The Trouble of Depression (1 Kings 19:1-18)

This Sunday, we’re starting a new series I’ve called “The Time of Trouble.”  It will be a short topical series looking at a few “troubled” parts of our lives, but parts of our lives that are common to most people.  When our situation or circumstances get difficult, it’s easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking “it’s just me.”  Why am I the one suffering through this?  None of these other people seem to be suffering, Lord, why me?  That question has been around for thousands of years, and yet we still ask it … a lot.  And yet, it seems that the clear teaching of the Bible is that all sorts of troubles, all types of suffering, is actually common to man.  We all experience it.  Sometimes it’s physical, sometimes it’s emotional, sometimes it’s spiritual, but usually, it’s all three.

And this week we’re going to look at a man who thought, “it’s just me.”  The prophet Elijah has a insightful dialogue with the Lord in 1 Kings 19, our passage for this week, where he complains and questions God about his hard situation.  Coming off a literal “mountaintop experience,” the prophet falls into a spiritual funk, he gets the blues, becomes melancholy — in other words, Elijah, this great spiritual leader, suffers from depression.  Like Elijah, most of us experience depression at some point in our lives.  Some more than others.  And for some it’s a regular struggle.  Many of us bear the scars of suffering through this, and many of us have passed through deep waters together, but the good news of the Gospel is that God’s persevering and preserving grace is always waiting for us.

So, we’re going to wade into these deep waters, see what the Scriptures have to teach us, and explore what we learn of God when we’re in up to our elbows.  And that will serve to encourage and strengthen us to keep going.  It’s going to be interesting.  See you Sunday, Dr. Dave