Elijah Syndrome
One of my favorite characters in the Bible is Elijah the prophet. If prophets are ranked in significance Elijah is probably at the top of the list. You will find the adventures of Elijah in the Old Testament books of 1st and 2nd Kings. Elijah performed incredible miracles. The pinnacle of his prophet career happens when he faces down 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah. It’s a spectacular showdown. I encourage you to read it. After the showdown Elijah finds out that Jezebel, the wife of the king of Israel is on a mission to have him killed. In 1 Kings 19:3 it says, Elijah was afraid and ran for his life. After Elijah’s incredible feat he is adrenalized. However adrenaline can only get you so far before exhaustion sets in. After a grueling 6 mile run through the rain Elijah finds himself under a broom tree. He informs God that his life is worthless and asks God to kill him. One has to wonder, how did Elijah go from the highest high to the lowest low? I don’t think he was bipolar, rather he was running solo. Elijah got separated from his support system. How do we know this? Listen to the conversation between God and Elijah found in 1 Kings 19:13-14. Then a voice said to him, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” He replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, broken 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.”
Did you catch that? Elijah makes the assumption that he’s the only one left who is serving God. God quickly corrects him and says there are 7000 more who have remained faithful. Elijah syndrome happens when we get disconnected from people of faith. Isolation is not our friend. The book of Hebrews is written to some very discouraged Christians. Knowing this the author encourages Jesus followers to to help each other with these words, Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another, especially now that the day of his return is drawing near. Hebrews 10:24-25.
The truth is, we need each other. Living the Christian life is hard enough when we have support but not having support hurts us and everyone around us. One of the best ways to get spiritual support is to get into a life group. Life Groups offer friendship support, prayer support, and opportunities to learn and grow together on our faith journey. For the next two Sundays we will have our Life Groups on full display. You will have an opportunity to hear from some of our Life Group leaders and ask them questions about their groups. You can also go to our website or our PLC Church APP to get more information about our Life Groups.
I look forward to seeing you this weekend,
Steve