Community and Fellowship

We read in Kings 19:1-21 today at church. Elijah wanted to disappear because Jezebel put a hit out on him. He thought that the Jews had given up on him and God. He gave in to fear and the offshoots of fear: hoplessness, despair and depression. He wanted to isolate himself and be alone with his self pity.

As a person who has struggled with depression all my life I totally understand this desire. But it is not God's will for my life, nor was it His will for Elijah. God got his attention with a huge wind and an earthquake. Then when he was listening, God spoke to him in a quiet voice. He told Elijah that He wanted him to go back without fear and that he was to anoint 3 people to help him. God told him that there were 7,000 who were still faithful. Doesn't fear and depression make us exaggerate how things really are?

God has designed us for fellowship and community. If we have fellowship, others can offer us sympathy, empathy and encouragement. They can compensate for "soul fatigue" and lift us out of fear, anxiety and lack of vitality. God's answer for Elijah's soul fatigue was to rest and eat, rest and eat, then get up and go on a mission that God laid out for him. He was cured by obeying and doing. We need to put feet and hands to our prayers. Galatians 6:10

Fellowship will motivate our walk with God. We must be still and listen to what the Lord wants for our lives. If we choose our own way, we often come back battered down. We KNOW when we are on God's path for our lives--it feels right.

True community is: 1. love for others John 13:35
2. interdependence Phillipians 1:27

We need one another.