Jared Wilson was the founder of Anthem of Hope, a non-profit dedicated to mental health and suicide prevention. Jared was a pastor at Harvest Christian Fellowship in Southern California. He was also an author who wrote the books Love Is Oxygen: How God Can Give You Life and Change Your World and Wondrous Pursuit. He was known for being an outspoken advocate for mental health and talked publicly about his own struggle with depression. Jared Wilson ended his life on September 9, 2019. At 501 PM that day, he tweeted: “Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure suicidal thoughts. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure depression. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure PTSD. Loving Jesus doesn’t always cure anxiety. But that doesn’t mean Jesus doesn’t offer us companionship and comfort. He ALWAYS does that.” The best of Christians can suffer and be defeated by depression.
Medical doctors say there are three levels of depression
There is Mild depression or normal sadness that comes with difficult experiences. Mild depression is accompanied by a lack of concentration or daydreaming.
Then there is Moderate depression which has the symptom of deep-seated boredom.
Last, there is Severe depression which considers suicide and has no hope.
G. Campbell Morgan, the greatly used Bible teacher was called the Prince of Bible Exposition. He shocked his congregation on his 10th anniversary at London’s Westminster Chapel: “During these 10 years, I have known more of visions fading into mirages, of purposes failing of fulfillment, of things of strength crumbling away in weakness than ever in my life before.”
Not only have notable Christian leaders experienced depression but Bible characters like Moses, Job, Jeremiah, and Jonah. The Bible character I would like for us to focus on is Elijah in 1 Kings 17-19 who asked the Lord to take his life. Maybe this is the time in Elijah’s life that James had in mind when he wrote that Elijah “was a man of like passions as we are” (James 5:17).
Why do the best Christians sometimes get depressed?
The time Elijah suffered depression was after great success in the ministry. Elijah had experienced a spectacular ministry for 3 ½ years at Cherith (1 Kings 17:1-7). Ahab the wicked king of Israel had led his nation to worship Baal the Canaanite god of rain, fertility, and lightning. God sent Elijah who informed Ahab that the one true God was going to stop the rain for 3 ½ years showing God’s superiority over Baal. At Cherith, God used ravens to home deliver Elijah’s meals twice a day. Ravens were a very unusual means to feed Elijah because ravens do not even feed their little ones (Job 38:41).
Next, God led Elijah north to Zarephath, which was the heart of Baal worship and the backyard of Ahab’s wicked wife Jezebel (17:8-24). Here God used another unlikely source to supply Elijah’s needs: a widow who would be the first to be in need in a famine. At Zarephath, Elijah raised the widow’s dead son back to life which was another rebuke to Baal the fertility God.
Lastly, God led Elijah to Mount Carmel (18:1-45). Mount Carmel was the sacred dwelling place of Baal, the storm God of rain and lightning. Elijah challenged Ahab’s 450 false prophets of Baal to a contest and gave the opposing team home-court advantage, Mount Carmel, and the odds of 450 to 1. The God who answered by fire (lightning) and consumed the offering was the only true God.
The 450 false prophets prayed to Baal the god of rain and lightning for six hours and nothing happened. Elijah put his offering on the altar and also drenched it with three barrels of water. Elijah, one against 450 false prophets of Baal, prayed for less than a minute and God burned up the soaked offering. The entire nation of Israel fell on their faces and loudly confessed, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.” This was Elijah’s greater altar call.
Then Elijah told Ahab that God was now going to send the rain and end the 3 ½ year drought and for Ahab to ride his chariot as fast as he could and go to his winter capital in Jezreel before the storm struck. Elijah was able to outrun Ahab’s chariot for the 25-mile trip to Jezreel. Once again God showed Himself to be the one true God and Baal a false god, by sending the rain and ending the drought.
