Image By Keith Clarkson
1 Kings 17:1 "And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word."
Give Honor to Whom Honor is Due-
As I am writing this, I was pondering on the title I chose and I thought I wish I would have titled it, Honoring our Heroes of the Faith. I looked up the word veteran and one of the meanings is an old soldier with long service. And the meaning of the word hero is a person admired for achievements and noble qualities. And one who shows great courage. I prefer the word hero, but I guess both are sufficient. Either one helps us remember those who have gone before us and passed that torch of faith in God right to us! God says, "Give honor to whom honor is due." These people even though they have lived in a different time in history than we are, deserved to be honored and remembered. Yes, they have received their honorable discharge already, but I still thank God for them and honor them. I am so thankful when going through my trials of faith I can read about how they stood in faith and trusted God. This gives me hope! God worked miracles through these people who I am doing a series on in the upcoming blog posts. I don't know how many I am going to cover, but if you stick with me and read all of these I am sure you will be blessed. It will strengthen your faith and give you the courage to trust God, as it does me. Now, all of these people or heroes I am going to remember all had one thing in common. They had one and the same Commander-in-Chief, and that was God. I know people have chosen to call the president commander-in-chief, but I know our only Commander-in-Chief is our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He is the only one that has the right to be called that. When we come to that knowledge we as individuals and countries are blessed. Last blog post I talked a little about Noah. I am going to go over more about him later. Today I want to remember good 'ole Elijah.
Good 'ole Elijah-
I thought it was interesting, actually kinda funny that we don't hear anything about Elijah until 1 Kings 17. Why I think it is funny is because all of a sudden Elijah comes on the scene and basically lays down the law to the wicked King Ahab right off the bat. The Word of God says in 1 Kings 16:33, "And Ahab made a 'grove (pagan shrine for pleasure), and Ahab did more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him." Now let's read what Elijah says to him, in 1 Kings 17:1, "And Elijah the Tishbite who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word." This is for you if you have been waiting on the Lord to bless your ministry, get ready. God is about to do a suddenly and bring you to the forefront. All of a sudden there you are going to be playing your part at such a time as this in history, in fulfilling "His Story."
Elijah was bold and had the courage to all of a sudden come into the picture and tell Ahab there will be no rain but according to his word. Talk about trusting God. Elijah did! I was just thinking as I am writing this, where was Elijah before, and what was he doing before he went to Ahab? The Bible doesn't say anything about him up until then. I bet you he was being prepared all of those years before. He probably was being hidden by God. He may have been waiting on God to open the curtain and say, Hey, Elijah, it's your turn. Go to that wicked King Ahab and let him know he isn't in control, but I Am! Like God told Moses to say to the children of Israel, "I Am" hath sent me unto you.
I Hear the Sound of Abundance-
Elijah was just as human as we are. He was a normal man but was chosen, called, anointed, and appointed by God. In James 5:15-17 he says, "And the prayer of faith shall 'save (heal) the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he has committed any sins, they shall be forgiven him. 16. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The 'effectual (unceasing) fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much. 17. Elijah was a man subject to 'like (the same) passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain, and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months. 18. And he prayed again, and the heaven gave rain, and the earth brought forth her fruit." Remember right when Elijah came on the scene he told King Ahab that it was not going to rain until he (Elijah) said so? I love the story in 1 Kings 18:41-46 It rained not until three and a half years later. Now, it's about to rain. Let's read. 41. "And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of 'abundance (much)of rain. 42. So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel, and he cast himself down upon the earth and put his face between his knees. 43. And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said There is nothing. And he (Elijah) said Go again seven times. 44. And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there arises a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stops thee not. 45. And it came to pass in the meanwhile, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel. 46. And the hand of the Lord was on Elijah: and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel."
Talk about having Faith, Elijah did! The first thing Elijah said was, There was going to be no rain until he called it. Three and a half years later he tells Ahab to go eat and drink there is going to be an abundance of rain. Ahab went up, I guess to Mount Carmel too. He went up to go eat and drink. Probably celebrate. And Elijah went up to Carmel to pray. Now, there wasn't even a cloud in the sky. Elijah and his servant went up to Mount Carmel. Elijah said an abundance of rain was coming, it was coming. Elijah told his servant to go look seven times. Sure enough, the servant came back to Elijah and said, There is a cloud the size of a man's hand. Elijah told his servant to go up and tell Ahab to prepare his chariot and get thee down to beat the rain. The heaven was black with clouds, wind, and great rain. Meanwhile, the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he outran Ahab's chariot and beat him to the entrance at the gate of Jezreel.
I hear the sound of an abundance of blessings on you! Whoever you are reading this Blessings are overtaking you, now in the name of Jesus! Amen!
Joseph J. Cotton
Believe First then You Will See-
I love this story! When God promises you something, you can mark his words it is going to happen! You cannot go by what your circumstances look like. Your situation may look the total opposite of what the Lord says. That is what faith is- believing first and then you will see it come to pass. Take him at his word, and trust him! Thank God that it is already done what he told you he was going to do. It will manifest! We need to guard our tongues and make sure what we are speaking is in agreement with God. He has promised you something, keep thanking him for doing it, it is already done. Stay in agreement with God and it will show up.
