There are times in the Christian life when we’re going to struggle. We might find the going rougher and steeper. And we will often encounter some well-meaning fellow traveler who will tell us, “You shouldn’t feel that way! You need to have more faith.”
And sometimes they’re right. But sometimes they’re wrong. And it isn’t about more faith or more this or that.
In 1 Kings 18, we learn about the great standoff that Elijah had against the prophets of Ba’al. The great victory that was won in a dramatic display of God’s power. But in the following days, recorded in 1 Kings 19, we find not a victorious prophet, but a man running for his life.
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.”
3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors.” 5 Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep.
Elijah’s response is one that may surprise many people. In verse 4 he declares in essence that he was done serving the Lord and just wanted to die.
What is that? Some serious lack of faith? Or was it more likely a reaction to the strenuous physical and emotional strain that he had been under. Could he have been suffering from symptoms of depression? It’s all very possible. When Christians experience this kind of emotional downturn, sometimes well-meaning people will accuse them of not having enough faith.
What would you have said to Elijah?
You have to remember that the New Testament considers Elijah one of the great prophets of God.
What verse 5 reveals to us is that Elijah was physically exhausted. And when you are worn out, not had enough sleep, not had enough food to eat, isolated from any emotional support, it’s easy to see how your perception of things is affected!
Let’s look at how the angel ministered to Elijah. Did he say, “You need to get up and pray? You need to fast and get right with God?” In some Christian circles, it’s very common to hear that kind of exhortation.
But what did the angel say to Elijah? “Get up and eat.”
In verses 5-7 we read that the angel fed him. Elijah was not only exhausted, he was undernourished. I wonder if what we sometimes attribute to spiritual lethargy might be just as easily the fault of some physical problem. How often might we misdiagnose the problem as spiritual? Human beings are complex. And one of the things we see in this episode in the life of Elijah is that we need to minister to the total person, and not simply assume that there is something lacking spiritually.
This kind of thing happens all too often in the physical realm. One of the most publicized examples of this a medical mistake happened to a woman by the name of Mattie Hoge.
Mattie Hoge was a deaf woman who was institutionalized in the Forest Haven home in Maryland in 1929. Forest Haven was not an institution for the deaf, but an institution for the mentally impaired. She was institutionalized for 57 years until it was discovered that she was not suffering from intellectual development disorder, but from something else. Because Hoge had not been tested as a deaf person, she was diagnosed as being retarded (sic).
A recent letter from another deaf adult speaks to this problem.
I found out about my hearing problem in 2nd grade. In 4th grade, my teacher would hit me and call me retarded (sic), because I didn't hear her. She didn't believe I was deaf, she thought I was ignoring her or stupid.
All my childhood classmates from then on treated me like I was stupid. When I graduated from high school, with a Regents Scholarship, one of my classmates (who I had gone to school with since grammar school) stopped me in the hall to congratulate me, and she said to me that she was surprised I won that scholarship, as she really thought I was mentally retarded (sic). That is when I realized that my whole life was affected because of that one teacher.
The reason I relate these stories to you is twofold. One, I think that we need to be very careful when we see our friends struggling in any area of their lives. To not be quick to find fault or to make accusation.
Secondly, it’s important that in our care for those who are struggling to take into account the possibility that there may be more than one issue the person is having to deal with.
When I worked at the Japanese American National Museum (JANM), a visitor became unresponsive in our resource center. We called the paramedics. All the while, it appeared that she was having a heart attack. When the paramedics came, we learned that she hadn’t eaten all morning and that she was suffering from low blood sugar. They gave her a snack and she was just fine.
As my own health fluctuates due to my diagnosed CKD (Chronic Kidney Disease), I can sense that my outlook can sometimes fluctuate as well. Sometimes optimistic (though not as energetic as I once was). And sometimes discouraged, like Elijah, wanting to chuck it all. But God is the God of those who are broken and downhearted. Psalm 34:18 reminds us, "The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit."
Please pray for me as I continue to face these ongoing health challenges. Pray that God would be close in times of discouragement.
