Clergy/Leaders’ Mail-list No. 1-151 (Sermon)

STRESS RELIEF FOR PROPHETS (AND OTHERS) 1 Kings 19:1-18

by Rod Benson

Did you see the television news yesterday [October 14, 1995], where the captain of a trawler ran onto a sandbar on [Queensland’s] Sunshine Coast, because he fell asleep at the wheel? While he was being interviewed, he was suffering embarrassment, but when he fell asleep, he was probably suffering the effects of stress, and perhaps other ailments as well.

Dr Kenneth Greenspan, Director of the Center of Stress Related Disorders at New York’s Presbyterian Hospital, claims that stress now contributes to 90 per cent of all diseases, and that about half of all visits to doctors are stress-related. Stress is universal. It is not possible to live a normal life without experiencing stress.

Stress occurs as we relate to our environment, and our brain tells our body to respond: adrenalin is pumped into our bloodstream, blood is diverted from various organs to our brain and muscles, our pupils dilate, making our vision more acute, our hands and feet perspire (observe my wife Michelle’s response when I drive too fast for the road conditions!), breathing and heart-rate increase, we’re on red alert! Stress has been described as “hurry sickness” – a defining feature of the age in which we live.

As I said, some stress is good. We call this “eustress,” a response associated with feelings of joy, fulfilment, achievement. But there is also “distress” – bad stress – where our stress is prolonged or too frequent. And sometimes, often unknown to us, we cross over an invisible threshold, and do damage to ourselves and to others by passing beyond our body’s stress limits. And in some situations this will lead to what is commonly known as “burnout.”

Now you might think that, with its positive message, the Bible would characterise God’s servants as winners, men and women who always got it right, who were focussed, balanced, and never went beyond their stress limits. But in reality, it’s just the opposite. The Bible portrays real people in real situations, who struggle with the same sorts of problems and issues and pressures that we have. Elijah, a prophet of God who lived in Israel about 700 BC, was just such a person.

We pick up the story in 1 Kings 19. In ch 18 Elijah trounces the prophets of Baal, winning a personal victory, a spiritual victory, and a political victory, but at great expense to his emotional and psychological wellbeing. So in chapter 19 we find him afraid and running away from his problems, with the queen issuing a threat to kill him, continued opposition from Israel’s leaders, and little indication that lasting religious reforms will bring his people back to God.

Elijah exhibited symptoms of both stress and burnout in these two chapters: he is exhausted, afraid, manically depressive, wishing death on himself, he has lost his appetite, he is unable to manage his daily life or his divine calling, he wallows in self-pity, and he remains unmoved even when God visits him!

Elijah’s lowest emotional point comes immediately after his greatest public victory. He has unrealistically high expectations of himself (v. 4b). He fails to maintain his physical energy (vv. 5-6 – did he have an ulcer?). In his distress he takes God for granted (v. 6 – ignorant of angel, miracle).

But God comes to the rescue. He meets Elijah in that far-off dark cave of loneliness and demoralisation (v. 9). He restores Elijah’s sense of identity and worth (vv. 9b, 13b – “he knows my name!”). He gives Elijah a renewed sense of purpose, hope, focus and competence (vv. 15-18).

A certain level of stress is good for us, but too much can cause damage or even destroy us. We need to be aware of the external factors that contribute to stress overload, and be able to do something to reduce or remove the bad stress from our lives, so we don’t get into the kind of situation that faced Elijah.

I want to suggest seven ways to reduce stress in our busy lives, drawn from the narrative of 1 Kings 19:

1. get enough exercise and sleep (vv 5, 6b) 2. take regular time off your work (not like Elijah! – v 3) 3. learn to relax in stressful situations (v 4 – Elijah was not relaxed) 4. find fresh spiritual disciplines (vv 9, 12f – meditation, prayer?) 5. find a mentor to talk with (Elijah had Gehazi, but left him behind, v 3). 6. reassess your goals, attitudes (vv 4, 9 (God asks question), 10) 7. learn to have fun (v 21 – also, fiery chariot to heaven, 2 Kg 2:11)

And in everything, remember that God wants you and me to live productive and joyful lives, to keep moving forward at a reasonable pace, and he walks beside us every step of the journey!

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E033 Copyright (c) 2001 Rod Benson. Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: New International Version (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1980).

You can contact Rev Rod Benson by e-mail at <>. To subscribe direct to his weekly sermons, e-mail him with “subscribe” in the subject.

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