AUGUST  13

THE REASON FOR YOUR HOPELESSNESS

I KINGS 19:4
 

“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.” (1 Kin. 19:4)

Elijah was a great man of God. Yet he became so depressed that he asked God to kill him. He had successfully stood against the king and the whole nation, but the threat of the queen sent Elijah running for his life. 

When he was a safe distance away, he sat down and reflected on what he’d done. He became so depressed that he asked God to take his life. Imagine, a man who knew God to such a degree that that he had caused a great revival in the land became so discouraged that he wanted to die. What does this tell us?

For one thing, none of us are immune to discouragement or depression. It’s not limited to certain personality types or to people with chemical imbalances. Depression comes to anyone who takes their eyes off Jesus. 

It’s not unusual to experience great discouragement after great victory. In the midst of battle, we turn to God with all our hearts and His power flows. Our adrenaline flows too, and we often think that much of the victory was due to some virtue of our own. That decreases our dependency on God, and we become more self-sufficient. This is a recipe for disaster.

Elijah thought that he could do anything and began to live out of his own abilities just long enough for Satan to strike fear in his heart. We must never put our faith in ourselves. Our total dependency must be on God alone. It doesn’t matter who you are or what you’ve done; without Jesus, you’re nothing! (AW)