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Dr. Tony Evans: It is supernatural when God gives you the ability to keep going when a few minutes ago you were ready to give up.

Guest (Male): Dr. Tony Evans talks about beating discouragement and overcoming the victim mentality.

Dr. Tony Evans: And he brings something in your experience that quickens you, wakes you up so you can get up and keep going.

Guest (Male): This is the alternative broadcast featuring the timeless biblical teachings from the archives of Dr. Tony Evans. There are plenty of treatments for depression, but today Dr. Evans will introduce us to one with nothing but positive side effects, and you don't need a prescription to get it. Let's join him in 1 Kings 19 for today's message.

Dr. Tony Evans: As we continue with the study of the life of Elijah, we want to look at now another kind of supernatural miracle he needed. This was not a miracle that had to do with money and houses and land. This was a miracle that had to do with his need to be lifted out of his depression. Most of us know at least discouragement. But when discouragement continues and elongates itself, discouragement devolves into depression. And when discouragement becomes depression, depression unresolved becomes despair. And when depression becomes despair, that ongoing discouragement produces a sense of hopelessness. You see no way out.

You see that there's going to be no exit sign. There's no way to get around this thing. There's no way to beat this thing. It will not go away. That's our situation today with Elijah. Here is a prophet on steroids. He's got it going on, and he is doing lodge, but in less than 24 hours, his world changes, his life collapses, and in in less than a day, everything is turned around and he is gone from the hilltop, the mountain peak of victory to the valley of despair.

Guest (Male): Yes.

Dr. Tony Evans: Many of us knows that sometime it doesn't take 24 hours for things to turn on you. A pink slip that you didn't anticipate, a person walking out of your life who you were counting on, a diagnosis or a physical ailment that you didn't even know was operating within your body in less than 24 hours. Your need for a miracle has now dumped in your head, and there is a need for a supernatural intervention into your emotional stability and well-being. That's our situation with Elijah. You see, he had an expectation because when we finished chapter 18, he had told Ahab, cheer up, laugh, party, eat and drink cuz it's going to rain.

And Ahab got in the chariot and made his way home. Elijah beat him home by running. Ahab went home and told his wife Jez. Jez, there's this prophet Elijah and he didn't kill 400 of my boys. And he stopped the rain. He brought back the rain. And Jezebel said, I'm going to send a message to Elijah that if you don't get out of town by tomorrow this time, you're a dead man. Now Ahab had a controlling wife, and this wife had taken over when it was Elijah's anticipation that Ahab was going to turn things around.

He didn't know who he was married to. He was married to a lady named Jezebel, and Jezebel was running this show. Jezebel was calling the shot, and Jezebel was telling him, Elijah, you're a dead man. Some of y'all worked for Jezebel. Some of y'all worked with Jezebel. Jezebel is an evil threat that comes your way. It is something or someone who threatens your well-being cuz she threatened by tomorrow this time you going to be dead. And he's trying to figure out now overnight his whole life has changed because somebody has gotten into his head. So what he does is he goes on another day's journey.

The man had run 15 miles. Now he's going to go on a whole another day's journey. He sits under juniper tree verse 4 and he requests for himself that he might die.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Dr. Tony Evans: It is enough now, oh Lord, take my life for I am not better than my fathers. He wants to die 24 hours after the biggest miracle he's seen. This is a fast slippery slope.

Guest (Male): Yeah.

Dr. Tony Evans: Okay, watch this now. Elijah is not a carnal Christian. Elijah is not an unspiritual person. He's been called a man of God. We just saw the hand of the Lord was on him. So guess what? It's possible for spiritual people to get depressed.

Guest (Male): Yes, sir.

Guest (Male): Yes, sir.

Dr. Tony Evans: Depression is not a sign of lack of spirituality. Why would spiritual people get discouraged, depressed into into despair and even get suicidal? Why would that happen to a spiritual people? Because we found out in James 5 that we are of like nature. We're human. And in our flesh and blood, that is in our humanness, we become subject to influences that trigger thoughts in our minds. So you can be spiritual and be down. You can be spiritual and be emotionally struggling through something. So don't automatically feel that your discouragement is due to your carnality. Now if you are carnal and if you are spiritual, then it could very well be related to that.

