Life Ministries

The Elijah Complex – (One of my favorite mini-sermons)
Please read - 1 Kings 19:1-14 and Philippians 4:4-9

    This is by far one of my favorite portions of scripture. Previous to this text of course, is the story of Elijah’s challenge to the prophets of Baal on Mount Carmel. Elijah was a prophet chosen by God to bring God’s judgment on the Northern kingdom of Israel because of the sins of Ahab the king and his wife Jezebel, who had ordered the killing of the prophets and priests of God. Elijah announces a 3 and a half year drought, which of course brings along with it famine in the land. Then Elijah calls for a “show-down” on Mount Carmel with the prophets of Baal. He challenges them to a test of their gods by building an altar and placing a bull on it; They were to call upon their god, and the “god that answers by fire” will be God. The people thought that was a good idea…So, the prophets of Baal went first. They sang and danced and cried and wailed around their altar for most of the day…with Elijah taunting them, and of course, there was no response from Baal or Asherah.

    Elijah then has the people pour water all over his altar of wood…three times no less, he prays and God answers by fire – burning up the wood, the bull, the water and even the stones! The people confessed that the “Lord is God” with all the insincerity they could muster… Then Elijah prays again, and finally the rain comes. What a physical, emotional, and spiritual high for Elijah.
    Elijah runs ahead of Ahab’s chariot all the way to Jezreel, probably thinking to himself “Boy, old Jezebel must be long gone or dead by now. Surely God zapped her too!”  But, it says that when they got there, Ahab told Jezebel everything that “Elijah” had done…not God…it was all Elijah’s doing!  This just makes Jezebel all the madder and determined to take Elijah’s life as well. At the sound of her threats, Elijah heads for the hills!
    The question is “How could Elijah go from such a high to such a low in such a short time?”…I call it the “Elijah Complex”. The Elijah complex is what happens when we lose all sense of God’s presence, protection and provision for our lives… and we suddenly feel forsaken, hopeless, and depressed. Worry and fear set in, and our thought pattern turns sour.
    There is a principle truth in God’s Word that is that our thoughts - what is going on in our mind - controls our emotions, and those two working together control our actions.
    I want to give you some of the “thought patterns” that can cause us to have the “Elijah complex” and some positive steps we can take to improve our perspective.
Thought pattern #1. – Our problem appears bigger than God. For some reason, at this point in Elijah’s life, Jezebel appeared bigger and more powerful than God. He lost his perspective of God when he heard the words of Jezebel “by this time tomorrow, I’m going to lop off your head!” Then Satan put the problem under a microscope, magnified it in Elijah’s mind…like he always does with every problem in our life…and, to Elijah, Jezebel looked like a scene from “The Attack Of The Fifty-Foot Woman!”  Romans 12:2 says that we are to be “transformed by the renewing of our minds”… When we get our eyes off of Christ and our problem becomes bigger than God, we need to change our thought pattern.
Thought pattern #2 – We see ourselves as the only one with a problem. Elijah made the statement; “I,m the only one left”… When we are focused on our problem, everyone else seems to be O.K. Or, if they have problems, theirs is never as big as ours. But, because it helps to know that we are not alone, God told Elijah that there were 7,000 in Israel going through the same fear for their lives.
Thought pattern #3 – We lose hope or feel hopeless. The irony of this whole story is that Elijah feared for his life; yet he prayed for God to take his life; and in the end, he never died… Depressing thought patterns will always rob us of hope for the future. We can’t see past the problem of the day… Let me give you a little test to see if you are still with me on this; “When I am happy, I have been thinking _______thoughts? When I am sad, I have been thinking _____ thoughts? And when I am angry, I have been thinking ____ thoughts? If I am depressed, I have been thinking _______thoughts?  It is so profoundly simple, it’s simply profound. Our thoughts will always affect our emotions, and the two together will affect our actions like a caboose follows a locomotive.
    Philippians 4:8 tells us “Whatever is true; whatever is noble; right; pure; lovely; admirable; if anything is excellent or praiseworthy, think about such things.” It has been scientifically proven that things like joy and laughter release dolphins in our brain…I’m sorry, that’s (endorphins) in our brain that correct the chemical imbalance caused by depression. Although God didn’t explain to us the medical reasons for rejoicing, how often does it appear in scripture?...a lot!
    We can see whatever we want to see in our circumstances. “Two boys were raised in the home of an alcoholic father. As young men they each went their separate ways. Years later they were sought out by a psychologist who was analyzing the effects of alcohol on children. One turned out to be just like his father. The young man responded “What would you expect with a father like mine?”… The other boy had never taken a drink, and when asked why? He responded; “What would you expect with a father like mine?”  It’s not what we go through that determines who or what we are; It’s how we respond to our circumstances that determines who or what we are! We can be a victim or we can be a victor…determined by our thought patterns.
    So what are some thought patterns that will improve or change our perspective in life?
1. James 4:8 says “Draw near to God, and He will draw near to you”. We need to come to God in times of need, and not run away.
2. Phil. 4:4 says “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say rejoice!”…We need to get those dolphins moving!  Have a good laugh!  To someone who is depressed that may be like asking a man with a broken leg to dance, but it is one of the main factors of a healthy and healed life.
3. Reach out and help someone. People who are depressed or worried because of some problem, are consumed with thoughts of themselves and their problem. We need to get our minds off ourselves and help someone else.
    In those times when we find ourselves slipping into the Elijah complex, we just need to do something to change our perspective. When Moses sent the spies into the promised land, all of them viewed the same circumstances, the same land, the same problems… Ten chose to focus on the size of the giants…Two chose to focus on the size of their God!  The next time you are faced with a problem, which will you choose?
    There is a great promise at the end of those “think on these things” verses of Philippians; Paul says “and the peace of God will guard your HEART and your MIND”… It “transcends our understanding” and will have an effect on our actions.