Renewing Your Mind (Victory Series Book #4): Become More Like Christ (12 page)

1 Kings 19:1–18

Key Point

Believing the enemy’s lies after a mountaintop experience will lead you to a place God has not called you.

Key Verse

Elijah was afraid and ran for his life.

1 Kings 19:3

E
lijah was truly a man of God. He had just witnessed God display His power against the prophets of Baal (see 1 Kings 18:16–45). When Jezebel heard of it, she sent a messenger to Elijah who said, “May the gods deal with me, be it ever so severely, if by this time tomorrow I do not make your life like that of one of them” (19:2). This incredible man of God was afraid and ran for his life. He left his servant in Beersheba and went a day’s journey into the desert. Then he cried out in despair, “I have
had enough, L
ORD
. . . take my life; I am no better than my ancestors” (verse 4). Then he lay down and went to sleep.

Elijah was exhibiting many of the classic signs of depression. He was afraid, fatigued, felt like a helpless failure, and was isolated and all alone. That can easily happen after a mountaintop experience. Brimming with confidence and flushed with victory, Elijah suddenly found himself vulnerable. Confidence in God can easily turn to self-confidence when we let our guard down. God in His mercy prescribed some food and rest for His discouraged warrior. “All at once an angel touched him and said, ‘Get up and eat.’ He looked around, and there by his head was a cake of bread baked over hot coals, and a jar of water” (verses 5–6).

We can become depressed when our electrolytes are depleted and our bodies are malfunctioning for lack of nutrition, as was probably the case for Elijah. God addressed these deficiencies by prescribing food and rest. Our mental health is dependent on a proper balance of rest, exercise, and diet. In addition, Elijah was probably suffering from post-adrenal exhaustion. Our adrenal glands respond to stress by secreting cortisone into our bloodstream. If the stress becomes too great, our adrenal glands can’t keep up. Stress becomes distress, and our system breaks down. This often happens to driven people who work until they collapse in exhaustion and depression.

However, the precipitating cause of Elijah’s depression was not physical. This faithful servant had always been obedient to God. Now the Lord asked him twice, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (verses 9, 13). Elijah replied, “I have been very zealous for the Lord God Almighty. The Israelites have rejected your covenant, torn 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” (verse 10). Elijah ran because he believed a lie, not because God sent him into the wilderness. Further, Elijah wasn’t the only one left—there were 7,000 others who had not bowed their knees to Baal (see verse 18).

God was not asking Elijah (or us) to establish His kingdom program or bring judgment on those who had not kept His covenant. He was asking Elijah (and us) to trust Him and follow where He led. He will bring judgment and establish His kingdom in His way and in His timing—it is neither for us to decide nor accomplish. Although Elijah was zealous for
God’s work, he was wrong to assume sole responsibility for getting the job done. Those who buy into the Elijah complex are vulnerable to the enemy’s lies and may end up mentally depressed and physically exhausted.

Review the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19:1–18. What led to Elijah’s fleeing in fear and his subsequent state of despair?

What was wrong with Elijah’s thinking?

What is post-adrenal exhaustion and what are the treatments?

Jezebel’s curse was a lie and curses can have no effect on us unless we believe them. What curses/lies have led you to run like Elijah?

How have you bought into the Elijah complex and attempted to take on God’s responsibility?

For God delivers us from afflictions not when we are no longer afflicted . . . (Paul says “we are afllicted in every way,” as though there were never a time when we were not afflicted), but when in our affliction we are not crushed because of God’s help. “To be afflicted,” according to a colloquial usage of the Hebrews, has the meaning of a critical circumstance that happens to us without our free choice, while “to be crushed” implies our free choice and that it has been conquered by affliction and given into its power. And so Paul is right when he says, “We are afflicted in every way but not crushed.”

Origen (AD 184–253)

John 5:1–18

Key Point

The key to any cure is commitment.

Key Verse

I say these things while I am still in the world, so that they may have the full measure of my joy within them.

John 17:13

A
psychosomatic illness is one caused by a mental state, and more people are sick for that reason than any other. At the heart of psychosomatic illness is the soul, and that can be restored. “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day” (2 Corinthians 4:16). In other words, there is hope if you turn to God and assume your responsibility. How do you do this?

First,
commit yourself
to complete recovery
. The key to any cure is commitment. Decide to believe that you can do all things through Christ who strengthens you (see Philippians 4:13), and then do it. You can’t look for somebody else to cure you, or blame someone else for your lack of follow-through.

Second,
commit yourself to pray first about everything
. The old nature will seek every possible natural explanation and cure first. Jesus told us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and “all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33). The first thing believers should do about anything is pray.

