ON THE RUN
What an amazing change for Elijah! For 3 years, he’s known God's supernatural care and provision. He’s been fed by ravens, then by a widow who's last bit of meal and oil supernaturally continued for a couple of years. He saw the widow's dead son raised to life through his prayer. He stood tall and fearlessly confronted 850 prophets of Baal and Ahab on Mt. Carmel. He won a decisive victory for the Lord. The rain has begun. Elijah supernaturally empowered, made a marathon run of 20 mi. from Mt. Carmel to Jezreel, the capitol city, out-running King Ahab in his royal chariot. Now, at this threat from Queen Jezebel, he panics and runs for his life. Of course, we might think, if the messenger from Jezebel could find Elijah, so could her hit man if she really was going to kill him. But, I'm sure she feared him and the people, so hoped the threat would intimidate him and silence him. And, it works better than she could have hoped. Elijah runs like a scared rabbit about 100 mi. south to Beersheba before his first stop under a broom tree in the desert. And, we read:
He came to a broom tree, sat down under it and prayed that he might die. "I have had enough, LORD," he said. "Take my life; I am no better than my ancestors." (1 Kings 19:4)
Is this man depressed? Then, after regaining some strength, travels another 250 mi. to Mt. Horeb (Sinai).

Note the symptoms of depression here:

1. Life is too much, he’s overwhelmed. At a hint of trouble, he runs, tries to get away.
2. Life isn’t worth living, and he prays that he might die.
3. He leaves his servant behind in Beersheba and isolates himself from human contact in the desert.
4. There is apathy. He seems totally unimpressed by angel visitations. Sort of like, "Big deal, I’m going to die anyway.  I’ll see lots of angels."
5. When he gets to Mt. Sinai, in his dialogue with God, you pick-up self-pity and anger and easily imagine a whine in his voice

What has happened to cast Elijah down from the heights of Mt. Carmel to the depths of despair?
Psychologists list a number of possible causes for depression and most are represented here in some form:

1. Emotional and/ or physical exhaustion
2. Anger
3. Some kind of loss
4. An attack from the Powers of Darkness.

Elijah, is a good case study for most of these.

CAUSES OF DEPRESSION
Emotional and/ or Physical Exhaustion
There was an intense battle on Mt. Carmel, followed by exhausting prayer. The contest on Carmel was emotionally intense. Talk about adrenaline! When "adrenaline loaded" activities end, our bodies rebound and need rest. Plus, he may have spent the night in prayer for rain. Then, that physically taxing run of 20 mi. Now, when it’s over, it feels like a let-down. For that reason, Dr. Archibald Hart, a Christian psychiatrist refers to depression as "a healing emotion." It causes us to withdraw and get needed rest. Elijah is running on empty emotional and physical reserves.

Our son Kris while in college worked for Bob, who has a home cleaning service in Seattle. He continues to work for him summers. Kris told us of a marvelous practical joke Bob played on his neighbor. Bob’s neighbor bought a compact car for better mileage,  a little Yugo. The neighbor was so excited about the projected mileage and the amount he’d save on gas, Bob decided to have a little fun. A couple of times a week, he'd sneak over at night and pour a few gallons of gas in the car's tank. The new car owner was soon bubbling with enthusiasm over his spectacular mileage. He was telling Bob and his friends at work, "I almost never have to put gas in it! I know it’s hard to believe, the sticker said 35-40 mpg. but I’m getting 60-70 mpg. Everyone of course is thinking, this guy's a little past it or doesn't know how to figure mileage. This went on for several weeks before Bob revealed the secret of his mileage! Some of us wouldn't mind a neighbor like that, right? Especially with the price of gas now.

Elijah seems to have forgotten where his supply of emotional and physical energy came from. Instead of letting the Lord fill his tank and renew him, he suddenly panics, goes out on his own, running as hard as he can.

Anger
Anger when repressed turns inward in depression. Much depression is due to swallowed anger. This may be difficult to identify since we often deny our anger. We say, "I'm not angry...just a little upset maybe." As Christians, we sometimes are given the impression that all anger is wrong and sinful. That is not the case. Anger is a legitimate feeling. It is what we do with our anger that can easily constitute sin. Paul admonishes us in Eph 4:26,
"Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath...
Yes, we can be angry and still be Christians. But, don’t let it motivate sinful behavior or don’t stuff it down inside. Here sometimes the church has done us a disservice in not making a distinction between anger and sinful behavior. I grew up with the idea that all anger was sinful, and so I tried not to let myself feel anger. In so doing, I made way for depression.
 
Anger is a legitimate emotion and reaction to something that threatens us. It can be a threat to your physical well-being or your emotional well-being. It can be something unfair, a put-down, or other threats to your sense of worth. Being let-down or betrayed by someone can cause anger. Sometimes that anger festers in self-pity. Other times the anger can be directed toward others, ourselves, or God. Don't you detect some anger and self-pity here in Elijah’s response to God in verse 10?
 "I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too.