But it's not automatically related to that specifically in the life of someone who is pursuing God. So he's ready to give up. He's ready to throw in the towel. And when he's ready to throw in the towel, he lays down cuz he's so tired under a juniper tree, which is only a tree big enough for one person to lay under it. And there was an angel touching him and said, arise, eat verse 5. He looked up and behold there at his head a bread cake baked on hot stones, a jar of water, so that he ate and drank and lay down again.

The angel only showed up after Elijah had had an honest conversation with God. You see, he told God, I want to die. He told God, I'm not good as my fathers. He told God, I have nothing left. He told God, I 'm done. And God sent an angel. The reason why a lot of us don't get our angels is cuz we're not honest with God. The angel of the Lord comes in in verse 7 a second time. Arise, eat because your journey is too great for you. Now watch this. So he lets him rest before he lets him continue.

So he arose and ate and drank and went in the strength of the food 40 days and 40 nights to Horeb the mountain of God. That's how you know it's supernatural cuz what he ate lasted in 40 days and 40 nights. See that ain't normal. It is supernatural when God comes through and when God gives you the ability to keep going when a few minutes ago you were ready to give up. And that's how you know God is showing up in your life when you're ready to throw in the towel and he brings something in your experience that quickens you, wakes you up so you can get up and keep going.

And guess where he told him to go to the mountain of God. Okay, watch this now. When you are depressed, many times the last place you want to go is to the mountain of God. The mountain of God means to go in God's presence. That's the last place you want to go. But that's the first place God wants you to run to. He wants you to run to his presence and bring your depression with you. Bring your discouragement with you. He'll give you enough to get to the mountain to get to his presence. So he calls him into his presence.

Now it gets really interesting. Then it came to a cave, lodge there verse 9. And behold the word of the Lord came to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? What are you doing here, Elijah? Now we have a lesson in Christian counseling. Okay, God is now taking the form of a counselor, and he says, what are you doing here, Elijah? Whenever I counsel or anyone of our counselors counsel, we ask why are you here? Now God doesn't have to ask why are you here cuz he doesn't know, cuz he knows why you here.

He knows that you've been frustrated. In fact, he just fed you. But he asked him, why are you here? The reason God asked him, why are you here is not for God to get information. The reason he asked why are you here is for him to fully express what he's dealing with. So what are you dealing with, Elijah? And here's what Elijah says. Elijah says, I have been very zealous for the Lord, for the God of hosts, for the sons of Israel have forsaken your covenant, torn down your altars, killed your prophets with the sword, and I alone am left, and they seek my life to take it away.

Okay, so let's discuss why he's here. Why you in this situation? Why you so depressed? Okay, you ask me God, I'm going to tell you. I committed myself to you. I dedicated myself to you. All them other people are unspiritual. They didn't keep your covenants. They were worshiping those idols. And I'm all here by myself. He has adopted a victim's mentality. A victim's mentality is a mindset that you adopt because of negative circumstances that says, I'm where I am because everybody else is where they are. I'm here by myself cuz none of them are agreeing with you, and that's put me out here by myself, and you got me out here by myself.

That's a victim's mentality. Now you can be a victim, but you are to never adopt a victim's mentality where everybody else is responsible for where you are. A victim's mentality is because of them I'm here. And as long as you have that kind of mentality, you'll always be there. You may be a victim, but you are to never adopt the victim's mentality because then that allows you to put off being responsible to make the change you should make because they're not making the change they should make.

Guest (Male): Dr. Evans will return with an illustration that'll help you see that victim mentality in a different light when he continues in just a moment. First though, I want to make sure you know about our featured resource for this week. It's Dr. Evans' complete six-part sermon series on Elijah. These messages take some of the best known stories from the life of this remarkable prophet and draw out practical lessons for the challenges we face today. From learning to trust God for what we need to dealing with the fears and anxieties that can so easily overwhelm us. We'd like to send you all six full-length lessons in the Elijah series as our thank you gift when you make a contribution to help keep this ministry coming to this station and others like it around the world.

And as an added bonus, we'll also send you a copy of the Prayers for Knowing God book. In it Dr. Evans guides you through more than 50 prayers designed to help you recognize God's attributes and handiwork so you can better understand the plans and desires he has for your life. To request this special double offer, visit tonyevans.org and make your contribution or call our resource center at 1-800-800-3222 and let one of our friendly team members help you. That's 1-800-800-3222. I'll repeat that information after part two of today's lesson and this.

