The Lutheran Hour

"Journey Through Depression"

#93-42
Presented on The Lutheran Hour on June 21, 2026
Guest Speaker: Rev. Dr. Michael Zeigler
Copyright 2026 Lutheran Hour Ministries

Text: 1 Kings 19:7

Did you ever get your head stuck somewhere when you were a kid—in between the bars of fence, or the banisters on the stairs? It’s a common enough experience for it to have become a TV trope.

One of its earlier on-screen portrayals aired back in 1959 (I saw it on a re-run), on an episode of Leave It to Beaver. It’s Saturday, and Beaver, a third-grade boy, is at the park hunting for four-leaf clovers, as you do when you’re a third-grader in 1959, apparently. And Beaver, having spotted a coveted clover over yonder, sticks his head through the fence, the bars of an iron fence. But—aw, shucks!—he gets his head stuck!

Now, when the townspeople walk by, he keeps crouching low and looks down so they won’t see him. And you’re wondering, why isn’t Beaver asking anyone for help?

Well, it’s a long story. On Friday, see, at the end of the school day, after everyone had gone home, Beaver had accidentally gotten himself locked inside the school, and his family didn’t know where he had gone, and it was getting dark out, and Beaver didn’t want to get stuck there all weekend, so he pulls the fire alarm. The upshot of it was that he got to ride home in a fire truck, but when he got home, Dad gave him a stern talking to:

“Beaver, you upset and worried your mother, didn’t you?”
“Yes, sir.”
“You cost the city a considerable sum of money. Did you even think about the danger to those men on the fire truck?”
“No, sir.”
“And you succeeded in making yourself a most conspicuous young man, didn’t you?”
“I guess so, sir.”

So, Dad told Beaver to think next time, before he caused so much trouble and embarrassment.

And later, Beaver had asked his older brother, Wally—“Wally, what does conspicuous mean?” And Wally had explained, “You remember how last summer, out at the lake, when Larry was out swimming and he lost his swim trunks? And his dad had to go out with a towel and fetch him from the lake? And everyone was laughing at him. That’s conspicuous. They made fun of him for weeks.”

And so that’s why, on the very next day, when Beaver gets his head stuck in the fence, he tries to hide in plain sight, because he’s too ashamed and embarrassed to ask for help.

After about an hour of this, his brother Wally comes looking for him. He tried pushing and pulling Beaver’s head through the bars, to no avail. And so he tells Beaver he’s going to have to go get Dad. “Don’t get Dad,” Beaver pleads, “He’ll say I’m makin’ a fuss and being conspicuous again.” Wally says that maybe he can call the fire department then, ‘cause they’ve got all kinds of saws and torches and junk like that to help get guys out of stuff like this. Beaver says, “Not the fire department, they’re the ones I got conspicuous with before.”

Then Beaver gets an idea: “Maybe if I starve and got thin, then I could get out.”
“Nah, that’s no good,” Wally says, “Your head’s the one thing on you that doesn’t starve.”ⁱ

Now maybe you never got your head stuck in a fence. But you know what it’s like to feel stuck— emotionally, personally, professionally—like you’re not going anywhere, like you’re not making any progress, not advancing, and there’s nothing you can do about it. And even if you’re not feeling stuck, you can bet that there are people close to you who are stuck, and they’re just trying to be inconspicuous about it, because everyone’s got problems.

Stuck is a way to describe depression. Researchers estimate that about one in every 15 people experience depression each year, and one in every six have it sometime in their lifetimes. Even children can have depression.

Depression is more than feeling sad. Everyone is sad sometimes, but depression is deeper.
Depression is when you feel sad or hopeless or anxious nearly every day for most of the day; or when activities that you used to enjoy don’t interest you or give you much pleasure anymore; or you notice a major change in your appetite; or you feel tired nearly every day; you feel worthless; you have trouble thinking and concentrating; or you keep having thoughts of death or suicide, because you feel like you’re stuck.ⁱⁱ

If you have depression, or you know someone who does, the first thing to know is that you’re not alone. The term “depression” might be newer, but it was here long ago. In earlier times, people used to call it “melancholy,” or “melancholia.” It is something that people in this broken world have always struggled with. So, you’re not alone. And sometimes it’s okay to be conspicuous. It’s okay to ask for help. And there is help. You have people who care about you. And most importantly, you have a Creator. The God who made you loves you. He sent me to tell you that.

