By DP

“Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you.” – 1 Kings 17:9

Elijah hitherto unknown, with no recommendations, no historical background, without physical qualities or dynamics, confronts King Ahab and tells him that it would not rain until he said so. Immediately he went by the brook Kerith as ordered by God Himself. There he was sustained for some time drinking from the brook and sending ravens with bread and meat for him to eat every day. A scene of supernatural provision. But because of the absence of rain, the river began to dry up. Elijah at the time, was in a safe place, with provision and tranquility. Moreover, God himself had ordered him to go to the brook. So how could one explain that the brook was drying? How could he be in a place without provision? How to get out from there if the king was seeking to kill him?

Kerith means to cut off or close. It is not a permanent place. The flight of Elijah to hide in the brook does not mean that he feared Ahab or doubted that God could protect him. God sends Elijah to a specific location. So He does with us. We may not know why, but God could be demanding total obedience from us, and it may not seem to make sense at the present time. Elijah’s blessing was on the other side of his obedience. Sometimes God provides in the most unexpected and surprising ways. For Elijah the ravens were considered unclean and symbols of death, but these would bring him the daily provision. What symbolizes death, God uses it to give us life. God gives us life when death surrounds us.

It is easy to obey and hope in God when things are reasonable, but when we are asked to do something against our traditions, we question it. Why not send him to another place where there was no drought? Why did he have to suffer the same hardships that those who did not love God? Why didn’t God sent him to the king again to challenge the god Baal?

When the brook was completely dry, God ordered him to appear before a widow in Zarephath of Sidon to ask for support. Again, Elijah was forced to be patient. He knew that the widows were the first to die of starvation during a prolonged drought. But without questioning God, he obeyed unconditionally.

Why stay in the brook if where you are going, God will send rain? Moreover, you will be the instrument God will use to cause it to rain on your own situation. Why stay complaining and lamenting that the brook dried up when God has ordered you to move because He made provision for you already? Remember that your supply in not brook, God is your provision.

Elijah moved from place to place by divine order. God is calling you to action in all areas. If he sends you from place to place is because He is word, he is action. The things that God provides are not an end in themselves and not enough to rely entirely on them, but they are a means to achieve the goal of increasing our dependence on God every day. When we leave the brook will experience:

• His Promise – You will find that God always does what He promises.
• His Provision – He will supplement your needs. I have not seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread.
• His Providence – He cares and prepares in advance. When you reach the place God sends you, you’ll see that He has already sent people to serve you. And has coordinated all the details. God is not subject to time or space.
• His Power – You will see His supernatural expression in your life.

• His Protection – He will take care of you, addressing each place without letting anything hurt you.
• His Privilege – The favor of God is never fair. The Favor of God upon your life will be palpable, and the others will scratch their head, trying to understand why you and not them.

I ask the question again Why stay in the brook if where you are going, God will send rain? Why do you care about your future, if He has already promised that if the brook is dry, you will hear the rain falling? God is raining on you and your family and your situation. Leaving the brook means different things for each one of us. For some, a relationship that has no future, for others work, for others a country. But if obeying the voice of God for your life means walking in faith, you’re on track.

Any solution requires a leap of faith and faith is the gateway between the promise and absolute confidence. All acts of faith produce miracles. Just as God used a “unknown”, He can and wants to use to anyone who, like Elijah, has proposed to serve Him unconditionally. Us both, you and me, God is pleased to use us for His glory. So I ask you, Will you leave the brook? God tells us today: Leave the brook.

“BREATHE expectantly, LIVE confidently and MOVE Boldly”

Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved