Elijah’s Battle with Depression ~ and Ours

Are you tired? Of pandemic restrictions, perpetual protests, political polarization? Of uncertainty about your future? Perhaps the pandemic has drained your health, your happiness, your hope. Maybe the protests have destroyed your faith, your finances, your future. Competing claims of truth confuse us. Constant media coverage informs and fuels our anger. Isolation, abuse, conflict, and significant life events (whether positive or negative), besides other factors, can lead to depression. I don’t know about you, but the chaos leaves my soul feeling unsettled. Drained by what seems like a constant battle against an invisible enemy. Battle fatigue—I feel it; Elijah fought it; maybe you do too. The Bible describes Elijah’s battle with depression in 1 Kings 19. God met and ministered to him in the middle of his struggle. He will also meet us in ours.

Battle for Hearts and Honor

King Ahab and his wife Jezebel convinced the Israelites they could worship both Yahweh and Baal. God named Elijah as his representative in the battle for the people’s hearts. The honor competition between Yahweh and Baal began with the prophet’s announcement to Ahab of a coming drought. (Baal claimed to be the god who brought rain.) Then Elijah went into hiding. By the third year, the famine was severe, and the king’s search for the prophet grew desperate. Elijah presented himself to Ahab, proposing a showdown between Yahweh and Baal on Mt. Carmel  (1 Kings 18). The battle lasted all-day, ending with a memorable demonstration of God’s power and the slaughter of Baal’s prophets. Afterward, Elijah pleaded with the Lord to send rain. When at last he saw a cloud, he raced down the mountain to outrun the coming storm, beating the king’s chariot to Jezreel.

Elijah’s Battle with Depression

Upon hearing about the death of Baal’s prophets, Jezebel, the god’s most ardent follower, promised Elijah he would meet the same fate. Disappointed that national revival didn’t follow God’s impressive victory and despairing for his life, Elijah ran. A long way—about 100 miles. Then, leaving his servant, the prophet journeyed further into the wilderness. 

In Hebrew, wilderness means a place of devastation. The word describes both Elijah’s physical and emotional location… and mine at times. 

Finally exhausted, Elijah stopped to rest under a broom tree, a plant the Bible associates with despair. The tree is one of the primary sources of shade in the Judean desert, even though it provides only enough shade for one person. Not air conditioning, not a fan, but just enough protection from the scorching sun for one individual.

Devoid of hope and feeling abandoned, Elijah prayed:

I have had enough, Lord. Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.

1 Kings 19:4

Like the prophets before him, Elijah had failed to turn the nation back to God. His frustration and feelings of failure dominated his perspective. All he could see was himself and his unfulfilled expectations, but he expressed his despair to God.

The prophet never expected the battle to last so long or to end with a death threat. Disappointment, despair, fear, and fatigue led to Elijah’s battle with depression. No wonder he felt exhausted and vulnerable. Our struggle is different, but our exhaustion and vulnerability are no less surprising.

How Can Elijah’s Story Help Us?

Many of us have felt like Elijah; some of us still do. The road to healing may include travel through the wilderness, through a place of devastation. Taking our pain and frustration to the Lord is a healthy first step. But then what? In my next post, we’ll explore God’s response to Elijah and discover keys to overcoming our battle fatigue and depression.