October 19, 2022 –
From a total victory on Mount Carmel, where Elijah faced 850 prophets of Baal and called down fire from Heaven, Elijah flees from Queen Jezebel’s death threats. He becomes scared and depressed and makes his way to Mount Horeb.
Upon his arrival, God greets him with a question, “What are you doing here?” In his answer, Elijah pours out his woes: “I’ve done your work, but now everyone’s turned against you, and I’m the only one left who still worships you.” At this moment, The Old Testament prophet Elijah experienced an instance of feeling self-indulgently sorry for himself and engaged in a pity party.
When you find yourself alone and facing fear, these four principles may help you through the wind, earthquake, and fire and give you God’s reassurance as a still, small voice of encouragement.
- STEP AWAY AND GET A REALITY CHECK
When left in a negative state, we see problems more significant than they are, overreact, and imagine things in a situation that doesn’t exist. This causes the pain to snowball and becomes worse.
- LOOK FOR A POSITIVE AND FOCUS ON IT
When facing bad news, focusing on something positive will not be easy. Try to shift your thinking away from the negative to a situation that has gone well, favorable events, or something that has brought you joy and happiness in the past.
- LOOK PAST THE SITUATION
Try to imagine what it will be like in one year, five years, or ten years from now, looking back on this time. Doing this will help you focus on doing the hard work you need to get through a crisis, while it will provide the perspective that this problem is only one thing in your ongoing life.
- ASK FOR AND ACCEPT HELP
This is the time to reach out and ask for help if you have a strong support network. Knowing when we need help and asking for it is a sign of strength, not weakness. We feel good when we can help others, so let others experience that same feeling by being able to help us in difficult times.