Guest (Female): On the Unbound podcast with Dr. Tony Evans, guests share honest wisdom for navigating doubt and pressure in their faith.

Guest (Male): The Bible feels pouring to us even though it's not because we don't understand it.

Guest (Female): Through their real stories they offer clarity, courage, and truth that meets you where you are.

Guest (Male): The word of God was designed to be relevant.

Guest (Female): Even when understanding takes time.

Guest (Female): Questions are always welcome.

Guest (Female): Unbound with Dr. Tony Evans, listen now.

Guest (Male): You can find the Unbound podcast on all of the major podcast platforms. Well, let's get back to Dr. Evans right now as he continues today's lesson.

Dr. Tony Evans: The cowboys cannot say if it wasn't for them cardinals, we would score. But them cardinals, they keep on getting in our way. Every time we try to throw a pass, they try to steal it. Every time we try to run a few yards, they keep throwing us to the ground. Every time we try to kick a field goal, they try to block it. Shucks, that ain't right. If they would just leave us alone, we would score every time we get the ball. But we got these 11 other guys on the other side of the ball, and they just keep trying to stop us every time we try to go somewhere.

Well, if they adopted that mentality for 3 hours, they would live in defeat because those 11 men are never going to change. They're never going to stop trying to steal the ball, stop trying to block the pass, stop trying to block the kick, stop trying to tackle. They're never going to change. And if you spend all your time on this side of the line trying to get them to change on that side of the line, it's going to be a long day cuz they're never ever going to change. There are some things in your life that are never ever going to change.

Those people are going to change. Those kids not going to change. That mate not going to change. Jezebel's not going to change. Your boss not going to change. The circumstances is not going to change. But if you live for their change, you become their victim. And that's a victim's mentality. No, the cowboys must decide regardless of what they do, we going to huddle to determine what we going to do cuz we going not let what they do determine what we do cuz what we do is go overcome what they do cuz greater is he that's in us than he that's in the world.

That means you're not operating like a victim. Now please don't misunderstand me. You may be a victim. It may be unfair. It may not be right. It may not It may be evil. So you may be a victim, but that's different than adopting the mindset of a victim. And too many of us socially and economically and in this case spiritually have become victims of the devil. If it wasn't for the devil, I wouldn't be here. Well, guess what? He ain't changing. Okay, if it wasn't for them sinners, I wouldn't be stuck here. They not changing.

If it wasn't for this situation, I wouldn't be here. Okay, that may be true, but they may never change. So what are you going to do? So come, tell me why you're here, but don't expect me to just patch you on the back and feel sorry for you because the thing that brought you here may never change. And many of us block the supernatural because we become comfortable as victims. So God says, uh go forth and stand on the mountain before the Lord and behold the Lord passed by and it was a great wind rending the mountain and breaking it into pieces the rocks before the Lord.

But the Lord was not in the wind. There was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake verse 12. He said there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. But after the fire the sound of a gentle blowing. When Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in the mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave, and behold a voice came to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah? Hm. That's a same question. So let's follow this. He asked him a question. He gives him a victim's answer.

He then gives him all these experiences, but he says I want in none of them. I was only in the the blowing breeze. Don't only look for the supernatural in something extraordinary. The supernatural that is the voice and presence of God often shows up in the ordinary. In other words, he wasn't in the fire. He wasn't in the wasn't in the wind. He wasn't in the earthquake. He was in the breeze. He brought him to the mountain of God into a quiet place of his presence. Cuz many of us don't hear God because there are too many other voices we're hearing.

Too many loud things, the wind, the fire, the earthquake. And he says, no, I'm in the breeze. I'm in the nice soft thing that you're getting with my presence. Now why are you here? Well, he says when he heard it, he wrapped his face. He said in verse 14, he says it again, I'm very jealous for the Lord, but the people have forsaken you. I alone am left. They seek to take my life. So guess what God does. You find at the end of verse 3 it says he left his servant behind. So Elijah is by himself because depression gets worse if there's nobody in your life to change your thinking.

