The biblical stories of saints and sinners are endlessly instructive for people wanting to live meaningful lives in the present, but there is a risk that we will miss what they have to teach us.

The danger is that we will approach these biblical characters with the assumption that they were not like us.  For one thing, they lived thousands of years ago, and weren’t people different then?  And for another, God actually talked to people back then, but he doesn’t talk to us now – at least, not in the same way. 

Very subtly, and without intending to do so, we can remove these people from the sphere of real life. They weren’t like us so, of course, we cannot be like them. It was a different world then, people were different, and God acted differently with them. 

St. James refutes this way of thinking when he says that Elijah, a towering figure among biblical characters, was “a human being like us.” Or, as an older version put it, he “was subject to like passions as we are.” He had feelings, cares, and worries, just like we do.  He had doubts.  He shared our strengths but also our weaknesses and frailties. 

At the height of his career, Elijah experienced a breathtaking victory, like a football player winning the Superbowl and being named MVP, or a diplomat brokering a comprehensive Middle East peace deal, or a candidate winning the presidential election. But within a short time, his world was turned upside down.

Elijah’s success had placed him in the crosshairs of one of the country’s most powerful leaders. He had wrongly assumed that his long struggle against oppression, injustice, and religious abuse was finally over. When he saw that it was not, he entered into the darkest period of his life. The man who was the epitome of faith and faithfulness suffered serious depression and was obsessed with negative thoughts.

The biblical text says that “Elijah ran.” He is not faulted for doing so; under the circumstances, it seems to have been his only choice. But thus began an alienation from the people who might have supported him and, as time went on, from all human society.

This kind of self-imposed isolation is common among those suffering depression. After he pushed away his last ally, Elijah lost hope. He reproached himself for not being a better person and wished that he might die. He began rehearsing all the things that were wrong in the world and in his life. His words may even betray a resentment the great man felt toward God himself.

The saint had feet of clay. In other words, to quote St. James again, he was “a human being like us.” Because of that, we can learn from him and especially from the way God interacted with him.

We can learn, for example, that self-imposed isolation is unhealthy, and this is especially true for those dealing with depression. People flourish in community. It is with others that one’s beliefs about oneself and even about God are refined, falsehoods discarded, and truth embraced.

It is helpful to see how God dealt with his discouraged servant. Rather than rebuking him, or even correcting him, God rested him. God understands that the connection between body and soul is complex and inviolable. An ill-used body and an unhealthy soul are often found together.

Besides giving Elijah time to rest, God gave him the opportunity to reflect on and articulate his hurts and fears. God did not rush to correct the wrong thoughts that Elijah expressed; he let him vent. Then he gently corrected the parts that Elijah got wrong, and he did this without any condemnation.

God also gave Elijah work to do, for God understands that humans need good things to do and to accomplish to be happy. Our first parents were given work to do in the Garden of Eden, and work will be a blessing for people in the age to come. It is an essential part of a flourishing life.

The biblical stories of God’s interactions with people are an instructional goldmine for leading a satisfying life. They merit careful reading and thoughtful reflection.