Why did he run?

What would cause a man of undoubted courage and strength a man of prayer and obedience to desert his post? Why would Elijah listen to the threat of Queen Jezebel and run for his life?

There are no doubt a number of factors that led Elijah to take the course that he did. The first had to do with his physical condition. Elijah was exhausted. His physical and nervous resources had run out. In a short time he had endured a harrowing contest on the mountain, maintained a lengthy prayer vigil and then ran 30 kms to Jezreel only to be greeted with the news that he was under a sentence of death. Instead of experiencing victory and elation he was met with profound disappointment, disillusion and distress. He was under stress and at the end of his rope. He had gone as far as he could, he had had enough. Even though all of Elijah’s experiences had ended in victory they had taken their toll, his emotional energy was spent, he had nothing left to give.

There was no doubt a spiritual dimension to Elijah’s state of mind but his problems were first of all physical. He had over-reached himself and was burnt out. How can this be? How is it possible that a person is totally committed to doing God’s will and being obedient to him could be burnt out? Didn’t God promise to sustain and keep those who are entirely dependent on him? Well yes God did make that promise and yes it is still possible for Christians to become burnt out! Burn out is not necessarily the result of sin or disobedience and isn’t always caused by doing things in your own strength rather than in God’s, although all of these things can result in physical and spiritual exhaustion. It is more likely that we become burnt out when we have failed to attend to our physical nature. It is probable that what Elijah needed more than anything else was rest and recovery.

God has blessed us with a physical as well as a spiritual nature and he intends that we pay attention to both. In fact he commanded that we set one day aside each week to rest and called it a Sabbath, a day when we set ourselves apart from the cares of the world and commit ourselves entirely to him and our own refreshment. Too often these times of rest are ignored in our drive to do things that we believe God is calling us to do. We must always remember that God does not violate his own principles and if he has decreed that we take time to rest, then he means that we should. He will not give us such a work load that those seasons of rest become impossible to take.

Depression is often exacerbated by physical and emotional tiredness. And while we look for spiritual answers to our needs we can relieve some of our burden by paying attention to matters of sleep, diet and exercise. It is usually the case that when we are tired, stressed or carrying a burden that we fail to pay attention to our physical bodies. We don’t eat properly, fail to exercise or get sufficient rest. While these things may not resolve any underlying problem that we are dealing with they will give us the physical and emotional reserves that we need. The answer to spiritual inertia is not to try harder, get more organized or busier, it is more often to take to rest, get some sleep, attend to our diet and start exercise.

Do you feel a bit like Elijah, tired, worn out and disillusioned? Instead of taking off for the desert, try doing an inventory of your physical life. And if you find that you are not paying sufficient attention to the body God has given you then starting with a proper season of rest, make a commitment to the changes you need to make to your patterns of sleep, diet and exercise.

Another element that may have had led to Elijah’s flight to the desert was loneliness. It does not seem that he had someone he could confide in or look to for support, there was no one to chat to, no family to return to at the end of the day. Elijah had nobody to share his pain, his victories, his triumphs or his failures with. Yes he had God and obviously enjoyed a good relationship with him, but there was no other human person he could share his hope, dreams and aspirations with. Elijah was a long way from home and was in a solo ministry.

Christian ministry is often lonely. People involved in counseling others seldom take the time to develop close relationships or to receive counsel themselves. They often get so used to giving advice that they do not make close friends, people can be put off when others are continually trying to assist them with their problems! Not everybody understands the call God has put on your life. Some may even question your motives or challenge the commitment you make. And it is a fact that we are not called to be men pleasers, but rather pleasers of God. The road this leads you down can often be a lonely one.

High achievers can also be lonely. Some people avoid the successful out of jealousy or even under the mistaken assumption that they are too important to be troubled by those that are not as capable. Many ‘celebrities’ or high achievers have commented on being lonely even though they are enormously famous and popular. People who achieve great things are often the loneliest of them all and the greater their achievements the greater the magnitude of their fall, if it comes. Some malicious types delight in the failure of others almost hoping that they will fall, while still others  maintain their distance from the wounded person feeling that they have nothing to offer or contribute.

When Elijah needed comfort and support there was no one there to turn to. So he headed for the desert, he retreated into himself. Where was the fellow traveler, the person that Elijah could confide in, who would pick him up when he was down? Who could share Elijah’s pain and frustration, who would weep with him, laugh with him or just remain silent and bear his grief? Elijah did not have this person in his life, he was alone.

If you are engaged in God’s business, as I hope you are, be certain to take the time to maintain supportive relationships. In short make friends with people you like. Spend time together, listen to one another, challenge each other, enjoy one another’s company. Don’t become so busy with what you are doing that you fail to take time for relationships. Make the effort, it’s essential to your spiritual health.