Maybe a free translation could read: 
"I've been working hard for you Lord, and I'm having to do it all by myself...no one is helping me.  And the only thanks I get are threats on my life.  That witch Jezebel! Why haven't you done something about her, Lord?   I'm the only one left.  It looks like I have to do everything around here."
Do you ever feel that way? Why is Elijah so angry?  Here are a few possibilities:

1. Wouldn’t he be angry at Ahab's lack of repentance, Queen Jezebel's arrogance, and the people's fickleness?
2. His life was threatened by Jezebel. He is feeling vulnerable and wondering what’s next.
3. Maybe he felt the showdown on Mt. Carmel should have done more, that revival would sweep through the land. Instead it feels like more of the same with Queen Jezebel still in control, threatening him and defying God. Between the lines, Elijah seems to be saying, "God, you ought to be doing more here!”
4. Surely he is  angry at the persistence and cockiness of evil.
5. What had 3 ½  yrs. of drought and the Mt. Carmel victory really accomplished?

Loss
A sense of loss is also here to be factored in. Any loss needs to be grieved and felt in order to be healed. Of course, loss often contains an element of anger because most losses aren't fair in our minds. But remember, the loss of things and people important to us can cause depression. We must grieve every significant loss, or it will wreck havoc in our emotional lives. Elijah here mentions all the Lord's prophets put to death by the sword. Is he feeling that loss, grieving for that? I’m sure he lost many friends in Jezebel’s reign of terror.

And, I wonder if there is something else here because of the way God responds. Maybe Elijah is suffering a loss of meaning and a sense of purpose. In a strange way, success can produce that. Maybe Elijah's last 3 years have been oriented toward this moment on Mt. Carmel. He was God's center piece in the action. The drought began with Elijah declaring to Ahab there would be no rain for next few years except at his word. Now it all ends. What now?

We all have a need to be needed. Often doing a good job means working yourself out of a job. Parents who do a good job with their children, when the nest empties often struggle with not feeling needed. Sometimes those whose lives have revolved around giving care to a loved one through a disabling and/ or terminal illness have had their roles defined by that for so long, they find it difficult to adjust to a new role after that loss. A sense of meaning and purpose is essential to all of us.

Spiritual
The spiritual element is not hard for us to imagine in Elijah's depression. Elijah has been doing battle with the forces of darkness in Israel. They turned them from worshipping Jehovah to consorting with temple prostitutes and even sacrificing their children on Baal's altar. The devil likes to get us down, and depression makes us very vulnerable to all kinds of sin. Can there be any question the devil is delighted and encouraging Elijah’s suicidal thoughts?

RESTORED BY GOD
Let's see now how God goes about healing the roots of Elijah's depression. There is no hint of condemnation for his turning tail and running. God understands what's going on, and moves to restore Elijah.

First, Elijah needs rest and food to restore his exhausted, depleted physical body. God lets him sleep. Then an angel comes to awaken him and feed him. Then more sleep and more food. Elijah then, journeys 40 days and 40 nights to Mt. Sinai (a journey of 250 mi. across the desert), returning to the roots of Israel's faith where the law, the ten commandments were first given. The 40 days and nights recall the time Moses had been on Mt. Sinai to receive law. And, later, when Jesus came, he fasted and prayed in the desert for 40 days and nights.

Then, after Elijah reaches Mt. Sinai and holes up in a cave, God begins his therapy session. He begins with a question:  "What are you doing here, Elijah?" This gives Elijah a chance to identify what’s going on and express his anger:
I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty.  The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken down your altars, and put your prophets to death with the sword.  I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me.
That's an important step for us in depression– expressing ourselves honestly, what we feel. This is a well-rehearsed response, for when God repeats the question later, the answer is verbatim. You can imagine Elijah going over and over these lines in his anger as he travels those 40 days and nights across the desert. Isn’t that what we often do in our anger, make our case again and again in our thoughts, justifying our feelings?  We need to feel free to express our true feelings to God. He can handle our negative feelings. Consider the Psalms with their various complaints, despair and even anger expressed. We may need to use some of these Psalms to get in touch with our feelings. Expressing our feelings to another person is often a tool God wants to use too.

Then, God gives this powerful parable in awesome proportions in nature. It begins with a command, get out of the cave, go,
“Stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by."
That’s not a bad beginning in dealing with depression. “Get out of your cave! Stop the negative, self-pitying thoughts. Get out where your perspective can be restored. Move toward the presence of the Lord– on the mountain, in the church.” 1 Kings 19:11‑12
Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake.  After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper.

The message is not difficult to interpret. God is saying, “Elijah, you think I'm only in the great, momentous signs and wonders. You think people will be swept into my kingdom with an irresistible wind, or a moral earthquake, or a baptism of fire. I have been working and am working still.”  As proof, God mentions Elijah's not alone, but there are 7000 who have remained faithful to God through it all. The still small voice asks him same question again,
"What are you doing here, Elijah?"
Elijah’s answer is still the same, those well-rehearsed lines of anger and self-pity. The cure needs more than a spectacular revelation of God’s ways. Correcting misconceptions and setting us straight on the truth seldom cures depression. You see, Elijah needs to feel worthwhile, useful again. So, God completes the cure with a  new commission.