I want to cover another story of Elijah. Wait, I just thought of something. What stories are people going to be telling of you, after you are gone? Do you have any signs you have faith in God? Jesus says those that believe signs shall follow them. They shall cast out demons. They shall take up serpents and no deadly thing shall harm them. They shall speak with new tongues. They shall lay hands on the sick and they shall recover. Let's go back to when Elijah first came on the scene "after" he told Ahab that it wasn't going to rain unless he said so in verses 2-7 1 Kings 17:2 says, "And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 3. Get thee 'hence (from here), and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4. And it shall be, that thou shall drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5. So he went and did according unto the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith that is before Jordan. 6. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank of the brook. 7. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land."
Are you being Hidden by God?-
There are some good lessons in these stories of one of our awesome veterans of the faith, Elijah. Right after he gave the word of the Lord to that wicked King Ahab, the Lord gave him directions to go to Cherith. The Lord told him to hide there. I wonder why the Lord told him to hide there? Only God knows! You may be in a place like that right now. You may be wondering why doesn't anyone see my Youtube channel, my blogs, my books, or anything else that I have out there. You have even asked the Lord am I hidden, does anyone even see my stuff? Yes, you probably are hidden for a brief moment for your protection, while God is working again behind the scenes.
Has Your Brook Dried Up?-
Are you in a place as Elijah was? Has your brook dried up? You know the Lord sent you there, but now the provision has dried up. You are worrying yourself sick about how you are going to survive. Your means of providing for yourself just isn't there. Maybe you are on a job that you once enjoyed and now you can't stand to be there. You feel like it is time to move on. God may be about to move you on to something better. Just listen for his voice. Maybe you have already heard him tell you to quit your job. Don't be scared or worried about how you are going to pay your bills. God knew that brook was going to dry up. God allowed it to dry up. God would have just kept water in it to keep sustaining Elijah. He didn't forget about him. The brook Cherith was only a temporary place for a season. If God ever told you to quit your job or you lose it somehow, don't worry, God can be trusted! Always remember this story of Elijah, how God "commanded" the ravens to feed Elijah. God also made the brook fresh water so Elijah could drink from it and not get sick. Never forget that it was God who created this world, and every living thing in it.
God is the same Yesterday, Today, and Forever-
Yes, it appears in the natural that Elijah is in trouble. His provision dried up. Elijah knew the same God that told him to go to Cherith was the same God that was going to instruct him on what to do next and where to go now. He knew his God was not going to leave him high and dry. And sure enough, 1 Kings 17:8-16 says, "And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, 9. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongs to Zidon, and dwell there behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to 'sustain (feed) thee. 10. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman "was" there gathering sticks, and he called to her and said, 'Fetch (bring) me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. 11. And as she was going to bring it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a 'morsel (piece) of bread in thy hand. 12. And she said, As the Lord thy God lives, I have not a cake but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a jar and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. 13. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. 14. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth. 15. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat 'many days (a full year). 16. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah."
God Supplies All of our Needs-
Check out how God supplied Elijah's needs. He "commanded" a widow woman to 'sustain (feed) him. This widow woman was special because the bible says, in Luke 4:24-26 "And he (Jesus) said, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. 25. But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elijah when the heaven was shut up three years and six months when great famine was throughout all the land. 26. But unto none of them was Elijah sent except unto Sa rep ti, a city of Sidon unto a woman that was a widow." Why was Elijah only sent to her out of all of the widows in that land? Jesus tells us in verse 24. No prophet is accepted in his own country. That one widow woman right there was special because God knew she was going to believe and accept that Elijah was a true prophet of God! We will read about that further on as we read more of how she told Elijah she knew now he was a true prophet of God, after the next story. But getting back to how faithful our God is in supplying our needs. Look how God ordered Elijah's steps to where he had already made provision. The word of God says, "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way." Elijah had a "relationship" with God, and he knew his voice. God instructed him to go to Cherith. God commanded the ravens to feed him there. The brook dried up and the Lord instructed him to go to Zarephath where he commanded a widow woman to feed him. In all my years of reading my bible, I never noticed until now as I am writing this, how God "commanded" the ravens and the widow woman to 'feed or sustain Elijah. Doesn't that release you of any worry or fear? God sees us every step of the way and he has gone before us preparing whatever we are going to need to do what he has called us to do! We do not have to worry and fear! He will have the right people supporting us and he is taking care of everything. We just have to get to know his voice and follow him.
No Need to Worry or Fear-
When the time comes and there is a famine on this land, you have no need to worry or fear. Read Psalms 91 KJV. We can look at all of these great men and women of the faith who have gone on before us. We can see how God brought them through some pretty scary situations. God is no respecter of persons. If we will have faith in God like these people he will do the same for us! Faith is what pleases God. Having a relationship with Father God and Trusting him is what these heroes of the faith had. They were willing to "go" when God told them to go. They were willing to "say" what God wanted them to say, even to kings. They were willing to "do" whatever God instructed them to do. They knew he had their best interests at heart, and he saw the whole picture. They were also ready to "be" what he said they would be. He told Abraham he was a father of many nations. Abraham believed. I want to be like Abraham, Noah, Elijah, and others. Don't you?
Part 2 coming soon!
My email is hopefulhappyandwhole@gmail.com
I would love to hear from you!
Posts
