Monday, May 11, 2020 Some material taken from A Story of Provision
You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.1 Kings 17:4-7
What to do When the Brook Dries Up
Yesterday Brother Van and Sam talked about Elijah and the widow of Zarephath. Before Elijah met the widow, he was camped next to a brook called Cherith, east of the Jordan River. God had sent him there to hide from Ahab, the most evil of all the kings of Israel, after he had predicted a drought. God provided for Elijah at the brook by using ravens to bring him food and water from the brook. He was hiding from Ahab because the drought was brought on by the idolatry of Ahab and his wife, Jezebel, and all the other idol worshipers. Their idolatry had brought a spiritual drought, but they still refused to stop the idolatry, so God sent a physical drought.
God took care of Elijah. He sustained him with water from the brook and food from the ravens. He was safe and taken care of because he was a man who trusted and obeyed God. Then one day, the brook no longer flowed. It completely dried up, a direct result of the physical drought and evidence that God had kept His promise.
It is always hard when unexpected circumstances drop like a boulder into our lives. Some of the things that happen to us should not be so unexpected. What we should know about life is that there are storms along the way. This is one circumstance that maybe Elijah should have expected. He told Ahab of God’s promise of drought so he should have expected that no rain means the brook dries up at some point. It is so typical of us to see the clouds coming and hear the thunder, yet to be so surprised by the storm that hits. One thing most of us are experiencing right now is an unexpected storm. Just like Elijah, our provision has dried up and it is time to turn to God to see what the next step is.
When God shuts a door, or dries up a brook, He already has a plan for the next step we are to take. We have to be willing to take the step though. What if Elijah had decided he was just going to sit by the brook until God sent rain and the brook flowed freely again? He would have died right by that brook. When God dries up the brook, it is time to move on. It is time to see what He has next. It often doesn’t feel good and is unnerving and scary at first, but He never intends for us to die by the dried-up brook.
One thing to remember is that the brook you are drinking from is not the only brook and it is not the only way God can provide for you. The brook is the tool, but God is the provider. He has many tools and many means of taking care of His children. When we put our trust in the tools, we will ultimately, and always be let down. A long-term job or career can change in an instant as many of us well know. God never changes. The way God supplies will change. The brook will dry up. Change will come in your life. When that happens, God will call you to leave Cherith and go to Zarephath, where He will provide for you in another way. Don’t get fixated on the means of His supply. Trust the Lord who provides, who is steadfast, true, and trustworthy.
If you cling to how God has blessed you in the past, you may miss how He will bless you in the future. The brook that was such a blessing to you in the past may not be what God has for you now, but there is blessing and ministry for you in a place where you’d least expect it—Zarephath!
