Elijah Syndrome

U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy released a Surgeon General Advisory where he pointed out the physical health risks of being lonely, including increased risk of heart disease, dementia, and strokes. According to him, “the possibility of premature death due to loneliness could equal that of smoking 15 cigarettes a day, and can pose a greater health risk than living with obesity.” Looks like it’s better to get fat with friends and family than to be skinny alone. I always gain weight when I visit my parents!

The first thing in creation that God declared not to be good was this: for man to be alone. Isolation magnifies the troubles in life; community magnifies the joys of life. 

Some of our greatest pain comes relationally, but we can only be healed in relationship. Community can also magnify the troubles we face when we don’t care for each other properly—as with Job’s friends. 

Community comes with risks: What if they hurt me? What if they don’t like me? What if they reject me? Those are all legitimate risks. However, the bigger risk is in remaining isolated. 

The enemy’s tactic is to isolate us. An example from the pages of Scripture can be seen in the prophet Elijah.

Elijah’s Problem

Elijah had a great victory on Mt. Carmel. He had challenged the prophets of Baal to offer a sacrifice and to ask their God to set the sacrifice on fire. They couldn’t, of course, but when Elijah prepared his sacrifice, God answered by sending fire! Elijah responded by executing the prophets who were leading the people of Israel astray. His sense of victory didn’t last long, though.

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.” ⁵ Then he lay down under the bush and fell asleep. All at once an angel touched him and said, “Get up and eat.” ⁶ He looked around, and there by his head was some bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water. He ate and drank and then lay down again. ⁷ The angel of the Lord came back a second time and touched him and said, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you.” ⁸ So he got up and ate and drank. Strengthened by that food, he traveled forty days and forty nights until he reached Horeb, the mountain of God. ⁹There he went into a cave and spent the night. 1 Kings 19:1–9 (NIV)

I. Victory

Victory is not a bad thing! This is not to say that we should be afraid of victory, or should sabotage our own victory. But we should be alert that experiencing a great victory might make us susceptible. We can have high energy until the event is over, the victory is won, etc., and then we let down our guard. The adrenaline stops surging. Even great men of God experience depression and despair. James said: “Elijah was a man just like us.” James says that to encourage us that our prayers can be powerful like Elijah’s, but it’s also the reason that Elijah was vulnerable. Some of our darkest times immediately follow a spiritual highlight, a big accomplishment, a major milestone. In some cases, just when we feel like nothing can go wrong in life, we are unwittingly at our most vulnerable. 

II. A Threat From Jezebel

After all that Elijah did, Jezebel’s threat sent Elijah off the rails. This was a very real situation. Queen Jezebel was not wishy washy like her husband, King Ahab. She had already proved herself capable of, and willing to, engage in brutal repression and death of the innocent. 

⁹ Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: ¹⁰ If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. ¹¹ Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? ¹² Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken. Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 (NIV)

“Two can defend themselves.” “A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” As much as we might like to think of God as the third strand, Ecclesiastes is simply talking about people. We think being popular and having lots of friends, or followers, is the key. As this passage points out, however, you just need one or two other people standing with you. God, of course, is with us, but we just need one or two who will stand with us. Don’t discount that! 

A parent expressed concern to me once about their teen son who was lonely, isolated, and hadn’t made good friends at school or at their previous church. Their hope was that here, at Victory Church, their son would find acceptance and really fit in. My concern with that is that we can’t assure how other kids might respond to any particular individual. So what happened? He made one good friend. That’s all it took. One good friend and he felt like he belonged to the whole group–and he did belong to the whole group. It changed his life. Maybe you don’t need to be a celebrity, to be the most liked, the most popular. One good friend. Elijah had a servant who had stuck with him. But look at what Elijah did:

III. Elijah’s Lonely Response

A. He intentionally distanced himself from others. Instead of drawing strength from others, Elijah distanced himself even further. The point I want to make is not just that he felt lonely, but that he intentionally distanced himself from others. He isolated himself physically, and went to the southernmost city in Judah, Beersheba. He left his servant there, then kept going south. 

B. He gave in to despair and was ready to die. V. 4: “I have had enough, Lord,” he said. “Take my life….” This is one of many examples in Scripture of great men of faith who give way to despair. The Bible shows plenty of examples of human pain and frailty, of depression, despair, and mental health challenges. It’s not a matter of shame for us to admit it; Elijah did and so can we. 

C. Reading ahead: Maybe he was somewhat prideful and judgmental. In v. 4 he said, “I’m no better than my ancestors.” Why should he think he was better than his ancestors? Jump ahead and in verse 10 he says to God, “No one else is serving you like me.”

