God’s Remedy for Loneliness
1 Kings 19:1-18
Introduction.
In this time of quarantine and isolation, it is easy to feel so very much alone.
Many of us feel that way under normal circumstances, let alone with a virus out there to get us.
From the things I’ve read, it seems like the social distancing is working, if it’s any consolation.
That means there is a light at the end of the tunnel—this will end soon.
To that end, there is one individual in the Bible who struggled with loneliness—Elijah.
Of course the reason he was lonely had nothing to do with a pandemic.
He was lonely because he thought he was the only one serving God.
On top of that, he was being chased—Jezebel wanted him dead.
Elijah had just won a contest against 400 prophets of Baal loyal to her, so he executed them as the Law demanded.
She was furious and sought his life so he ran to Beersheba, the southern most city of Judah and left his servant there.
Then he kept going, about a day’s journey into the wilderness and sat under a broom tree.
It was here he expressed his despair openly to the Lord: “It is enough! Now, Lord, take my life, for I am no better than my fathers!”
This lesson shows God’s remedy for the loneliness Elijah experienced—maybe that can help us, too.
Find necessities.
Find your purpose.
Find a task.
Find others.
Body.
Find necessities (1 Kings 19:5-8).
People respond with loneliness and depression in different ways.
One of the more common responses is a lack of desire to do anything.
People refuse to bathe, get dressed, to eat, or even get out of bed.
For many of us stuck at home, it’s difficult to tell if that’s normal or not.
Elijah exhibited some of these symptoms, running into the wilderness and wanting the Lord to take his life.
This leads many to believe that Elijah was suffering from depression, likely caused by his belief that he was alone in his service to God.
He states this in vs. 10 in response to God asking him what’s going on: “I have been very zealous for the Lord God of hosts; for the children of Israel have forsaken Your covenant, torn down Your altars, and killed Your prophets with the sword. I alone am left; and they seek to take my life.”
He was alone, just as many of us are now.
Human touch can be very comforting.
We are social creatures, and the touch of another human being is often desired.
Handshakes, hugs, touches to the shoulder – just some human interaction.
Sadly that’s very lacking these days for many of us.
The Scripture makes it a point to state that the angel of the Lord came and touched Elijah twice (vs. 5, 7).
While we may not be able to touch anyone today outside of immediate family, it will be a joyous day when we can again.
The angel brought Elijah some food.
I wonder if this is where we get the idea to give someone a casserole when someone has had a major change in their lives: baby born, hospital stay, death in the family.
While food may not be needed every day, food is still needed.
It can give one strength and help them through a difficult time.
Sometimes we need reminding of that when we are depressed and lose our appetites.
On the other hand, we can also overdo it, so be careful there, too.
The angel did this for him not once, but twice.
He was likely exhausted, and needed that time to recover from his flight.
But it gave him the strength to fast for nearly 6 weeks (40 days/nights).
Elijah ends up at Mt. Horeb, which is Mt. Sinai, the mountain of God.
It doesn’t say why he went there.
The Lord may have compelled him to go there.
Or maybe he just wanted to go there to speak to God.
Whatever the case, the Lord had something to show him.
Find a purpose (1 Kings 19:9-12).
Elijah finds a cave, spends the night there, and the Lord asked him a question: “What are you doing here, Elijah?”
The Lord asks him this question twice (vs. 9, 13).
Each time, Elijah gives the same response that I read earlier, “I have been zealous for you; I alone am left.”
The Lord shows Elijah a strong wind, an earthquake, and a fire.
The Lord is not in them, but He is in the still, small voice.
The power of God is evident in these things.
It reminded Elijah of the power and might of the God he serves.
The Lord had passed by and these acts of destruction (often called “acts of God” today) tore through the mountain just as Ahab and Jezebel’s reign of terror did to those faithful to the Lord.
But through it all we do see that God is in the still small voice, just as Elijah is that lone voice in the wilderness speaking truth to power.
Elijah’s purpose was to serve the Lord, and it is our purpose, too.
We must always find some purpose in life.
The suicide rate in males is higher among veterans and those retired.
“By age 85, men’s suicide rate is 1650% higher than that of women the same age.”
They don’t feel like they have a purpose in life anymore—but women will typically seek professional help, while men will try to bottle it up.
The military gave the veterans purpose, but where do they find it in civilian life?
For many men, their jobs gave them purpose, but once they retire, now what?
Finding a purpose is so important for us—those who find a purpose outside of their job are much more well-adjusted than those who do not.
Remind the lonely or depressed person of their purpose—to serve the Lord (Eccl. 12:13).
But having a purpose may not be enough.
Such can be vague and not as concrete.
So the next thing the Lord did was give Elijah a task.
Find a task/job (1 Kings 19:13-17).
The Lord asked him again what he was doing there at Mt. Sinai.
Evidently the Lord realized that having a purpose was not enough.
