April 15, 2010

Today's reading: I Kings 16, 17, 18; Psalm 15, 45, 75, 105, 135; Proverbs 15

I Kings 17:1-9, " And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 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. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee."

So many people today are hurting in our society. As you look everywhere there are people like me that have been unemployed for long periods of time. The politicians will tell you that things are getting better. Hogwash! There is no political power that can solve the problems that we face here in our nation. The only answer is to rely upon God. Our nation does not want to even acknowledge the existence of God. How sad. God is alive, in heaven and is active in the lives of His people and others if they will acknowledge it. Look at 3 (three) things God provided for Elijah:

God used a river to provide the needed water for Elijah. I Kings 17:4, "And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; ..." I don't know about you but I like water and it is needed to support life as we know it. Water is vital. So, it would be safe to say that God provides our most vital needs. Amen!

God used a raven to provide the needed bread for Elijah. I Kings 17:4, "... and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there." Bread is another thing that we need. When I think of bread I think of daily meals. I am a meat and potatoes kind of guy and I like bread to go with it. Notice a common thread here? God is providing the most important, most basic needs of Elijah.

God used a righteous widow to provided the needs of Elijah. I Kings 17:9, "... behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee." God used a righteous widow who listened to God and obeyed Him. God provided for his spiritual needs too. This is a very important basic need. God worked through this woman to provide for Elijah. Then God worked through Elijah to provide healing for the widow's son. God is so good all the time!

What need do you have in your life that only God could meet? Do you know Him as your Saviour? I hope so.

I Kings 18:24, "And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken."