This morning when I sat down to write, I went online to read the scripture of the day and my eyes were drawn to a little
blurb for a commentary about 1 Kings 17: 7-24. It’s a familiar story about the
widow at Zarepath and the prophet Elijah. As I went to the verses, it struck me
that they had included verse 7 when the story really gets started at verse 8.
Sitting here, I have now probably read this verse 10 times. I can’t seem to get
away from it. “But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall
anywhere in the land.” Have you ever been tired? I mean bone tired? Tired of
the devil and all of his tricks, tired of your family and all their drama,
tired of the circumstances that you find yourself in? Sometimes, we even find
ourselves tired of the church and what that means. Our brooks are dried up and
there is no rain in sight. Wow…what a place to be in! Sometimes these droughts
come upon us suddenly and sometimes they are a buildup of all the “stuff” that
we allow to bog us down. But I love the God that I serve. He always has a cup
of water available to refresh us if we will be obedient to His Word.
I have always really looked at this story as one of
provision and obedience. If I do what the Lord says even in the midst of a dry
situation, He will provide for me. But today, the Lord showed me that it’s also
an analogy for our life journey. Some of us are in a dry season right now. It
could be in the area of finances or jobs, maybe in your marriage or spiritual journey.
Whatever it is, your brook has dried up. But God has sent me today to tell you
that if you don’t give up and trust Him, He will keep you and maintain you
until He sends your breakthrough. The widow was afraid, she was in the midst of
famine and drought and she had determined that death was the end result. But
God sent Elijah to encourage her in verses 13 & 14. “But
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said,
but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal
for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil
left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain
and the crops grow again!” (NLT)
I find great peace in knowing that God sees
me in my situations. I am not just out here alone. Like, the widow, He knows
what I’m facing and sends encouragement, provision, and peace just when I need
Him to. God reminds us of that very fact in Isaiah 46:10. “From the
beginning I told you what would happen in the end. A long time ago I told you
things that have not yet happened. When I plan something, it happens. What I
want to do, I will do.” (NCV) God knows
the end from the beginning and is working things out for your good.
But just when you find your peace, doesn’t it seem like an
attack comes? The widow’s son became very sick and died. The enemy sends
someone crazy in your path. You lose your job. Your marriage takes a hit. You
get an unexpected bill that throws everything off. You look around and wonder
what more. You thought you had overcome and survived the worst and yet
something else appears. Elijah didn’t even understand why this was happening.
But he sought the Lord in prayer and He heard and answered. God is faithful and
will keep you and refresh you in the dry times. Sometimes you give your very
last and He asks for more faith but keep trusting and pressing into His
presence and He will honor you. It may not be on your timeline but look back
over your life at the dry seasons and I bet you will start to see how God had His
eyes and His hands on you.
Be encouraged today! God is present and watching even when
it feels quiet! Keep trusting and standing on His word, the rain is coming! And when it does, fruit will follow. Don’t believe me? Read the word of the Lord! “The rain and snow come down from the heavens and stay on the
ground to water the earth. They cause the grain to grow, producing seed for the
farmer and bread for the hungry. It
is the same with my word. I send it out, and it always produces fruit. It
will accomplish all I want it to, and it will prosper everywhere I send it.”
(Isaiah 55:10,11 NLT)
AMEN
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