, how I look, what I want—self-centeredness. Like a loss of control, excessive self-focus is both a cause and a symptom of depression. Overcoming depression requires a focus reset, a broadening of horizons. Gently, God challenged Elijah to change his perspective (1 Kings 19).

Wilderness: A Place to Overcome Depression

Elijah’s battle with depression began after the showdown on Mt. Carmel. When Jezebel threatened his life, Elijah escaped into the wilderness. The wilderness can be a place of escape but also of encounter. Holding the potential for both retreat and renewal. Before Elijah could experience the second, he needed the first. Step 1 in God’s treatment plan for Elijah’s struggle with depression was rest. 

After resting, Elijah traveled 40 days to Mt. Horeb/Sinai (about 200 miles), where Moses had met God (Exodus 19). To the Hebrews, the number 40 represented an extensive journey or period of testing rather than a specific number. The angel’s intervention under the broom tree plus the 40-day trek indicates God inspired Elijah’s trip.

Encountering God on the Mountain

The morning after Elijah’s arrival on the mountain, God asked:

What are you doing here, Elijah?

1 Kings 19:9

Consumed by his pain, Elijah’s answer contrasted his faithfulness to Israel’s unfaithfulness, highlighting the threats to his life. Was he defending himself? Or implying God had failed because neither the leadership nor people had changed, adding weight to Jezebel’s threat? Yet God never forces transformation on unwilling hearts. Plus, he had questions for Elijah.

Was God asking Elijah, “Why are you here?” As in, why are you here rather than in Israel? Or was he asking, “Why are you here?” As in, why have I led you here?

Despite Elijah’s all-about-me mindset, God had a purpose and message for him, just as he does for us.

Step 2 in Overcoming Depression: Replace

God responded to Elijah’s diatribe by revealing himself. Not in the forceful ways Elijah expected, but in a gentle whisper. Instead of an answer, God’s revelation was another question. The same question he’d asked before:

What are you doing here, Elijah?

1 Kings 19:13

Rabbi Mike Comins suggests an alternative interpretation:

Who are you here, Elijah? Who are you in the desert, where your previous understanding of how God communicates with you no longer applies; where your past experience misleads you; where your great accomplishments will not help you?

Elijah and the “Still, Small Voice”: A Desert Reading

Although God offered Elijah another opportunity to focus on someone besides himself, Elijah repeated his previous response. I’ve done that, refusing to turn away from my painful but familiar and comfortable despair. Have you? Then, God invited Elijah to replace his self-centeredness with God-centeredness. To release his demands that people and God act according to his expectations. To open his eyes to God’s presence and 7,000 faithful Israelites (signifying a God-preserved multitude/remnant, not a set number). Despite feeling isolated, Elijah was not alone in his belief or his battle to overcome depression. Neither are we.

What Is God Saying?

Hebrew connects the words “wilderness,” “word,” and “speaking.” The wilderness—a place where God speaks, where he gave the Israelites the Ten Words/Commandments. Perhaps we’re in the desert so we can hear God speak.

God could ask us the same question. Who are we as we face our losses from the previous six months? As we contemplate an uncertain outcome? When our foundation is floundering, and our future looks frustrating? What is God saying? To hear him, we must listen, expecting him to speak.

Like Elijah, we may wonder why God hasn’t managed our crises or responded to our prayers as we hoped. But our limited perspective prevents us from seeing the big picture of his purpose. He invites us to trust his wisdom and love, replacing our all-about-me focus with an all-about-God faith. To replace the lies we tell ourselves with the truth of his Word. To allow God to transform us through the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:2) as we choose his ways over ours, one thought at a time.

Perhaps the question we need to ask isn’t, “Why are we in this tough time and place?” But “For what purpose are we here?” What does God want us to learn about him and ourselves? The wilderness can be a place of escape—where we focus on pain—or encounter—where we ponder possibilities. We choose. Likewise, we decide whether depression will define or refine us.

Overcoming Depression

As humans, we can only look one direction at a time. Overcoming depression requires exchanging excessive self-focus for God-focus. Not denying the legitimacy of our pain or circumstances but concentrating on the certainty of God’s presence and provision, replacing lies with truth. Abandoning unrealistic expectations and accepting a new reality. Because the Lord asks us to be who we are, not who we were. Nothing can separate us from his love. He also promises victory. We are more than conquerors through the One who loves us. (Romans 8:35-39)

In the next post, we’ll conclude our study of Elijah’s battle with depression as God points him to a meaningful future.