Now, how we got to be stuck in this broken world is a long story. It’s not all our fault, but we do all share some of the blame. None of us is innocent. The root of it is that, all of us—emotionally stuck or not—we try to hide from God in plain sight. We try to live for ourselves, rather than for God and for our neighbors. But God, in His love, sends His Word to get us unstuck from ourselves.

The Bible gives the account of it. God started with a man named Abraham and his wife, Sarah, and their family. God sent them a Word of hope, “Call upon Me in the day of trouble, and I will deliver you.” God called Abraham’s family to trust Him and to be a most conspicuous Word of hope from Him, for everyone.

But even after they’d heard God’s Word, Abraham’s family still got stuck on themselves. So, God sent His Word some more, through the voice of the prophets. But even those guys, sometimes they got stuck.

This was the case for the prophet, Elijah. The account of it comes from the Bible’s Old Testament, from the book of 1 Kings. Now earlier, Elijah had been a huge success. He was at the pinnacle of his career. People respected him. They listened to him. They turned back to God in droves because of the word Elijah spoke to them.

But all it took was one critic to send him into a tailspin. Granted, she was a very powerful critic. Jezebel was her name, the evil queen who bowed down to the idol, the false god, Baal, and she had threatened to kill Elijah. And all these dark emotions came crashing down on him. And for about six weeks, or maybe longer, he was down in an emotional pit, and he was certain he’d never get out of it.

But God stuck with him. And the way God met Elijah in his depression offers hope for us—whether you’re in a rut, or you’re trying to walk with someone who is, listen to how it happened, as recorded in 1 Kings 19:

So [Elijah] went a day’s journey into the wilderness. And he came to a juniper tree and sat under it. And he asked that he might die. He said, “O LORD, I have had enough. Take my life away from me, because I am no better than my fathers.” Then he lay down and fell asleep under the tree. But look, an angel [appeared] and touched him, and said to him, “Arise and eat.”
[Elijah] looked around, and look, near his head, he saw a cake of bread baked over hot coals and a jar of water. And he ate some and drank and went back to sleep. And the angel of the LORD came back a second time, and touched him said, “Arise and eat, because the journey is too great for you.” So, he got up and ate and drank. And in the strength of that food, he went, he walked forty days and forty nights, all the way to the mountain of God, to Mount Horeb, [where God had met with Moses in the burning bush, where God had given His people Israel His covenant—His commands and His promises. Elijah walked to that mountain]. And there he found a cave and spent the night there.

And, look, the Word of the LORD came to Elijah and spoke to him. “What are you here for, Elijah?” Elijah answered, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty because the children of Israel have rejected Your covenant—Your altars, they have torn them down; Your prophets, they have killed with the sword; and I am the only one left, and now they’re trying to kill me, too.”

Then God said, “Come out and stand on the mountain before the LORD.”

And look, the LORD was passing by—a wind, a great and mighty wind tore through the mountains and broke the rocks to pieces before the LORD. But the LORD was not in the wind; and after the wind, an earthquake. But the LORD was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake, a fire. But the LORD was not in the fire; and after the fire, a voice, a gentle whisper.

And it happened, when Elijah heard it, he covered his face in his cloak. And he went out and stood in the mouth of the cave. And look, a voice said to him, “What are you here for, Elijah?” And he said, “I have been very zealous for the LORD God Almighty, because the children of Israel have rejected Your covenant—Your altars, they have torn down; Your prophets, they have killed with the sword, and I am the only one left; and now they’re trying to kill me, too.”

And the LORD said to him, “Go back the way you came through the wilderness of Damascus, and there, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria, and anoint Jehu son of Nimshi to be king over Israel, and anoint Elisha son of Shaphat … to be prophet in your place.

“And it will be that whoever escapes the sword of Hazael, Jehu will put to death, and whoever escapes the sword of Jehu, Elisha will put to death. But I have reserved in Israel seven thousand people, all whose knees have not bowed down to Baal [the idol], all whose mouths have not kissed him.”

