Maybe you have a wreck on the way to work one day and the guy who hit you doesn’t have insurance and you end up having to pay most of the repair bill out of your own pocket. Maybe one of your kids gets hurt playing soccer and you have some unexpected doctor’s bills to pay. Or maybe you go to the doctor for a routine checkup and when the doctor calls you back with the results of your tests he informs you that you have cancer.
When something like that happens it usually catches you off guard and often knocks the breath out of you. But how you respond in that situation is very important. You can either respond by blaming God, which is what the prophet Jonah did when the worm ate the vine that was providing him shade. Or you can respond in faith, like Elijah did and do whatever the Lord tells you to do next.
Sometimes God allows things to happen in your life to test your faith, which is exactly what He did when He allowed the brook to dry up. Suddenly, Elijah had a decision to make.
He could either complain about it like the Israelites had done when they were wandering around in the wilderness. Or He could be patient, and put His faith and trust in God, and see what God had in store for him next. Fortunately, Elijah put his faith in God. Here is what happened next. Look at Kings 16:-17:
Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."
God had another plan, another test and another mission for Elijah. He told him to go to Zarephath of Sidon, which was coastal town located between Tyre and Sidon. To make the decision even more difficult to make it was about a 100-mile walk from the wilderness to the town of Zarephath. To make matters worse it wasn’t in Israel and was ruled by none other than King Ahab’s father-in-law. To top it all off God told Elijah to put his life in the hands of a poor widow woman.
Elijah again responded in faith, trusting that God would do what He said He would do, even though it didn’t really make sense. Especially after he met the woman and discovered that she had more than her share of problems.
Yet because He obeyed, despite not fully understanding, God not only provided for His needs but also for the Widow and her son.
(1) the lessons you can learn from Elijah is to always put your faith and trust in the Lord and do what He tells you to do.
(2) A second lesson you can learn is that God will sometimes allow you to go through periods of spiritual drought to test you and help you to mature. He may also use spiritual droughts to prepare you for the next assignment that He has for you.
Elijah is best known for defeating the 450 Prophets of Baal and the 400 prophets of Asherah on Mt. Carmel. But He would never have been spiritually mature enough for that assignment had he not lived through a few spiritual droughts. So if you find yourself in a spiritual drought this today don’t give up. Don’t throw in the towel. Remain faithful and wait on God to show you what to do next. Make sure you understand that Spiritual droughts are temporary, they do not last forever.
(1) Continue to read and hold onto the Promises of God found in the Bible.
Read it, study it, and allow God to minister to you through His Word.
Memorize certain Scripture verses and Meditate on them. Allow the Word of God to feed you and be your source of strength even in the midst of the spiritual drought that you are facing.
(2) Next, don’t forget to pray, and when you have prayed, go back and pray some more.
Don’t be afraid to be honest with God about how you feel. He’s a big God, he can handle it, if you’re angry at him let him know it. If you’re disappointed, tell Him. If you can’t express yourself verbally write it down.
(3) Finally, when you find yourself in a spiritual drought or facing a problem that you can’t seem to find the solution to, don’t try to get through it on your own. Instead turn to your brothers and sisters in Christ, and let them help you through it, after all that is one of the reasons that you as a brother or sister in Christ are here.
No comments:
Post a Comment