Max Lucado shares why 'the Lord God of Israel lives' is the antidote to modern anxiety

By Leah MarieAnn Klett, Entertainment Editor Monday, August 10, 2026

For generations of Christians, Max Lucado has been a voice of reassurance and hope; a pastor whose bestselling books and sermons have repeatedly told readers that fear does not have the final word.

But even the 71-year-old Oak Hills Church pastor believes this cultural moment feels unusually heavy, from political scandals dominating headlines to an uptick in anxiety disorders and suicide rates in young people. Many Christians, he said, increasingly find themselves asking not just how to survive the moment, but how to remain faithful without becoming consumed by it.

Those questions are what inspired Lucado's latest book,Unbreakable Courage: Strong Faith in an Age of Anxiety, Chaos, and Exhaustion, in which the San Antonio, Texas-based pastor looks to the story of the Old Testament prophet Elijah for answers on how believers can live faithfully in a fractured culture. 

"I think there's such a direct correlation between the culture of Elijah and the culture of our day," Lucado told The Christian Post.

Elijah emerged in Israel around the 9th century B.C., when the nation was experiencing profound spiritual decay under King Ahab and Queen Jezebel. Baal worship had replaced devotion to God, morality had eroded and the prophet often found himself standing almost entirely alone.

According to Lucado, Elijah’s story resonates because Christians today know what it feels like to be surrounded by uncertainty.

"We look around, and we see many good things. I'm not diminishing that," he said. "But boy, we see so many people who lead godless lives every day. It seems there's another politician or even preacher whose immorality has been disclosed, and it's a challenging time to be a parent because we know that our kids are surrounded by messages, by competition, by difficulties."

"We have the many personal challenges within us. Opioid is an epidemic. The suicide rate is as high as it's been since World War II. Depression rates are off the charts. Anxiety is everywhere. … I think that's what Elijah faced. He was one voice of loyalty to Jehovah God in a culture that had turned its back on God."

In his book, Lucado contends that Elijah’s response to his circumstances provides an example for Christians today. While culture often equates courage with confidence, fearlessness or speaking louder than everyone else, Scripture, he posits, offers a different definition. 

"The biblical courage is a loyalty to the living God," the father and grandfather said. "The only person I care about impressing is my Lord and my Master. That's courage."

Elijah built his entire ministry around the declaration that "The Lord God of Israel lives,” the pastor said, adding: "He said it to Ahab. He said it to Jezebel right there in the court.  I think that's what courage is. Courage is that deep-seated conviction that the God of Israel, the God of creation, the God who foreordained our lives and the God who's preparing us for the next life. He is alive and well, and I live to serve Him."

For believers overwhelmed by an endless stream of breaking news and social media outrage, Lucado said that Elijah confronted evil when necessary, standing boldly before kings and false prophets. But he also withdrew into solitude, allowing God to restore him before returning to the work he had been called to do.

"There are times in which Elijah just confronted evil," Lucado said. "And then there are times in which he stepped away."

"I think there are a couple of big takeaways from the life of Elijah,” he added. “No. 1, you know who you believe. You be sure of that. Again, the headline of Elijah's story is, 'The Lord God of Israel lives.' And then second, you trust in God to provide for what you need to fulfill your call."

The pastor noted that immediately after one of the greatest miracles recorded in Scripture, calling fire down from Heaven before the nation of Israel, Elijah fled into the wilderness. Exhausted, isolated and afraid, he sat beneath a broom tree and prayed that he might die, a picture of exhaustion. But instead of rebuking Elijah, God met him with kindness. 

"I just never expect Elijah to say such words," Lucado said. "He is utterly depleted. He's depressed. … and [God] fed him. He sent an angel to give him food, and then He let Elijah go to sleep. How practical is that?"

Only after Elijah's physical needs had been met did God begin addressing his spiritual discouragement, refusing to let him stay in the darkness. 

"He then disappears into a cave," Lucado said. "That's what we tend to do when we're battling the blues. We like to isolate ourselves from others. … But He calls him out of the cave. He calls him back into circulation."

"If you're going through a tough time, don't hide out in your closet," he said. "Call somebody. Let somebody take you to lunch. Reach out. Go to church. Don't isolate. Don't get alone with your thoughts. Your thoughts cannot always be trusted. … God came as a friend. Listen for the small voice of God. Open your Scripture. Let Him talk to you through Christian friends. Don't give up."

The message is one Lucado has come to appreciate not only as a pastor but personally. Now 71, the bestselling author continues preaching, writing and traveling while maintaining a demanding schedule. He told CP he remains "busy in a good way," even as he manages ongoing heart concerns. In 2021, Lucado announced he’d been diagnosed with an ascending aortic aneurysm.

"I've still got a few heart concerns, but we're managing those by God's grace," he said. "I still overdo it sometimes, and I love to stay active, and I tweak my back every two or three months, but it's not anything serious."

The pastor said that throughout his years in ministry, he’s learned that even faithful people need rest. Early on, he said, he routinely worked himself into exhaustion.

"When I first got into ministry 40 years ago, I realized that Mondays I was worn out," he said. "I worked so hard on Sundays, but I didn't understand that the body needs to recover, the mind needs to recover, the spirit needs to recover."

"I had a little too much pride to take a day off," he admitted. "Somebody needed to remind me that when God created the heavens and the earth, He took a day off, and the world didn't fall apart. And it won't fall apart if we do the same."

Lucado shared how delving into the story of Elijah deepened his own prayer life. Elijah's desperate prayer over the widow's lifeless son in Zarephath, he said, completely changed his own perspective on prayer. 

"He prayed for God to bring the boy to life," Lucado said. "He did that not once, not twice, but three times. … I want to practice that fervent prayer that touches the heart of God. There are those times in which we just rest in prayer, absolutely, and then we do need to be willing to wrestle in prayer."

The pastor challenged readers to embrace that same persistence: "Moms, dads, wrestle on behalf of your kids. Pastors, wrestle in prayer on behalf of your church. Citizens, let's wrestle on behalf of our nation."

Christians, he added, need not fear the moment in which they find themselves because the truth that sustained Elijah remains unchanged: "The Lord God of Israel lives.”

"You may feel outnumbered at school, at work, maybe even in your own family," Lucado said. "But you stay faithful to the living God, and He will guide you through whatever calling He has placed on your heart."

Unbreakable Courage: Strong Faith in an Age of Anxiety, Chaos, and Exhaustionreleases Aug 11.