So, Elijah went on from there. And he found Elisha, the prophet who would carry on the work after him. Elisha became his apprentice. And God would continue to do His quiet and steady work, bringing judgment on sin and bringing hope for sinners. And Elijah knew that he was not alone.

God helped Elijah. God sent His Word. And that’s how God helps you. He didn’t just send another prophet. God’s Word Himself came. He was born a man in the family of Abraham. He took the Name Jesus. At first, His work was only a quiet whisper. But Jesus would make Himself the most conspicuous of all, for me, for you, to turn us out of ourselves, to turn us back to God.

They persecuted Him for it, just like they did to Elijah. They didn’t just try to take His life though, they did it. People stuck on themselves, just like us, stuck Jesus on a cross. Jesus let us make Him a public embarrassment, and He rose from the dead because God refuses to leave us alone. God sticks with us.

For the last seventy-some generations, Jesus has been conspicuously sending out His followers to speak God’s Word for others, so that they would know that they’re not alone. That’s why we do this program. We conspicuously offer Jesus—to help a world get unstuck again. You can share in this word. You can receive God’s Word and be a word of hope from God for others when they’re stuck.

Now, we can’t do everything God did for Elijah, like sending gale-force winds and an earthquake and a fire before he met Him in a gentle whisper that can’t be ignored. But, notice, notice how the Lord started with something a little less conspicuous, something we could follow. He gives Elijah a snack. Now granted this is some special kind of snack, since it sustained Elijah for a forty-day trek through the wilderness—but it was physical food, nonetheless. You see, God knows we are physical beings who need physical sustenance.

Sometimes depression is tied to the basic needs of the body, and God works through physical means to help, which may include a prescribed medication, a change in diet, some exercise, some rest. Or sometimes, just a grilled cheese sandwich is enough to change the mood.

We are more than our bodies, though. We are relational beings, created to relate with God and with others, and depression is often tied to relational needs. See, God didn’t just sustain Elijah with a snack. He also gives him a spacious relationship. God makes space for him—a safe space. When Elijah got to the mountain, two times, God asked the question, a concerned question, a curious question: “What are you here for, Elijah?” or “What brought you here?” It’s an open-ended question, an inviting question. God calls Elijah by name and makes space for him.

Now, both times, God got the same answer from Elijah. The mighty prophet is stuck on a melancholy loop. Even after six weeks, he’s still in a rut. And God gives His servants space to be sad.

But even more than a snack and a spacious relationship with God, Elijah gets a role in the saga of God. What are you here for, Elijah? The question recalls a saga, a journey, a kingdom to come, a new creation on the way. This mountain, Mount Horeb, also called Mount Sinai. It’s where, hundreds of years before, the Word of the Lord came to Moses, another guy who sometimes got stuck in a rut.

But God used Moses mightily to speak the word to God’s people stuck in slavery in Egypt. He brought them out by a mighty word and led them to this very mountain. That’s what this place is—where God made a covenant with them. God gave them His Word, His commands, His promises. God married Himself to these people, so that through them, God would keep His promise for all people, to never leave us alone.

God kept His promise in Jesus. Jesus, God’s Word, came in a body like ours, to share the sadness that was ours, to be stuck in death that is ours, so that in His resurrection, we could be His.

God is committed to you for the long haul. God will get you there. With physical sustenance, a spacious relationship, and resurrection from the dead, God will sustain you in this saga that stretches into eternity, because this journey is too great for you on your own, but not for you in Jesus. So, go to Him when you’re in trouble, pull that prayer alarm all day long. Make yourself as conspicuous with Jesus as you need, because He is not embarrassed of you, not in the least. It is His joy, in fact, to be stuck with you.

In that episode of Leave It to Beaver when Beaver got his head stuck in the fence, Wally, his older brother, did eventually go get their dad. Mom came, too. And, of course, they got Beaver unstuck. And as they’re heading home for some grilled cheese sandwiches, Beaver tells his dad that he’s sorry. Dad says, “Huh? Oh, Beaver, I’m sorry. I should never say anything to you that would make you afraid to come to me when you’re in trouble.”

