Jump Start # 1461

1 Kings 19:10 “He said, ‘I have been very zealous for the Lord, the God of hosts; for the sons of Israel have forsaken  Your covenant, torn down Your altars and killed Your prophets with the sword. And I alone am left; and they seek my life, to take it away.’”

Poor Elijah. Our verse finds him hunkered down in a cave, hiding. He is scared, discouraged and alone. Just the chapter before, he stood alone against all the prophets of Baal. The nation would not acknowledge that Jehovah was God. In a mighty contest, he not only demonstrated the power of God, but that brought the courage back to the nation and they hunted down Baal’s prophets and slaughtered them. He had people behind him. But now, wicked queen Jezebel has ordered the death of Elijah. He runs. He hides. He wants God to take him.

The “Elijah syndrome” is something that many experience. It’s tough to deal with. One moment it seems things are going well and the next he is depressed and hiding. He wasn’t bi-polar. This wasn’t a mental issue. It was a faith problem.

The “Elijah syndrome” is felt in:

• Homes: this is often the feelings of many moms today. They get the impression that they are the only ones who are doing anything in the home. The man comes home and flops in front of the TV watching ESPN until bedtime. The kids are running through the house making messes everywhere. And there’s poor mom. She’s cooking, cleaning, and chasing the kids. She goes from one mess to the next. At the end of the week she’s ready to find a cave, like Elijah, and just escape. She can’t seem to get the kids to help. She can’t seem to get her husband to help. She feels all alone.

• Churches: this is often felt by the preacher. He’s the one that spends most hours around the church building. He’s the one that must be around when the copy repair guy shows us. He’s the one that prints the bulletin and often picks them up off the floor on Monday mornings. He’s the one that is always teaching. He’s the one who is always trying to motivate folks. Like Elijah, he feels that he is the only one around the place that really cares. There are days that he is looking for a cave to go hide in. The elders can also feel this way. The folks that clean the church building also feel this way. Why doesn’t anyone else ever clean this place? Why don’t folks pick up stuff when they leave? Do they think that this is a ball park?

• Concerned citizens: these are the ones who care about how the neighborhood looks. These are the ones who are concerned about boarded up businesses. They worry about a growing drug problem in the neighborhood. They want the community to grow and be safe. But it seems that they are the only ones who care. Everyone else seems too busy to even notice. The thought of moving has crossed their minds. They like the area but it seems, like Elijah, they are the only ones who care.

The Elijah syndrome can affect us. It really pulled the covers over Elijah’s head. The context tells us that he didn’t just have a quick rest in the cave. The word used is “dwelled.” Elijah was planning on staying in the cave for awhile. In our day, he would have bought carpet and put out a mailbox. This is my new home, the cave. Dark, dreary and alone—just like Elijah was feeling on the insides. Alone with his misery. Alone singing “Doom, despair and agony on me.”

God wouldn’t have it. He called Elijah to come out of the cave, to take care of himself and to go appoint someone king. God wasn’t finished with Elijah. There were things God needed him to do. Hiding in the cave was not one of them. When we are discouraged, we don’t feel like being around others. When we feel alone, we feel like quitting. Elijah did. He wasn’t suicidal, but he certainly was ready for God to take him. God’s words here are the best ways to beat the blues. Get out. Eat. Take care of yourself. Get around people. Do something good for others. Talk to God. Those things work.

What God didn’t tell Elijah, not in this chapter, is that his problem was over. Later, God deals with Jezebel. Her ending isn’t pretty. But in this chapter, she’s still a threat. In this chapter, nothing has changed about the order to execute Elijah. This is the key to trusting and obeying God. We want God to solve our problems. We want to stay inside the cave until all is save and things are back to normal. That’s not what happened here. The order from God to get out of the cave, eat and go appoint Hazel king, was spoken under the shadow that the problem was still there. We want God to remove our problems and often, God wants us to go on even though the problem remains. Get out of your cave. Get out and do what God wants.

There are two factors that we must see here:

First, the human factor tells us that we “don’t feel like it.” That, “we don’t feel like it,” governs what we do. It shouldn’t. It never is a factor in the Bible. When God told Noah to build the ark, he was never asked, “How do you feel about that?” It didn’t matter. When Abraham was told to sacrifice Isaac, he was never asked, “How do you feel about that?” It didn’t matter. When Jesus faced the cross, He was never asked, “How do you feel about that?” It didn’t matter. There were things that just had to be done. We don’t go to worship because “we don’t feel like it.” We stop reading our Bibles because “we don’t feel like it.” We allow how we feel to govern us. The human factor leads us to a cave and like Elijah we park it there. There we remain, for some it’s been decades, and we are still in our cave. We won’t leave until we “feel like it.” Do you think Elijah felt like it, knowing that Jezebel was still looking for him? We must move past “how we feel” about things and do the right thing. If we never felt like it, then we would never apologize nor forgive someone. We wouldn’t give, because we don’t feel like it. We wouldn’t say the right thing, because we don’t feel like it. Put your feelings to the side and do what the Lord wants. In doing that, your feelings often change.

Second, the God factor. Elijah was depressed in his cave, wanting God to end it all, thinking he was the only one who was doing right. He saw all the problems and he felt that he alone was doing right. What he didn’t know was that there were more than 7,000 who were with God. Seven thousand were not bowing to Baal. Seven thousand were loyal and true to God. Seven thousand. That’s a huge number. That’s larger than most high schools. That’s larger than most congregations. That number would make an impressive army. Seven thousand.

Elijah didn’t know that. He had not seen them. He didn’t know  where they were.  He wasn’t the only one. He wasn’t the lone right one. There were many. There were thousands that were with God. When we are down, we tend to exaggerate things. We often make things worse than what they are. We get the “Woe are we” complex. There are others all over this world today who are doing things for the Lord. You and I may never know about them. We don’t have to. There are those who are wonderfully using their talents, even in the congregation where you are that you may not know about. We think we know everything that is going on, but we don’t. There are prayers said every night, silently about the church that we may never know about. There are those who at work and at school are showing others the way of the Lord that we may never know about. There are people being invited, talked to and encouraged that we may never know about. God  knows and that’s all that really matters. So get out of the cave and get back to doing what you are supposed to do. Don’t stop because you think you are the only one. Don’t stop teaching. Don’t stop caring. Don’t stop doing what you are capable of doing. There are others all around that need you. God is counting upon you and you are not the only one.

The “Elijah syndrome” is powerful. Don’t let it get to you. Don’t go cave shopping. Don’t stop because of the Jezebel’s in your life. Keep doing what you know is right.

Roger