God was about to get the attention of
King Ahab and all of Israel. They had turned their hearts to worship the gods
that Ahab’s wife Jezebel had introduced them to. God would get their attention
with a famine! Elijah Steps Up and declares a word from God to King Ahab, “It
won’t rain again but at my word.” Now what?
God leads Elijah just east of the
Jordon River to the Brook of Cherith. Where God leads us is paramount to His
plan and will for our lives. Then God commands the ravens each morning and
evening to bring him bread and meat. God knows how to take care of His kids in
the worst nightmare of our lives. Getting to your Cherith is necessary for
many reasons. It was there that
Elijah would have Peace, Protection, Provision, and Power to sustain him.
But what do you do when the brook
dries up? ! Kings 17:7 When you lose your job, you can't keep the lights on,
you can't pay the water bill, you can't get out of bed because your so
distraught and discouraged in your quagmire of disappointment? Elijah had
obeyed God in the famine in going to Cherith, but now God moves him to a place
called Zarephath.
God saw a widow at the point of death
but had other plans in mind for her and her son. The prophet was sent to show
God's love and mercy and greatness in a famine to this widow and her son. We
are all still here to offer HOPE in people’s worst dilemma.
As he arrives he instructs her;
"Bake for me a cake first." She responds; "All I have is enough
flour and oil for me and my boy, then we're going to die." He says;
"Don't be afraid, just do what I say." She followed the words of the
prophet and brought to him a meal first; sure enough, the flour nor the oil ran
out.
Why do we doubt the word of the Lord?
Why do we place more confidence in our own system, in our own knowledge, in our
own abilities to make things happen? Had the widow ignored the prophet's words,
she and her boy would have died. Many will die with their doubts in God's Word,
and choose to do it their own way.
God has drawn out for you. "Give
and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and
running over. With the same measure that you mete it shall be the measured to
you again."(Luke 6:38) Had the widow ignored the word of the Lord, she and
her boy would have missed abundant blessings God gave.
She listened and obeyed what Elijah
had said and there was feasting around the table for her and her boy and the
prophet of God. I know it's an oxymoron to give to God and expect to end up
with more in the end. The only place in the bible that God says; "Test me
if I will not open to you the windows of heaven and pour you out a
blessing." (Malachi 3:8-12) This widow tested the word of God, and He
proved himself to her.
Are you willing to Step Out “at His
word” and Let God Step up for you? Have you Stepped Out in tithing and watched
God open the Heavens? Have you Stepped out in the ministry He’s placed in your
heart? God has a Cherith for each of us. It’s the OPEN DOOR that He has cut
out for your life. The job, the marriage, the ministry, the business,
the dream, the college, the relationship, the friendship, the place you worship
and live. Run to Him, He has a Cherith that only He can create. When you Step
out at His Word, watch Him Step Up!