Beaver says, “Gee, Dad, you mean, you don’t mind me gettin’ in messes like this?”
And Dad says, “Well, I don’t want you getting into trouble, but when you do, I want you to feel that we’re your first ones to come to.”
And the Beave says, “Gee, that’s neat, cause when I’m growin’ up, well, I’d be using you for a lot of stuff like this.”ⁱⁱⁱ

And in that manner of spacious relationship with God, how about we use what He gives us to make ourselves conspicuous, and pray.

Join me in this prayer from the Bible’s book of Lamentations: “I called on Your Name, O LORD, from the depths of the pit; You heard my plea. Do not close Your ear to my cry for help! You came near when I called You. You said, ‘Do not be afraid.’ You have taken up my cause, O Lord, You have redeemed my life.” Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, Your Word, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.

i “Leave It to Beaver,” Season 2, Episode 26, “Price of Fame,” aired March 26, 1959, created by Joe Connelly and Bob Mosher, Gomalco Productions, Los Angeles, CA.
ii Rick Marrs, “Journey Through Depression,” Lutheran Hour Ministries. Accessed on May 20, 2026 at https://www.lhm.org/booklets/journey-through-depression-6be199-latest-release/
iii “Leave It to Beaver,” Season 2, Episode 26.

Reflections for June 21, 2026
Title: Journey Through Depression

Mark Eischer: You’re listening to The Lutheran Hour. Visit lutheranhour.org for FREE resources, archived programs, our mobile app, and more. That’s lutheranhour.org. Once again, here is Dr. Zeigler.

Mike Zeigler: Thank you, Mark. Today I am visiting with Chris Macky. He’s our co-worker here at Lutheran Hour Ministries. He serves as content manager for US Ministries. Thanks for joining us again, Chris.

Chris Macky: Hi, Mike.

Mike Zeigler: So we spoke together last week briefly about this “Journey Through” series that we’re in. “Journey Through Anxiety” was last week. “Journey Through Depression” is this week. Next week, we’re going to talk about “Journey Through Ambition” and how we go through these things as Christians. So tell us real quickly again about these other resources from Lutheran Hour Ministries that complement with this sermon series.

Chris Macky: Yeah. We have a Project Connect booklet ministry that are printed booklets, easy to carry, that you can put in your pocket, and also that church’s display. We have LHM Learn courses, online courses that have similar content but are in digital form, and you can watch it on your phone or your computer. And we also have Nurturing Your Faith studies. This is a series of studies that we put out each year. Each have four parts that are both published in The Lutheran Layman quarterly and available online.

Mike Zeigler: All right. So we’re just adding to a library. And these are all free and people can use them as they see fit.

Chris Macky: Yep.

Mike Zeigler: So let’s talk in more detail about those video-based Bible studies. Let’s say I wanted to lead a four-part Bible study with a small group at my church or with some neighbors or friends. How would you coach me on how to use these resources? It’s like, starting, where do I get them?

Chris Macky: They’re available both online and through The Lutheran Layman. They’re published in The Lutheran Layman each quarter. And so they’re just a published Bible study on paper that you can use and share, but they’re also online. The actual study is in digital form and a PDF. And so you can download those and share them with friends, lhm.org.

Mike Zeigler: So then I found them. I’ve got the PDFs downloaded. I’ve got access to the videos. How would I go about using these to lead a study?

Chris Macky: They’re short enough where you could gather as a group and read the study together. It might take about 10 or 15 minutes. They have reflection questions throughout the study, could stop and reflect together as a group. And then there’s a video portion that is not essential. It’s kind of a supplement to the study. For this series, our interviews with Dr. Rick Marrs, who is an amazing resource. And also if you’re a study leader, each person can access the studies beforehand and read through it and be familiar with the content. So you could jump right into the reflection questions as a group as well.

Mike Zeigler: All right. Thanks for joining us, Chris.

Chris Macky: All right, Mike. That was fun. Thanks.

Music Selections for this program:

“A Mighty Fortress” arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Crucifer” by Sydney H. Nicholson, arr. Peter Prochnow. Used by permission.
“Precious Lord, Take My Hand” by Thomas A. Dorsey.
“Lord of Our Life and God of Our Salvation” From The Concordia Organist (© 2009 Concordia Publishing House) Used by permission.