When you are feel overwhelmed…
If you keep abreast of international news, you might have heard, or read recently, about the pastor who attempted suicide while inside his church. He ultimately died a day later. He was a pastor of a megachurch that was said to be doing well financially and attracting record setting attendance. He was said to have given in to depression and anxiety. He was thirty years old and he left behind a wife and three sons.
How did you feel when you read the story? I felt shattered. I felt like screaming “how could this happen?” How could someone whose job it is to encourage others, to teach others, to help them cope with the issues that this wicked world throws them give in? Did he seek help? I had many questions. His death grieved me, like the death of a family member would.
Then I spoke to a pastor friend of mine who was going through a trying period and he said that each time he drove on the Third Mainland Bridge, he heard a voice telling him to jump in. His frank disclosure caught me unawares but made me come to terms with a reality: no one is immune from depressive thoughts.
1 Now Ahab told Jezebel everything Elijah had done and how he had killed all the prophets with the sword. 2 So Jezebel sent a messenger to Elijah to say, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them.” 3 Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. When he came to Beersheba in Judah, he left his servant there, 4 while he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness. He came to a broom bush, 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.” Kings 19: 1-4 (NIV)
Elijah had just had a great victory on Mount Carmel where he took on the false prophets of Baal. And yet, now he is having a panic attack, consumed by fear and anxiety. Many others in the Bible had the same experience. Jeremiah cursed the day that he was born and wondered why he was not killed at birth. Moses was burdened with the complaints of the people and asked God to kill him because the burden was too great for him.
Bringing it home, and into our own times, we know that post-partum (or post-natal) depression is very common among new mothers. It is defined by Wikipedia as a “mood disorder associated with childbirth” and symptoms include “extreme sadness, low energy, anxiety, crying episodes, irritability, and changes in sleeping or eating patterns.” If we are real, many of us will admit to struggling with some form of depression or the other. Unfortunately too many people are being fake in church today… pretending to be well while they are not. My sister, it is not wrong to admit that you are going through a hard time!
How to break free
REST.
Elijah was exhausted. He had a confrontation with the prophets on Mount Carmel, ran ahead of Ahab to Jezreel, got a message from Jezebel and ran from Jezreel first to Beersheba, then to the wilderness. His depression was no doubt aggravated by exhaustion, if not caused by it.
God allowed Elijah time to rest and receive refreshment (1 Kings 19:5-8). To overcome stress we need to rest our bodies. Sometimes the best thing we can do is not to take on another project but to kick back and rest. Elijah had spent a great deal of energy fighting for God and was physically and emotionally spent. What God did was provide for his physical needs. He provided food and allowed Elijah to rest. God did not even begin to deal with his depression or wrong thinking until he was rested and refreshed.
My sister, take care of yourself. Rest. Relax. Breathe. Eat right. Exercise.
REFOCUS
Depression is fueled by what you see and how you respond to it. On Mount Carmel Elijah’s gaze was upon God but later, all he saw was Jezebel. Peter was able to look at Christ and step out to go to Him but when his gaze shifted to the wind and the waves he began to sink. Twelve spies went to scout out sent the Promised Land. Two saw a land that God was able to bring them into, but ten saw fortified cities and giants. What you focus on will dominate your thoughts and fill your soul.
Look unto me, and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth: for I am God, and there is none else. Isaiah 45:22 (KJV)
Sometimes, in the midst of the busyness of life with its stress and pressure we lose our focus. What we need to do is to refocus on God. In 1 Kings 19:11-12, God arranged a display of his power for Elijah, but He was not in any of the powerful events He orchestrated. He was in a still small voice – a whisper. God was not in all the frantic activity that he made pass before Elijah. We must learn as Elijah did, to see God in the small things and be grateful for the small things. He is still God, regardless of what you are going through.
GET HELP
Elijah left his servant in Beersheba. He separated himself from those who could strengthen him. It is interesting how human nature works. When we get discouraged, one of the first things that tend to do, is withdraw from human contact. We tend to withdraw to ourselves, and that is often the worst thing we can do!
Talk to someone trustworthy. Someone who will not make your issues everyone’s business. Someone who is willing to invest the time and effort. Someone who will listen to you, talk with you, counsel you, pray with you and for you. Talk to a professional if you need to. Don’t be fake and pretend like all is well when you know it is not!
Please. Get help.
I pray “… the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). Amen.
Look and live, my sister, live. Look to Jesus and live. No matter how overwhelmed you might be, hold on! Our God is your strength.