“Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted in me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him for the help of his countenance” (Psalms 42:5).

I suspect that all of us have times of despair and discouragement. That’s just the way life is. The question is not if these times come but what do we do about them when they do come.

It seems that after our greatest triumphs comes our deepest valleys. Elijah, after his great triumph over Ahab and Jezebel and their wicked prophets on Mt. Carmel, fled into the wilderness in despair and depression. . “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, it is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers” (1 Kings 19:4). It seems an enigma that after doing such great works the prophet went into such a period of despair and depression.

We should be warned that such times come and that there is nothing wrong when they do come unless we let them cause us to react in a wrong fashion. Following are some observations about the despair and depression that often follows times of great successfulness, as well as a word of admonition and encouragement.

Despair and depression are often accompanied by thoughts of worthlessness to the extent that one may wish he were dead. The severity, strain, and stress of great works often depletes one’s inner emotional resources to the extent that he feels that he has nothing left to live with and for. Such is the reason for the old saying by preachers that they resign every Monday morning. Elijah wished for himself that he might die.

Despair and depression are often accompanied by the desire to flee rather than face the rigors of new conflict. Elijah knew the power of God, having just seen such a great demonstration of it. Why should he fear Ahab and Jezebel when he had just confronted their best and worst and defeated them? Emotionally, he was so exhausted that he felt he had nothing left for a new conflict.

Despair and depression will often push us into the trap of comparison. Elijah complained that he was no better than his fathers. The comparison of our works and successes against that of others is always a trap leading to competitiveness. Anytime we compare what God does in or through our lives to what He does in another, we are drawn away from the sense of security and peace and into a spirit of competition. Consequently, we will feel the necessity of continuously credentializing ourselves to others or to exaggerate our accomplishments in order to shore up our sagging confidence and to appear successful to others.

Despair and depression will cause us to have a warped sense of proportion and perspective. When one is emotionally depleted, he will not view life, himself, others, or God through a proper perspective. His viewpoint will tend to be distorted and to act under such strain will cause him to either act precipitously or unwisely. Elijah acted properly when he retired to a distant location and simply sat and rested regardless of the tumult of thoughts and feelings he was suffering.

There is a time to go aside to rest and be resuscitated in one’s spiritual and emotional self. It was not unusual for Jesus to do precisely that. On the occasion after he had performed the miracle of the loaves and the fish, he retired into the mountains for spiritual restoration: “And when he had sent the multitudes away, he went up into a mountain apart to pray: and when the evening was come, he was there alone” (Matthew 14:23).

Burnout and dropout are results of failing to properly tend to one’s inner self. We tend to have a somewhat macho attitude wherein we feel we should just keep going regardless of the personal cost. The inevitable result will be that we, like Elijah, will lose both our desire and emotional ability to effectively function.

A church should insist that its pastor take regular times apart from his duties. Such times, if appropriately used, will enhance and enlarge the ministry of the pastor and, thus, of the church.

Dear hard-working friend, take time to smell the roses.

Jeff