When things are going as they are supposed to, Satan sometimes sends us into a season of trials. We can end up being depressed. In those times, God will come to us to comfort us. This daily devotional, the second in the Elijah Was Depressed series, shows us how much God loves us and cares for us, even in our hardest struggles.
Nuggets
- When trials or doubts come our way, we question where God is.
- God never leaves us, even when we think He has.
- Sometimes, we have to quiet ourselves down to hear God.
A couple of weeks ago, I ended up writing a devotion that I told you was turning into a Part I of a devotion I wrote years ago. I asked you to stay tuned. Here is Part II.
The technology issues that I was experiencing on the website at the time have been fixed. Technology issues then switched to recording this old hymn. I wanted to include it because you may never have heard it before.
But when Pastor Chris sent me the mixed version of the song, one of the lines on the first verse didn’t come through. I got a really big laugh out of it because of the words that were and were not heard.
Hopefully, all of my technology challenges will have been dealt with for the rest of the year – at least.
Elijah Was Depressed
And as Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper ( I Kgs. 19: 11-12 LB)
There was Elijah. He had done everything right. He had served the Lord in everything asked of him.
Now Elijah was running for his life. And ooo baby, he was confused. He was depressed and suicidal.
Where Was God?
When trials or doubts come our way, usually the first thing we say is, “God, where are You?” So, where was He when Elijah needed Him?
God was right there. He hadn’t left.
How do we know God doesn’t leave us? The Bible tells us in several places.
“For the Lord will not forsake his people; he will not abandon his heritage” (Ps. 94: 14 ESV). He is not going to leave us, especially when we are down.
Joshua 1: 9 says, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” (ESV). There is no place we are going to go that He is not going to be by our sides. That should give us courage.
Still, we can’t see God. Sometimes, we just wish we could see God face to face. We think it will be better if we can just be in His presence.
To read a related devotion, click the button below.
But God is here. God came to Elijah in a direct way. He sent the angel, who fed him and gave him rest. Then God met him in the cave.
Don’t you love how Elijah whined to God in I Kings 19: 10? “He said, ‘I have been very jealous for the Lord, the God of hosts. For the people of Israel have forsaken your covenant, thrown down your altars, and killed your prophets with the sword, and I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life, to take it away'” (I Kgs. 19: 10 ESV).
You can just see him about to trip over that lip he’s got stuck out there.
God ignored what Elijah had to say. He didn’t give Elijah what he was asking for — He gave him what he needed.
Elijah Got to See God
God gave Elijah a wonderful opportunity. He put Elijah on the mountainside and passed before him – and Elijah didn’t even have to ask.
It took a couple of tries. The wind, earthquake, and fire came first. But God wasn’t there.
Growing up, I wondered if God was playing Hide and Seek with Elijah. Am I here? Nope. How about here? Nope. Here? Are You anywhere?
Then I wondered if God really didn’t want to show Elijah but was just humoring him. But it was His idea!!!!! Finally, He did show Himself.
God was waiting until He had Elijah’s attention. Part of me was saying He was taking an awfully big chance. Elijah could have just gotten even more frustrated and shut down.
But Elijah hung in there, and God did show Himself to Elijah — in a whisper.
Making the Connections
We want the Lord to come to us, too, in some dramatic, direct way that leaves no doubt that He is with us. We want Him to show us that it is definitely Him and He is definitely in control.
Sometimes, that does happen, but it is in the form of a friend. We aren’t expecting that, so we altogether miss that it is Him.
It can be in the form of a Bible verse. We expect that more. But then again, we discount that because we want something more.
Most of the time, it doesn’t work that way. He whispers.
Yes, He whispers. Everything is chaos around us, and He uses the soft prompting of the Holy Spirit to talk to us.
Doesn’t He know it is hard for us to hear Him above the roar? Why does He do a fool thing and whisper?
If He didn’t whisper, we wouldn’t hear Him. If He tried to out shout the chaos, we would still hear the chaos. He knows we are still focusing on our troubles.
God doesn’t want that. He wants us to focus on Him. He wants us to hear Him. So He whispers.
How Do We Apply This?
We have to concentrate to hear God. We have to forget about everything else and look to Him. We wouldn’t do that if He didn’t whisper.
So, God doesn’t whisper hoping we won’t hear Him for the noise. God whispers so we will forget about the noise, concentrate on Him and let Him fill us with His peace. God whispers so we can hear.
How do we hear Him above the chaos? There is a great old hymn called Lord, I Have Shut the Door. The words tell us exactly what to do. Shut the door. Hole up with Him. Look to Him for peace. Seek Him to strengthen us. Focus on Him.
Vocalist: Elaine Guthals
Keyboard: Chris Vieth
When we focus on God, He can then start to address our depression. It may take longer to get rid of it than we would hope, but it will depart as we focus on Him.
We need to focus on God to prepare for whatever He has in store for us. We need to find our anchor in Him and recharge for His kingdom purpose.
Loving Heavenly Father. Thank you for Your whisper. Lord, we were in the midst of chaos, looking for an anchor — and You provided it. We were looking for You to bail us out with fanfare. But You whispered to us. You knew that, in order for us to hear You, we would have to concentrate on You. You accomplished this by whispering to us. Father, we have shut the door. We have hushed our inner hearts. We feel Your infinite peace. Father, we thank You for renewing our strength — for we know tasks await in which we share a part. Precious Lord, we will keep listening for Your whisper. Amen.
What do you think?
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