DoublePortion_October2023_8.5x5.5_REV.indd

I alone am left” (1 Kings 19:10). Elijah was actually among 7,000 prophets who remained (1 Kings 19:18), but who’s counting when you’re soaking in a bath of self-pity? Make sure to avoid these traps if you sense discouragement and depression on your doorstep.And since the enemy works cleverly to fill a void, follow up by administering these remedies. Take care of your physical needs. Elijah’s emotional struggles stemmed in part from physical deficiencies. Realizing the proph et’s state of hunger and fatigue, God twice sent an angel to urge Elijah to eat. God has designed us in such a way that there is an insepara ble connection between body and soul, the physical and spiritual. And even though the bodies we now possess are temporal, we must still do our best to take care of them. As Paul writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own?” (1 Corinthians 6:19). I’m convinced that many mental/emotional struggles begin at the physical level. Careless eating habits and lack of sleep during our younger years take their toll as we age. A physical therapist told me recently that “motion is lotion.” I used to run, but now I walk. Not only am I improving blood flow and burning calories, but also generating endorphin release in the blood. Eat right and get moving. Although it may not build a fire wall against depression, it will certainly help. Share your burdens with God. Elijah certainly did, lamenting to the Lord that he had gone through enough and was at his wit’s end. A key takeaway I’ve learned from decades of Bible study/sermon preparation, one that I’m trying hard to get across in this book, is that God’s servants in the Bible were not afraid to bare their souls to Him in prayer.

28