Anxiety, Depression and LonelinessSample

God’s Office

Your darkest nights, those nights you spend awake, can transform into nights where you go to God’s office, and He comes to your rescue. That is what He did with Elijah. Elijah is not just another character in the Bible. Moses and Elijah are key individuals in the Old Testament. Moses represents the Law, and Elijah represents the prophets. Moses and Elijah are present at the Transfiguration with Jesus (Matthew 17:1-3). They both witnessed some amazing things.

After a remarkable victory against Baal’s prophets, Elijah, one of the greatest prophets, felt lonely. After he killed 450 false prophets, evil Queen Jezebel told Elijah that he would be dead the next day, like the prophets he had killed. History tells that Elijah was so afraid that he ran for his life to Mount Horeb in Egypt— the same place where Moses received the Tablets of Law.

Elijah felt so depressed that when he reached a resting place, he sat down and asked God to take his life; he then lay down and fell asleep. An angel of the Lord came to encourage him twice. The angel woke Elijah up and said, “Arise and eat, for the journey is too great for you.” After eating for the second time, Elijah walked for 40 days and 40 nights until he reached Mount Horeb. He spent the night in a cave, and God asked him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9). Elijah told the Lord he was feeling alone, anxious, and depressed, and God gives him some instructions, “Get up. You are not going to die. I have a job for you. You need to go to Damascus and anoint two kings. Moreover, you will meet Elisha.”

I can picture God as your best psychologist, asking you during those nights you lay awake, “What are you doing here? I have so much more for you!” God’s tender care includes being with you and providing you with friendships that will encourage you to live for Christ, the same way Elijah found his best friend, Elisha.

By the way, God never responded to Elijah’s prayer. Elijah went to eternity without dying. He was taken to heaven by a whirlwind. Perhaps, while he was on that chariot, he understood why God never answered his prayer all those years ago.

Meditate on this today: Am I living with my eyes fixed on God’s truths and promises? Or are my eyes fixed on my feelings and emotions?