DEVOTION ~ DIVINE PROVISIONS

Theme: Divine Provisions 

Text: 1 Kings 17:1-7

17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”

2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”

5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. 7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.

The prophet Elijah comes before king Ahab who has gone contrary to God's plan. In confronting him and telling him what awaits his kingdom in the years to come, Elijah was very frank and straightforward. He told the king, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except by his word. Standing before a king who does not fear God coupled with a wicked wife, it will take the power of God to look him in the eyes and tell him even dew shall not fall for some number of years unless by your word. Elijah has been faithful and his faithfulness gave him strength to speak before king Ahab.

Having carried out God's assignment, he's now directed by God to hide in Brook Cherith. Elijah used to live in comfort but now, he has to move and live by the stream. God never defined how long he'll be staying there. He only made known to Elijah, food will be provided. If the Lord requires of you to forgo your comfort for His ministry, will you heed to Him or not? The life by the Brook is where you find yourself in a village where there's no network, the road leading there is very bad, the community is completely cut off from modern technology and trends. You've been sent there to work (as a nurse, teacher, doctor, engineer, a rural bank worker, pastor, deacon, just name it), how do you respond to this? If you've always changed your posting, beware you're only sweeping your blessings to others.

In obedience, the prophet Elijah went and stayed by the Brook Cherith. The stream is to give him water and a raven to feed him. Oh mine! What's the first thing you lookout for at an eatery? The environment and those serving I guess. The waiter for Elijah is a bird (raven). It's amazing God used a bird to feed His servant and there has never been a day that the raven fails to bring bread and meat in the morning and evening. The brook also provided water accordingly. Dear beloved, had it not been the mercies of the Lord, will you be where you are now? Each moment you awake and have life, give thanks to God for His mercies are new everyday morning and His faithfulness over your life never ceases.

If you're becoming too comfortable where you are and it begins to dwindle your faith, God will change your location for you. The stream that Elijah drinks from dried up because the words of his mouth has really manifested as he had said that, there shall be no dew or rain for these years except by his word. There's power in every word you utter whether deliberate or not. You can build or demolish with your words. Just as Elijah commanded it shall not rain in the kingdom of the treacherous king Ahab, you can also frustrate the works of evil people if you submit to God's will. Faith can make you do this for God is in control of each season of your life.

Prayer:  Thank You Lord for teaching me to trust You in all circumstances for divine provisions. I pray You increase my faith and help me to hear and obey only Your voice. I ask that the Holy Spirit disconnect every evil voice around me in Jesus' name. AMEN!!!