The Place called There
Sunday, March 22, 2009
"Elijah the Tishbite, of the temporary residents of Gilead, said to Ahab, As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before Whom I stand, there shall not be dew or rain these years but according to My word. 2And the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3Go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. 4You shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. 5So he did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. 6And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook."
1 Kings 17:1-6
No matter what is going on in the world, God takes care of those who are His, if they will trust in Him. God had a plan to provide for Elijah in the middle of drought and deprivation. When everyone else had no food, the Lord had already made a plan for Elijah's provision. God told Elijah that ravens would feed him at Cherith and he believed it enough to go there. His life depended on his obedience. He had to trust the word of the Lord even if it sounded ridiculous. Ravens? Bringing food? Every day? Who would have believed it? But God's faithful provision was right there where He said it would be – every day – at the place called There! God has made provision for you. Don't be afraid to trust His word to you. In the will of the Lord, is the safest place you can be.
"After a while the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. 8And the word of the Lord came to him: 9Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. 10So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 12And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it--and die. 13Elijah said to her, Fear not; go and do as you have said. But make me a little cake of [it] first and bring it to me, and afterward prepare some for yourself and your son. 14For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not waste away or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth. 15She did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the word which the Lord spoke through Elijah."
1 Kings 17:7-16
Elijah trusted in God not in ravens or in other people! When the circumstances changed, God already had another avenue prepared – the widow woman. All God told Elijah was that He had commanded a widow in Zarephath to provide for him. Elijah obeys God and goes to Zarephath, but when he gets there, he realizes the person who is supposed to support him has nothing with which to do it. He found out that all she had was a handful of meal and oil – enough for one last meal for two people – definitely not enough for three people for the duration of the drought. He did not get flustered; he did not doubt God; he did not look to man as his source; he continued to trust that God had it all worked out.
He had faith in God's word – an expectation that if God said it, it was true. He confidently expected that God would perform yet another series of miracles! If all the woman had was enough for one meal, then God was definitely about to perform a miracle! He trusted the word of the Lord and commanded her to bake the first cake for him and promised her that if she did, God would continue to provide for them until the rains came. She believed the word of the Lord to Elijah and to herself and when she obeyed, God performed the miracle that day, and for many days after that, until the drought broke.
When God told him to go "there" Elijah had faith in God's word to him. He did not doubt even when it looked impossible. Trust God with your life. Trust that where He leads you, He will also provide for you as long as you need Him to. Always remember that God and not man is your source and supply. Just get yourself into the will of God – the place called "there" - and see God miraculously provide for you!
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