Something else had to accompany that purpose: a task.
Elijah was told that he needed to anoint three people.
In Damascus he was to anoint Hazael as king of Syria.
Then he was to anoint Jehu son of Nimshi as king of Israel.
Then he was to anoint Elisha the son of Shaphat to be a prophet in his place.
Not long after this, he finds Elisha and he follows him.
Elijah would not anoint Hazael and Jehu himself, but Elisha would do so later (2 Kgs 8–9).
Whatever the case, this gave Elijah a task, something specific to do in his purpose of serving God.
Through Elisha, Elijah would anoint the others—Elijah’s work would carry on even if Jezebel caught up to him.
This, too, must have brought Elijah some comfort.
This task was to teach Elisha, be a mentor to him as a prophet of God.
Many of us have children and they are our legacy.
It is our job, our task, as parents to teach them and guide them as Elijah guided Elisha.
And that job doesn’t end when they leave the house.
Let us always be there for our children as guides and teachers when they need us.
Some of you don’t have children, but you do have people who look up to you. You are an example to them of how a Christian should live.
Be that example—there are so many negative examples out there, both in our personal lives and especially celebrities and those on TV.
They need someone good to look up to and aspire to.
And if that’s not your thing, there are plenty of other tasks that you can do to serve the Lord.
Other tasks that we can take up.
Study God’s word, grow in grace and knowledge, teach others (2 Tim 2:15; 2 Pet 3:18; 2 Tim 2:2).
Spread the gospel, turning the world upside down (Matt 28:18-20; Mark 16:15-16; Acts 17:6).
The church here has many jobs and other tasks that you can do to help out.
Plug yourself in, find out what they are, what our needs are, and how you can help in the work of the church.
Not only that, but in your own personal work, find out what you can do in the community to help others, glorifying the name of the Lord.
Find others (1 Kings 19:18).
There were 7000 in Israel who remained faithful to the Lord.
Paul quotes this later (Rom. 11:4), and adds the detail that these are men.
So 7000 men, and who knows how many women.
In a whole country, that’s still very few, but it could be far worse.
You see, they were a remnant who remained faithful.
There is always a remnant that remains faithful to God.
It was true then, and it’s true now.
In Romans 11, Paul recounts certain aspects of this event (Rom. 11:2-5).
There is a remnant, he says, according to the election of grace.
You see, previously, they were chosen by virtue of their lineage to Abraham.
Now, we are chosen because of the grace God has bestowed upon us.
Only a remnant of Jews at that point chose to follow Christ, and only a remnant in the world choose Christ today.
The number may feel very small.
Particularly while we are social distancing, our world seems so much smaller.
But we are all in this together.
Elijah thought he was alone, and many of us feel that we are alone, too.
We used to visit people as acts of love, and now we keep our distance for the same reason.
My neighbor knows some people who tested positive but were completely asymptomatic, so you never know.
We want to do the responsible thing and keep ourselves and each other safe.
I might not suffer from the disease directly, but you might die from it.
I don’t know about you, but I would not want that on my conscience!
Regardless, that’s why we need to be here for each other, now more than ever.
No, we might not be able to visit like we used to.
But we can call, we can communicate in various ways.
It’s why we’re doing daily live videos to connect with one another during this difficult time.
I encourage you to participate in that if you can.
Through it we are reminded we are not alone.
What would the Lord say about our conduct in this time?
Consider the parable in Matt. 25:31-46, the Sheep and the Goats.
There were those who were hungry and thirsty, those who were strangers, those who were sick or in prison.
The Lord blessed those who helped them or visited them.
We could add to that, “I was in quarantine and you comforted Me.”
Remember what Jesus said: “Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me” (Matt. 25:40).
Then consider the rest of the parable and the outcome of those who did not help—everlasting punishment.
Let us comfort those who need comforting at this time, reminding them they are not alone!
Conclusion.
No doubt we are all struggling with these stay-at-home orders.
Those who are still working may be feeling the anxiety of carrying that disease home to loved ones.
The rest of us who can stay home should to decrease the likelihood of the others carrying it to their homes.
But it’s not easy.
Let us recall God’s remedy for such times of isolation.
Take care of your physical needs—eat, sleep, get dress, bathe, establish a daily routine to help you feel normal.
Remember your purpose—if you can’t find a purpose, remember that God is always there He seeks true worshipers to worship Him (John 4:23); and let’s not forget the purpose statements of Christ we studied some months ago!
Find a task or a job—while we might have a purpose, it’s helpful to have a task or a job to help carry out that purpose. Ask someone what can be done, and if that falls through, find something.
And remember that you are not alone—as long as you are in Christ, you will always have someone there with you.
I pray that this can help you while we are in these uncharted waters.
But you know, the only sure way to know you’re not alone is to become a Christian.
Make sure that you are in fellowship with Christ!