Trust

 1 Kings 17:1-6 The Message And then this happened: Elijah the Tishbite, from among the settlers of Gilead, confronted Ahab: “As surely as God lives, the God of Israel before whom I stand in obedient service, the next years are going to see a total drought—not a drop of dew or rain unless I say otherwise.”

2-4 God then told Elijah, “Get out of here, and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River. You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.”

5-6 Elijah obeyed God’s orders. He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan. And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast and supper, and he drank from the brook.

Elijah is just like you and me. Elijah means "my God is the Lord." We don't know a lot about Elijah...what we do know he had a desire to follow God despite the hand he was dealt or the trials he endured. We know that there were highs and valleys in Elijah's life...we know he questioned God yet remained faithful to following God and His commands.  

In the above story we see Elijah's obedience and God's blessing on Elijah's life but we get to read the story from start to finish. We see God's ask and we see the reward: God asked Elijah to go...not to wait until the time felt "right" but to GO, NOW! He told Elijah to leave his current life and head to an uncharted territory. It was far away AND God told him up front there was going to be a drought...no water, not even dew on the land unless God commanded it. Life was dry...not fruitful. Elijah didn't know when God would allow the earth to produce living giving dew or allow the clouds to release rain. 

Elijah had to trust God would do what He said He would...Elijah had to wait for the dew to form, the rain to flow. Elijah had to trust and wait that God would not only perform these life giving actions the first time but that the God of heaven and earth would command, order,  these life-sustaining actions again and again to sustain Elijah's life over and over again.

You know what? God did! God did what He said he would do! Sure enough, God provided for Elijah. He drank from the brooks of water and nourishment was carried right to him. 

Elijah took the risk. He went. He trusted. He endured. He waited. He was uncomfortable. He was scared. He was alone. He drank. He was fed. He thrived.

We are called to this same kind of faith. May you know that God will show up in your story. The same God called Elijah calls us and will feed us. No matter the dessert. No matter the circumstance. He is there! 

Fulfilling Your Destiny as a Son or Daughter of God

By Thomas Denegre

The kings who ruined Israel after King David (1 Kings 12-18) not only failed because of their disobedience, but more importantly they failed to understand their identity in God; also called an orphan spirit.  Sadly, this pattern repeats itself with many of us in the church today.

God is calling many of us to move from being orphans, those who must prove their self-worth and feeling of being unloved and rejected through works, to being true sons of God

Jesus once said,"I will not leave you as orphans, I will come to you." (John 14:18)

As St. Paul wrote, "For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him." (Romans 8:14-17)

God is calling many of us to move from being orphans to being true sons of God. Just as David entered his secret place of the Most-High (Psalm 91:1) to know God intimately, God too brought me into his secret place to know Him deeply and affectionately.  So, can you. It’s available to all believers filled with the Holy Spirit.  God has given us the ability to envision things not seen in the natural. While in prayer the Holy Spirit guides us into a restful (secret) place with Jesus, and looking eye-to-eye with Him, he tells you;

“(Insert your own name) you are a delight to my eyes.  Just as a I saw Mathew in pain from guilt and shame in his den of tax thievery, out of my compassion and mercy I called him to me. His heart received and accepted my love. Dropping everything he followed me. That is why I left the ninety-nine to save the one.  I want you to do the same; follow me.  

I love you 100% all the time.  Your performance means nothing to me.  It is you that I am in love with. I want to spend time with you. I want you to know you are not an orphan, but my son, with all the rights and privileges to inherit everything I have.  You now have everything I have, so stop trying to get something you already have.  You are called to be my son and know you have everything you need to do my will.  

Know that my perfect love casts out at all fear. Therefore, live in my love and my blessings. Stop comparing yourself to other people, because I only made one of you. Isn’t that marvelous! You are brilliant, beautiful, loving, kind, gentle, compassionate and merciful.  You are successfully growing into the person I destined you to become as written in Psalm 139:16. My love will guide you into all things. I am so delighted in you!”

As St. Paul wrote, “In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the kind intention of His will, to the praise of the glory of His grace, which He freely bestowed on us in the Beloved.” (Ephesians 1:5)

In this way, God lets his children know they are loved, wanted, and accepted as they are.  By having an intimate relationship with Jesus, we become his adopted children with full inheritance (Romans 8:14-17).  As a son of God our priorities change whereby, we seek first; (1) To be – identified and accepted as a son of God.  Knowing you are a spiritual being, not a spiritual doing, (2) You have the resources from God to carry out the mission.  So, stop trying to get stuff you already have, and (3) To do his works from authentic love by which you will naturally do His will just as a dog wags its tail.

Here are some guidelines to transform you from an orphan into a powerful son or daughter of God. 

• Find a quiet (secret) place that is comfortable but not sleepy.  “Be still and know he is God.”
• Enter the secret place with thanksgiving and praise towards God.
• As you rest with the Holy Spirit, envision your secret place and see yourself with Jesus.  
• Allow the Holy Spirit to bring in bible stories and scripture.  Let His Word saturate your heart.
• Learn to be in alignment with God’s loving will
• See his face, hear his voice, feel his love, experience his presence, live in his pleasure.
• Learn to think what God thinks
• Feel what God feels
• Hear what God says
• Then repeat back to yourself what God thinks, feels, says, and sees.
• By having these seeds planted in your heart, you’ll be rooted in His love.  By being in life union with Jesus, you’ll find that His love will give you the compassion and vision to see and act as God does.  
• Like every good habit to develop, this should be a loving and joyful practice done regularly. 

 By resting within the intimacy of God, what you behold, you become.  What you become you release. You received love, therefore release love. By being God’s love (John 15), His wisdom and revelation will give you the knowledge to influence the world around you.

The Story - Chapter 15 - 1 Kings 17

Just to recap a bit, Israel had suffered under the rule of six evil kings.  Ahab, the current ruler, is the seventh King over Israel and he is the worst of the worst.  His reign is filled with idolatry, wickedness and evil. So, God raised up the prophet, Elijah to prophesy against Ahab and his wife, Jezebel.  He waged a campaign against Ahab, proving Elijah's God mightier than Baal and Asherah. Elijah soon had to run for his life.

1 Kings 17:2-6 (NIV)
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

How disconcerting it must be, to do God's bidding, to speak up and tell it like it is, only to find oneself in a dangerous predicament. Living in the lap of luxury as we do, it is difficult to imagine a life on the run. It is healthy for us to read and study these times, for often a parallel to today will pop into view and a glimpse of oneself will surface.

It is time for self-examination this New Year's Eve. The words and actions of the prophets were warning the Israelites hundreds of years ago, but these very same words are striking this heart.  What is my first love?  What are the idols in my life?  God called prophets to try to rescue Israel from its moral and spiritual decline.  Studying and taking to heart their teachings can free us as well.  Is there a valuable New Year's resolution tucked away in the Scripture Words today?

Read 1 Kings 17 here

Listen to 1 Kings 17 here