If you are like me, you have probably experienced it. God blesses you with a victory, a great ministry experience, or a special time of experiencing the Lord’s favor. Then…the crash. It is hard to believe you can go from such a high, spiritual moment to some sort of pit of despair. But it happens. Have you been there?

Well, you are in good company. Great people of the Bible dealt with such things, too. David, and Elijah, just to name two prominent ones.

Sometimes the despair is self-inflicted, like with David. Psalm 40 is David’s account of what he experienced, probably after his affair with Bathsheba, and the subsequent orchestrated death of her husband Uriah.

I waited patiently for the Lord to help me,

and he turned to me and heard my cry.

He lifted me out of the pit of despair,

out of the mud and the mire.

He set my feet on solid ground

and steadied me as I walked along.

Psalm 40:1-2 NLT

Elijah the prophet experienced a crash after his amazing experience on Mount Carmel, humiliating the four hundred priests of Baal and seeing God rain down fire from heaven. Elijah probably felt that was the pinnacle of his ministry. How do you follow that? That kind of thinking can lead to despair and discouragement.

My friend Richard Blackaby writes about this and relates it to the life of Elijah in his book Living Out of the Overflow.

“People need to believe their life has a purpose. When we are young, our youthful vigor and imagination foster eager anticipation. As time passes, our failures humble us. Enemies’ attacks wound us. Disappointment by friends hardens us. It dawns on us that there are more years behind us than ahead of us…. Awakening each morning with nothing to inspire us is demoralizing.”

In Elijah’s case, he dismissed his servants, thinking his ministry days were over. He took himself off the field of service to the Lord. But God wasn’t through with him yet.

Blackaby notes that in reading the story in 1 Kings 19, God didn’t chastise Elijah. He knew his servant’s heart. And second, the Lord didn’t let Elijah wallow in self-pity. God told His prophet to get up and go. The Lord had another assignment for His servant.

There are some good lessons to draw from this small segment of Elijah’s life and from King David. If, after a spiritual victory, you find yourself down in spirit and in the pit of depression, don’t just sit there and do nothing. David cried out to the Lord. Those verses we shared a moment ago tell how God responded to David’s cry. And verse three explains the result:

He has given me a new song to sing,

a hymn of praise to our God.

Many will see what he has done and be amazed.

They will put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40:3 NLT

Our despair can be turned into the Lord’s victory in the life of others.

In the case of Elijah, God’s new responsibilities included naming Elisha as his successor. This important assignment allowed Elijah, in Richard Blackaby’s words, “…to touch the future.”

Isn’t that just like our Lord? He can take our moments of depression and despair and turn them into life-changing moments if we will listen to His voice and follow through with His assignment.

No… God isn’t through with you yet!

God’s best,