Third,
commit yourself to having
an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father
. This requires repentance and faith in God. You can resolve your personal and spiritual conflicts by going through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. To be mentally healthy, you must have a true understanding of who God is and be rightly related to Him.

Fourth,
commit yourself as a child of God
. Don’t think that doctors and hospitals take care of the body and the Church takes care of the soul. You need a wholistic answer or psychosomatic illnesses will never get treated. The second basic standard for mental health is to have a biblical understanding of who you are in Christ and to know what it means to be a child of God. You cannot consistently feel or behave in a way that is inconsistent with what you believe about yourself.

Fifth,
commit your body to God
. If the previous four steps do not cure your psychosomatic illness, then consult a medical doctor for a complete physical examination. There are many forms of biological depression that can be diagnosed and treated. Disorders of the endocrine system can produce symptoms of depression. These include the possibility of low blood sugar, malfunctioning pituitary gland, adrenal exhaustion, and problems related to the female reproductive system. Work toward a proper balance of nutrition, exercise, and diet. At this stage, medication may be necessary to cure the body.

Sixth,
commit yourself to the renewing of
your mind
. Mental depression stems from a negative view of yourself, your circumstances, and the future. These false perceptions can only be overcome as you are transformed by the renewing of your mind (see Romans 12:2) and by choosing to believe the truth (see Philippians 4:6–9).

Seventh,
commit yourself to
good behavior
. Make realistic plans to be involved with your family and church members. Live a responsible life by following through on your commitments. Schedule meaningful activities and exercise.

Finally,
commit yourself to overcome every loss, whether real, imagined, or
threatened
. Be aware that abstract losses such as reputation, social standing, and friendships are harder to identify. You can choose to overcome every loss by deepening your walk with God, reaffirming who you really are in Christ, growing in character, and by developing a more Christian lifestyle.

Why are so many people ill today because of lifestyle and psychosomatic reasons?

Why is commitment so essential to overcome psychosomatic illnesses?

Why is it critical for healing to have a proper understanding of who you are in Christ and have an intimate relationship with your heavenly Father?

What lifestyle changes do you need to make in order to live a healthy life?

Are you willing to assume your responsibility for your health and to take whatever steps it takes to be mentally and emotionally healthy? Why or why not?

A man who has his own interest at heart will therefore be especially concerned for his soul and will spare no pains to keep it stainless and true to itself. If his body is wasted by hunger or by its struggles with heat and cold, if it is afflicted by illness or suffers violence from anyone, he will pay little attention to it, and echoing the words of Paul, he will say in each of his adversities: “But though our outward man is corrupted, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.” . . . But, if a man would also have mercy upon his body as being a possession necessary to the soul and its cooperator in carrying on the life on earth, he will occupy himself with its needs only so far as is required to preserve it and keep it vigorous by moderate care in the service of the soul.

Basil the Great (AD 330–379)

Do You Want to Get Well?

There are three types of people who cannot be helped. The first are those who will not acknowledge they have a problem or realize their need for God. The second are those who know they are in trouble, but their pride won’t let them ask for the help they need. Their self-sufficiency is keeping them from finding their sufficiency in Christ. God has a way of bringing such people to the end of their resources, like the overly confident Paul who had to be struck down before he found his sufficiency in Christ (see 2 Corinthians 1:8–10).

The third type are those who really don’t want to get well. Such was the case of the man who was an invalid for 38 years. He would lie by the pool of Bethesda, where the blind, the lame, and the paralyzed came to be healed. Supposedly, an angel would come and stir the waters, and whoever was in it at the time was healed. The Lord asked him, “Do you want to get well?” (John 5:6). That was a profound question, not a cruel one. The invalid answered with an excuse. There was no one to put him in the water, or someone always got in ahead of him! This man showed no faith in God, but the Lord in His sovereignty chose to heal him anyway. Jesus warned him to stop sinning, for the eternal consequences of sin were far worse than his physical ailment. To show his gratitude, the man turned Him in for healing him on the Sabbath!

Jesus took away the man’s excuse and probably his source of income through begging. Such people have a built-in excuse for not rising above the circumstances. Their illness solicits attention and pity from others. If the invalid really wanted to get well, he would have found a way to get into that pool. Those who want to get well should make whatever commitment it takes to overcome their infirmities. If we have to swallow our pride and humble ourselves, we do it. If we have to submit to a process that trusted people advise us to take, we do it. If we have to give up an unrighteous lifestyle, we do it. If we have to ask others to forgive us, we do it. If we need to forgive others, we do it. If we need to persevere under pressure, we do it.

We do whatever it takes to become the person God created us to be, because Jesus did what it took for us to be alive and free in Him. The test of our character is determined by what it takes to stop us from pursuing our convictions. “We count as blessed those who have persevered” (James 5:11).