When Discouragement Ambushes You: What Elijah and Lincoln Teach Us About Moving Forward

In 1841, a young Illinois lawyer told a friend, ‘I am the most miserable man living.’ Abraham Lincoln’s depression never left him, but he found a way to move past it. His secret? The same prescription given to a prophet 2,800 years earlier.

Discouragement defines itself. Courage flees like water evaporating in July heat.

So how do we meet discouragement when it ambushes us?

A Man Under a Broom Tree

In 1 Kings, we meet a mighty prophet facing his darkest hour.

Elijah faced down one of the most evil women to ever live, Jezebel.

He emerged victorious.

But when chapter 19 opens, Jezebel has vowed his death and rearranged her henchmen to make it happen.

So Elijah flees 150 miles on foot. Tired and trembling, he sits under a desert broom tree.

He tells God, “Let me die now.”

The Whisper

An angel attends to him. Elijah was physically spent—the angel fed him and let him rest.

God asked, “What are you doing here?”

Elijah’s voice rasped with bitterness. The people are unfaithful. They’ve torn down altars and murdered prophets.

Then, his problem surfaces:

“I, even I only, am left, and they seek my life to take it away.”

His focus narrowed to himself| his needs, his threats, and his fear.

God came, not in a cataclysm but in a small still voice.

God prescribed a prescription for all who feel the depth of discouragement.

Do One Small Thing

God’s first prescription was simple.  God didn’t send him back to face down Jezebel. It was something simple.

Instead, anoint a new king in Syria and a new king in Israel.

Find new leaders. Anoint them and let God unfold a new plan.

We grow anxious when we turn over problems in our minds. Taxes. Kids and school. Job uncertainty. Like spiritual termites, they eat away our internal peace.

Instead of ruminating, ask  “What could I do about this situation?” Select the smallest option. Write an email or text a person. Make a phone call.

When we move into action, we feel progress.

When my father died unexpectedly one Christmas, overwhelm overshadowed grief. I needed to settle his estate. I did one thing. I listed everything needing done.

Draw a Larger Circle

Elijah’s problem? The “only I” syndrome. He had drawn a circle around his feet and let no one in.

God told him to find Elisha, a helper and a protégé.

Elijah enlarged his ministry.

And Elijah elongated his ministry. When the fiery chariot came for him, the work went on.

Ask What You’re Missing

When the pronoun “I” gets large, reality shrinks. So God tells the “only I” Elijah something he needed to hear.

I have 7000 faithful prophets. You are not alone.”

Elijah needed God to show him what he couldn’t see.

And we need that as well.

Find a friend, explain your plight, and ask: “What am I missing?”

Lincoln never escaped his ‘black dog’ of depression. But like Elijah, he learned to take small steps, surround himself with capable people (his ‘team of rivals’), and see beyond his own limitations. These practices didn’t cure his melancholy—they enabled him to preserve a nation despite it.

Discouragement paralyzes us by narrowing our vision to ourselves. The cure isn’t positive thinking—it’s expanding outward through action, community, and perspective.

Right now, you’re discouraged about something. Name it. What’s one small action you could take today? Who could you call to expand your circle? What might you be missing that a friend could help you see?

Don’t wait for the discouragement to lift. Like Elijah, like Lincoln, move through it—one task, one person, one new perspective at a time.

That’s how courage returns.