Once Jezebel, Ahab’s wicked wife, learned of Elijah’s defeat of the 450 false prophets of Baal she threatened to kill Elijah at Jezreel. In response, Elijah fled all the way across Israel to the south in Beer-sheba, another 95 miles. After he arrived in Beer-sheba, Elijah backpacked another 15 miles into the wilderness (19:1-4) and prayed for God to “take away” his life. Why did Elijah and why do Christians become so depressed that they lose all hope?
The FIRST reason why God’s people sometimes become depressed is Physical Exhaustion (18:46-19:4).
Elijah had traveled on foot 130 miles. G. Campbell Morgan had been suffering from typhoid infection for four months and nearly died when he made his discouraging comments on his 10th anniversary at his church. C. S. Lewis once said, “Our bodies and souls live so close together, they sometimes catch each other’s diseases.” Physical exhaustion can lead to spiritual exhaustion.
The solution for this reason for the depression is sometimes rest (19:5-7).
The angel that God sent to minister to Elijah did not rebuke Elijah. He let Elijah sleep, prepared him a meal, and then let Elijah sleep some more. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is take a nap. God established the Sabbath principle in the OT. Work six days rest one day. Spurgeon advised, “Rest time is not waste time. It is economy to gather fresh strength.” Dedicated Christians sometimes have the most difficult time saying “No” to ministry opportunities and consequently, break down their temple of the Holy Spirit.
The NEXT reason that God’s people sometimes become depressed is a Wrong View of Success (19:8-13).
Elijah felt he was the source of a great spiritual revival in 18:36-41 when the nation of Israel fell on their faces before God in response to God spectacularly sending the fire. But Ahab and Jezebel did not repent and neither did all those who came forward at the invitation. But now Elijah felt he was a failure as he expressed in 19:9-10. I was once a part of a panel discussion made up of pastors. We were all asked, “What is your greatest fear in the ministry?” One pastor was honest enough to answer: “What I fear most is failure!”
The solution to this wrong view of success is a proper view of ministry.
God can use small unspectacular ministries. Elijah went to Mount Horeb or Sinai in 19:8-13 where God taught him a lesson. God showed Elijah a spectacular windstorm, earthquake, and lightning storm. But God was not in these spectacular events. God was in the unspectacular still small voice.
Are small ministries unimportant to God? Are ministries important only if they are big? Joel Olsteen reaches millions. He also believes Mormons are believers and God might let atheists into heaven. What about ministries to AWANA clubs, or SS classes, or your children or grandchildren, or praying for people and sending cards or visiting the needy?
The LAST reason God’s people are sometimes depressed is because they are Lonely (19:13b-21).
Three times Elijah complained that he was alone (18:22; 19:10, 14). It is not only not God’s will for us to pull away from being with people and ministering to people but it is ungodly or ungod-like. God is a social being and He created us in His image: “Let us make man in our image” (Gen 1:26). The three persons of the Trinity enjoyed fellowship from eternity past before there was creation. From eternity past all that existed was the three Persons of the Trinity and that was sufficient for God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In John 17:24 Jesus said, “Father you loved me before the foundation of the world.” This same social God also said, “It is not good for man to be alone.”
The solution to loneliness is a ministry to others.
God questioned Elijah, “What are you doing here all by yourself” (19:13b)? “I never told you to come here. I told you to go to Cherith, Zarephath, and Mount Carmel. But I never told you to abandon the ministry and flee to here.” Then God told Elijah “return” and start pouring his life into Hazael, Jehu, and Elisha (19:15-21). All of these individuals together could defeat Baal worship but Elijah could not by himself. Elijah unspectacularly mentored Elisha who did twice as many miracles as Elijah performed. His ministry was not as spectacular as praying and stopping the rain, calling down fire from heaven, and praying and starting the rain. But Elijah’s ministry to Elisha was much more important and produced much more fruit.
My mother has never had a spectacular ministry. But she poured her life into my life and influenced me. She nightly read the Bible and Christian biographies to my brothers and me. She daily prayed for my salvation. She weekly took us four boys to hear God’s Word preached. Humanly speaking, I am a believer and a preacher of the Gospel today because of the faithful ministry of my mother.