From the Outside — In

There may be one of several things that come to your mind when you hear the phrase “rock bottom.” The 2015 song by Hailee Steinfeld might be recognized by one generation while another may think of the 1999 Eminem hit of the same name. For a different audience, your mind may go to the finishing move of Dwayne the Rock Johnson. For all of us, we at some point will hit this preverbal place in our lives, our lowest possible point.

In 1 Kings: 19 4–14 we read the story of God’s prophet Elijah hitting this place in his life. Immediately after coming down from Mt. Carmel where he defeated the Prophets of Baal in dramatic fashion Elijah feels alone and fearful. So much so that he asks God to take his life. In this suicidal state God ministers and restores Elijah giving insight to each of us for when we find ourselves at the end of our rope. This story of Elijah shows us when we hit rock bottom, we can rest on the rock of ages.

God first addresses the physical needs of Elijah. A study in 2020 from the University of Otago found for the 1,100 adults surveyed, “Depressive symptoms were lowest for young adults who slept an average of 9.7 hours per night, and feelings of well-being were highest for those who slept for eight hours per night.” In the passage, we just read God addresses Elijah’s needs by having him sleep, eat food and drink water. This illustrates the truth, you can’t ignore your body and expect to feel good. In the Apostle John’s third letter in chapter one and verse two, he greets them with a prayer for their health. Why does scripture…