Daily devotion: When depression falls.
1 Kings 19:4
“But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”
There are moments in life when discouragement seems to press in on every side. At times, this discouragement becomes so heavy that we feel our hope slipping away.
Elijah—whom we often regard as a mighty prophet of God—experienced exactly this. After one of the greatest victories recorded in Scripture, when God used him to defeat the prophets of Baal on Mt. Carmel and reveal Himself as the one true God, Elijah found himself utterly overwhelmed. Just days after that triumph, he was running for his life, convinced he had failed, and sank so deeply into despair that he asked God to take his life.
From the outside, none would have viewed Elijah as a failure. But discouragement does not always listen to reason; it magnifies fear, isolates the heart, and blinds us to God’s faithfulness.
Yet God did not leave Elijah under the juniper tree. Instead, He revealed His glory, renewed His servant, and reminded Elijah that his life and ministry were far from over. God still had work for him to do—purpose, direction, and victory lay ahead.
So when discouragement descends like a dark cloud, and you feel as though you are walking in Elijah’s sandals as he fled into the wilderness, remember this:
God is not finished with you.
He is the One who lifts the weary, restores the discouraged, and redirects the servant who feels lost.
As He did with Elijah, so He will do with you—strengthen you, steady you, and set you back on the path He has prepared.
“And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way…” (1 Kings 19:15)
God had another assignment ready for Elijah.
And He has one ready for you too.