¹⁰ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn 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.” 1 Kings 19:10 (NIV)

Did he judge everyone else? Did he dismiss their faithfulness? It’s so easy, when disillusioned with the people of God, to become extremely cynical. As with Elijah, we can see the vacillation between falsehood and truth. We can see in others the battle between idolatry and faithfulness to God. As we look around, we see evidence of abuse. We have experienced abuse in our own family, and we have seen church leaders try to cover it up. I’m so jaded about celebrity Christianity, celebrity pastors, celebrity worship leaders, that it’s easy to get really negative. God still has a plan for his church, for his people, for you. 

God’s Solution

God’s solution for “Elijah Syndrome” probably has some similarities to God’s solution for you: 

1. Sleep and nourishment

Sometimes we neglect really simple care for ourselves. One of the most important things you can do to take care of your mental health is to get adequate sleep. We need to quit treating sleep as optional, or as something that only weaklings do. Napoleon supposedly said, “Six hours for a man, seven for a woman, eight for a fool.” Most of you probably need 8–and it’s not foolish! With some exceptions, you actually need 7 to 9 hours of sleep, and without it your mental health will suffer. Along with that, you need walking, exercise, movement. For your mental health, take care of your body! 

2. Supernatural intervention

Elijah had an angel give him food twice, leading to a 40-day supernatural journey. It won’t always be so dramatic, but we need to expect God’s supernatural help in our lives. It would be easy to dismiss God’s supernatural help as unlikely. It’s unfortunate that so many Christians live as practical atheists. A practical atheist is someone who believes in God, but lives as though God doesn’t exist. Let’s ask God to increase our expectation that he will work. Let’s ask God to speak to us! This was part of God’s plan for Elijah:

¹¹ The Lord said, “Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the Lord, for the Lord is about to pass by.” 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. ¹² After the earthquake came a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11–12 (NIV)

Here’s the point: We don’t have to have God show up in a fire, whirlwind, or earthquake! God is in the quiet whisper, and this is something that we should learn. Elijah’s whole experience was super dramatic, but one of God’s points in the drama is that dramatic isn’t necessary! Dramatic spirituality isn’t necessary, but supernatural help is. Elijah was a man, just like us, and he got help from God. God wants to answer your prayers, to reveal himself to you, and speak to you. But notice this about Elijah; God’s speaking to him was not enough. After God spoke in the gentle whisper, Elijah was still in his despair. 

¹³ When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?”[Same questions as before, with same response from Elijah.] ¹⁴ He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn 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.” 1 Kings 19:13–14 (NIV)

He’s still saying the exact same thing after this dramatic encounter with God! So what does God do next? 

3. God Points Elijah to Others

¹⁵ The Lord said to him, “Go back the way you came, and go to the Desert of Damascus. When you get there, anoint Hazael king over Aram. ¹⁶ Also, anoint Jehu son of Nimshi king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat from Abel Meholah to succeed you as prophet. ¹⁷ Jehu will put to death any who escape the sword of Hazael, and Elisha will put to death any who escape the sword of Jehu. ¹⁸ Yet I reserve seven thousand in Israel—all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal and whose mouths have not kissed him.” 1 Kings 19:15–18 (NIV)

God says, “Go anoint others,” that is, God is sending him to his community! God is pointing Elijah back to the community he ran from. Multiple people are often needed to do what one man of the caliber of Elijah did. It’s easy to point to the great man of faith, and there might be some truth to that. Elijah was unique in many ways: John the Baptist was the one who came in the spirit of Elijah, and Elijah was one of the two who appeared with Jesus at the Transfiguration. He didn’t die, but was taken up by God in a chariot of fire. But even for Elijah, it was not good to be alone.

God Created Us for Community

Yes, God showed himself to Elijah. This was super important! But, just like God’s relationship with Adam was not enough for Adam, God’s revelation to Elijah was not enough for Elijah. When we sing, “All I need is you, Lord,” we are not exactly telling the truth. David was seeking the one thing: to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord. I love that from Psalm 27! But it’s not the only thing that David needed. 

“As mental health becomes a growing concern in the digital age, a recent Gallup poll found that regular church attendance improves mental health. According to the poll, 44% of people who attend church regularly described their mental health as “excellent.””

Prioritize church attendance. It’s being with God and being with people.

Prioritize good family interaction if you have family nearby.

Prioritize good friendships–maybe you only need one good one. 

There is hope in community! It’s not your only hope, but without it, other sources of hope will not be enough. God has provided us a community who have not given in! Together, we can stand. 

Listen to this message and others in audio form here!