The Bible and Mental Healthنموونە

Elijah’s troubles: caring for the whole person

The story of Elijah fleeing to the desert, scared by the evil queen Jezebel, is well known.

Often, we tell the story of Elijah’s defeat of the prophets of Baal, followed quickly by his time in the desert, where God’s ‘still small voice’ reassures him. Yet in between these two events, Elijah treks in the desert – 40 days and 40 nights. Elijah does not suddenly get better from his deep desperation and wishes to die. Nor does God’s appearance on its own suffice to console him.

The desert is a place of absence, of deprivation. Elijah, like many in pain, feels isolated and alone. Suffering has a way of cutting us off, of disconnecting us from people, God, and the world. Elijah prays but does not wait for an answer – he probably does not want one.

And God knew that. An angel appears and does not try to argue, comfort, or say anything. God’s messenger comes, caring for Elijah’s body with food and sleep. When someone struggles with their emotions and well-being, the whole person suffers, and to care for them means caring for the whole person. The angel does not bring Elijah back to ministry but recognises Elijah needs time out to heal and to work out who he is in the world and where God is. In other words, the prophet went on sick leave.

When we or others struggle with mental health, it is tempting to find the right words and argue people out of feelings, emotions, or depression. But this treats mental health as a cognitive rather than a whole-person issue that cannot be solved merely through reasoning. Trying to chivvy someone and get them to ‘do’ something is also tempting. Here, God’s wisdom is to care for Elijah physically and give him time; God comes in the quiet of the desert and will only reveal Himself in the gentlest, softest way when Elijah is finally ready.

God’s wisdom, unsurprisingly, matches what we know from science and psychology: that a deeply troubled person needs time and space and that caring for their body is to care for their mind and soul too. And so, when we meet someone who is struggling, we, too, can choose not to reach for words too soon but care practically and offer safe, gentle spaces of refuge – even though there is no telling how long recovery may take.

Action

How might you offer a space of refuge for someone else who is struggling with their mental health?