See, if you're feeling sorry for yourself and you're talking to yourself, that's a bad conversation for yourself. You you're already feeling sorry and there's nobody to talk to but you, about you, regarding you, to tell you what you ought to do. And you aren't in a place to even hear you correctly and what you are telling you is only related to how you feel, then your discussion with yourself is helping yourself to become worse off about you. So God then enters the picture and tells him, Elijah, tell me how you feel. Stop talking to yourself cuz when you talk to yourself, you were getting depressed, you were suicidal.

Start talking to me. Okay, now I'm going to show you the wind and the rain and all that stuff. Now talk to me again. No no no Elijah, don't talk to yourself cuz you and you aren't getting together with you real good. So y'all talk to me. What depression, discouragement, despair often brings is distorted information. God has to clarify verse 18, yet I will leave 7,000 in Israel, all the knees that have not bowed to Baal, and every mouth that has not kissed him. Now what's his complaint? I'm the only one. God says, there's 7,000 folk like you out there.

It's just you are so psychologically bent right now all you see is you. You don't have the right information. And so what did God's presence in his counseling session do? Give him new data. And then God closes by doing one other thing for him. In verses 19 through 21, he runs into a man named Elisha. At the end of verse 19 says, and Elisha passed over to him and threw his mantle on him. He left the oxen and ran after Elijah. Elisha does. And please let me kiss my father and my mother, then I will follow you.

And he said to him, go back again for what have I done to you? So he returned from following him, took the pair of oxen, sacrificed them, boiled their flesh with the implements and gave it to the people, and they ate. Then he arose and followed Elijah and ministered to him. Cuz sometime when you discouraged, you need somebody with flesh and blood. Sometime talking to God is a spirit out there. He's real, but he's a spirit out there. So guess what God did. God gave him a friend. God God said, look, I'm going to bring somebody in your life who is going to minister to you cuz right now your ministry is been depleted and your get up and go is not there.

So guess what? Now that I have been counseling with you and you brought me into the equation of your victim's mentality, I got somebody I have already set up to bring into your life to minister, to encourage, to lift you up and to bring you out of your depression. God has an angel for you. He's got a person for you. He has himself for you. He gave Elijah all three of those to give him a supernatural experience to lift him out of his depression. And one of the reasons that the church exists is to have people available in your life when you are down who can embrace you, minister to you, lift you up, and he can use you to do the same thing for somebody else because when we are depressed, we need another perspective.

Guest (Male): And we'll hear a closing illustration from Dr. Tony Evans about how to overcome the fear of being eaten alive by the things that threaten us when he wraps up today's message in just a moment. First though, don't miss your opportunity to request this series on the life of Elijah. As I mentioned earlier, you can get all six full-length messages as our thank you gift in a CD album collection, a USB flash drive, or as instantly downloadable audio files. And if you request these messages right away, we'll also include a copy of Tony's empowering book Prayers for Knowing God.

To take advantage of this exclusive offer, all we ask is that you make a donation to help us continue the work of this ministry. Just visit us at tonyevans.org or call us at 1-800-800-3222 where a friendly team member is ready to help you make the arrangements. That's 1-800-800-3222 or online at tonyevans.org. Getting more of God in your life leaves less room for well, different things for different people. On Monday Dr. Evans will tell us about the benefits of making those trade-offs. Right now though, he's back with his final illustration.

Dr. Tony Evans: A father one day was at the zoo with his son. And they were at the lion's cage. And the lion roared. And it terrified the little boy. He took off. The father didn't move. He said, boy, come back here. He said, Daddy, run, run, the lion, the lion. He said, boy, I said come back here. He said, Daddy, the lion, the lion. He said, boy, I told you come back here. He said, but Dad, don't you see the lion? Dad said, no, I'm staring at the cage. When you are discouraged, all you hear is the voice of the lion.

You need somebody in your life who can discuss the cage, who can tell you about the bars, who can tell you that lion has got a big mouth, but he ain't going nowhere cuz he's being held in by something greater. Some of us are being destroyed by Satan. You need somebody who can whisper about the power of God in your life. Somebody is being intimidated by Jezebel, and you need to know from somebody who can see outside of you that greater is he that is in you than Jezebel who is threatening you. You need to be lifted out of your discouragement through honesty with God, through taking care of yourself physically in order to get the rest you need or the help you need and to have somebody in your life who loves you enough and God will love to hook the two together.

When that takes place, you may still get discouraged, but God will lift you out of it because even godly people have to struggle with discouragement.