The power of bread, water, and rest.
I’m an international kid. You wouldn’t know it to see me running errands, playing with my kids at the park, or serving at church on Sunday morning, but I grew up nearly five thousand miles away as a missionary kid on the campus of the Christian international K-12 school in Japan where my parents taught. This makes me a Third Culture Kid, or TCK, which is a unique cultural identity created when a child grows up in a culture different from that of either of her parents.
In my particular childhood, I experienced a complicated yet isolating blend of close-knit community and cultural intensity that brought to bear both the beauty and limitations of the faith tradition that surrounded me. This community loved me deeply and fostered my faith, but also created some of the triggers for the mental health issues I have struggled with, and in its eagerness to be a witness to the culture surrounding it, did not leave space for me to process those triggers.
Elijah’s Mental Health Crisis
When I was eight, a best friend left on a yearlong home assignment, sparking a sense of upheaval in me that lingered. By my teenage years, I found myself drowning in clinical depression, with no spiritual language to talk about my experience and ears full of advice to pray more, have faith, and express joy.
Years later, I came across the story of Elijah in 1 Kings 19, and it struck me so clearly. Here was a biblical character, a prophet, one of God’s own chosen, who seemed as burned out, despondent, and unable to get out of bed as I often felt. But God’s response to Elijah was unlike any I had ever encountered in my faith community. Instead of offering platitudes about faith, joy, or being a witness in his suffering, God provided Elijah with a caring, simple presence. The angel doesn’t scold Elijah for needing rest or for feeling despondent. Instead, the angel bakes him bread, provides water, and offers an opportunity to sleep.
How would it impact the church if we were to follow God’s example and focus on meeting people’s immediate needs with empathy rather than rushing to spiritual prescriptions?
The angel comes a second time—and still gives none of the advice I was expecting. This time, the angel not only bakes Elijah bread but also confirms that this experience is too much for him. Elijah is never told to find a silver lining or that his suffering brings God glory. He is simply cared for. His physical needs are met until he has regained enough strength to begin the work of unpacking his emotions. Then the word of the Lord comes to him and simply asks, “What are you doing here, Elijah?” (1 Kings 19:9). Elijah replies with a somewhat melodramatic retelling of events, conveniently leaving out the spectacular victory on Mount Carmel, where God dramatically demonstrated God’s power and “all the people” worshiped God (1 Kings 18:39). Rather, he focuses on the events before and after that moment of victory: the idolatry of Israel beforehand and the threat against his life afterward.
Yet even in the midst of this existential crisis, God does not reprimand Elijah for his lack of faith, for surrendering to despair, or for giving in to his physical need for rest. God makes Elijah aware of God’s presence with him, and then answers his distress by giving him instructions that effectively immerse him in community with other believers.
This encounter demonstrates that even those closest to God can experience mental health crises.
The way God responds to Elijah offers us profound insights that are relevant to our modern mental health challenges:
God meets us in our despair—and the church can too.
God’s response to Elijah’s crisis is gentle, understanding, and compassionate. The angel comes not to criticize but to care, offering Elijah food and urging him to eat and rest, saying, “Get up and eat, for the journey is too much for you” (1 Kings 19:7). Here we see that God understands our human limitations and does not expect us to handle everything on our own. In this moment, God acknowledges that Elijah’s work has been challenging and exhausting and meets his physical needs first.
This gentle response is a reminder that God is compassionate in our moments of exhaustion and weakness. Rather than placing unrealistic demands on our faith or resilience, God provides what we need—physically, mentally, and spiritually—so that we can find renewal. How would it impact the church if we were to follow God’s example and focus on meeting people’s immediate needs with empathy rather than rushing to spiritual prescriptions?
Rest and renewal are vital.
For everyone engaged in ministry or Christian living, recognizing our limits and allowing ourselves to rest is essential. Elijah’s story reveals that God does not demand that we perform on empty. Rather, God provides for Elijah’s needs, allowing him the space to regain his strength before continuing his work. This intentional, grace-filled period of rest underscores that God values our well-being over our productivity.
In our fast-paced world, we may often feel guilty for stepping back to rest, but Elijah is a powerful reminder that rest is not only permitted but necessary for sustaining our calling. By allowing God to meet our needs in these times, we can ultimately serve more effectively.
The myth of isolation.
One of the most powerful aspects of this story is Elijah’s sense of isolation. He believes he is utterly alone in his faith, saying, “I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me too” (1 Kings 19:10). Many of us recognize this feeling of loneliness, so often a part of depression and burnout. In the grip of despair, we can feel as though no one else understands, that no one else shares our burden. Elijah’s experience echoes the loneliness many feel today amid the mental health crisis our society faces.
Yet God counters Elijah’s isolation, revealing that 7,000 faithful believers are still in Israel. In this, we are reminded of the importance of community. We are not alone in our struggles, even though it can often feel that way. Just as God placed Elijah back into a community of believers, the church can serve as a refuge and support for those facing mental health challenges. When we are in crisis, we can lean on the community around us; at other times, we may be called to be that source of comfort for others.
An invitation to authenticity and vulnerability.
In a world that often runs at an unsustainable pace, this passage invites us to pause and reflect on our own experiences of burnout, weariness, and isolation. God’s response to Elijah teaches us that divine compassion meets us exactly where we are. It’s a message that challenges both individuals and faith communities to create space for authenticity and vulnerability, to care for one another’s needs, and to be reminders of God’s unfailing presence amid our struggles.
Elijah’s journey is a testament to the fact that God does not abandon us in our weakness or insist that we find joy before offering relief. Instead, God meets us in our exhaustion, providing what we need and preparing us gently for what lies ahead. Scripture calls us to embrace this same compassion for ourselves and for each other as we face life’s inevitable hardships. Through this love, we find hope that even when we are at our lowest, God is with us, ready to nourish, restore, and guide us forward.
This article was first published in the Covenant Companion Winter 2025 issue, the official magazine of the Evangelical Covenant Church.
