Let's just follow the prophet. (1 Kings 17-19)

17:2-4, 9

God knows the course our lives will take. He sees the entire journey. He has and is working hard for us to achieve eternal life. He wants our experience of life to have the greatest effect.

However, our lives take lots of side roads. There are unnecessary detours that don’t add to our spiritual strength. If we are sensitive, he will nudge us in the right direction when we start heading off-course.

He will also fill the gaps in our wisdom and build bridges between point a and point b if it will keep us on the correct path. God helps.

Elijah needed help at times. “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.” Elijah needed some direction. His life wasn’t going to play out as planned without this revelation to him. God was filling in the gaps.

God even provided nourishment for him. “And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.” I don’t think the ravens were providing extra food for Elijah. They were doing what was necessary to keep Elijah on the path God had for him.

It is that way for us. God isn’t interested in sending us down dead-end roads that won’t add to our spiritual strength. There is no futile effort from God in his work. He will do exactly what we need, when we need it, if we allow him to.

He did it again when he directed Elijah to meet a widow. “Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” This was part of Elijah’s path (and the woman’s).

I know that God loves me as much as Elijah. He will give me needed direction when and how I need it. BUT, I have to be open to it. I have to be listening and ready to act.

17:13, 15

Elijah met a widow who was on her last handful of meal for her and her son. ”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.” Why would a prophet ask a widow to sacrifice her last meal?

It would be a real sacrifice and an act of faith. We grow when we sacrifice and act in faith. We are always blessed when we do this. It may be that the only blessing is spiritual strength. It can also be that we are given temporal help - as it is in this case. “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.” She was blessed because of her obedience.

I know that we are ALWAYS blessed in one way or another when we are obedient.

17:18

The woman’s child becomes sick unto death. “And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son?” She is in a dire situation and her faith is straining. Rather than judge her, we should learn from her. How many of us have let our faith slip when we were being tested?

I think this is a good reminder that bad things can happen to good people.

It’s also interesting that she says, “art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance…” She had obviously made mistakes in the past and suspected that Elijah may be there to bring consequences. The footnote leads to Job 13:26: “For thou writest bitter things against me, and makest me to possess the iniquities of my youth.”

Many of us carry around guilt from past. I know I do. I’m sensitive about it. It appears that she was too.

Again, God doesn’t do anything that doesn’t lead to our eternal life. This experience ended up strengthening her faith and reliance on the Lord.

17:22, 24

Elijah gives the child a blessing and asks that God returns the child’s soul. “And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.” I love that God is responding to the voice of Elijah. God will respond to us when we pray to him. This is one lesson I’ve learned from the Old Testament - God sometimes intervenes when asked.

I can’t help but think of times that I have perhaps missed out on God’s blessing because I didn’t ask. I think I’ve thought, if it’s God’s will, then it will happen whether I ask or not. That obviously isn’t how this works.

I think there’s a more curvy path that I will travel without God’s input. There is a more direct, more product path that I will travel with his guidance.

She’s convinced. “And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.” It is good to see her testimony building. A miracle can do that. I think it’s not usually how it works. We believe without the miracles. I think our spiritual foundation is often stronger as a result of a million small acts that WE DO rather than a miracle that is DONE FOR US.

18:9

I think a day is coming when the prophet will ask us something that doesn’t make any sense to us. We will attempt to use our wisdom to outthink his revelation. Obadiah clearly did this when Elijah directed him to Ahab. “And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me?”

It is in our nature to NOT do something that doesn’t make sense to us. But, we need to mentally prepare for it because that day is coming. It may be something big that puts our lives on the line - or it might be small. We should never attempt to outthink a prophet of God! Thankfully, Obadiah conceded when Elijah pressed him.

18:17

Ahab doesn’t like Elijah. “And it came to pass, when Ahab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel?” It is so typical for humans to look for someone to blame. The drought couldn’t possibly be a result of poor choices. Rather than concede the obvious, it was easier to simply blame Elijah.

Don’t we all do that? When something bad happens, we look for someone to blame. Our brains have a hard time accepting that we aren’t the hero of our story. Our brains attempt to twist things so that the villain is always the other guy. It often prevents us from learning lessons and repenting.

Elijah attempts to set him straight. “And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father’s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the Lord, and thou hast followed Baalim.” It was Ahab’s poor decisions that had led to these consequences.

18:21

”And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” The people were on the fence.

We need to not be halted between two opinions. If the Lord is God and we understand our role in gathering Israel, our behavior should match. We can’t be in neutral. I think I was mostly in neutral for a very long time. Elijah would have had some harsh words for me.

18:39

”And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The Lord, he is the God; the Lord, he is the God.” These people became convinced. Being convinced can happen quickly. A miracle can convince.

However, there’s a difference between being convinced vs. converted. If something dramatic convinces us of the truth but we don’t do anything to sustain that testimony, we can quickly falter. I suspect that these people were definitely convinced but not converted.

18:41

Elijah had said that rain was coming. “And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain. 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…” I think it’s interesting that Elijah was confident in prophesying rain to Arab but then went to his knees in private.

Again, I am learning about how to create a true relationship with God.

19:4

Elijah had been instrumental in some very large displays of power from God. He had promised drought and then rain. He had called down fire from heaven. Yet, Jezebel wanted him dead. I’m sure Elijah was dismayed that she wasn’t convinced by such miracles.

He was again on the run. He knew what it meant to live long periods in the wilderness. I’m sure he was discouraged or felt his work was helpless. “But he himself went a day’s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers.”

We all have had these moments where we felt like our lives were not going how we planned. Sometimes discouragement stacks on top of discouragement. It’s human nature to, at times, feel overwhelmed. We must know that God will strengthen us during those times.

In other times, the Lord will provide what is needed to carry on. “And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drink, and laid him down again.” I like to picture in my mind this angel dutifully making and baking a cake for Elijah. The Lord gives us what we need to keep moving forward in our lives.

19:11-12

This is an interesting couple of verses. “And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the Lord. And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the Lord was not in the earthquake: And after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice.”

God’s primary method for communicating with us isn’t in large events. He doesn’t push us into the right direction with wind. He doesn’t make us change course by a wall of fire. If he did that, we would be little more than rats in a maze. Experiencing things but not really developing the ability to make good choices.

God has to be more subtle. He relies on a method of communication that depends on our spiritual ears. It’s kinda like how Jesus spoke in parables so that only the spiritually prepared would understand. God speaks in whispers for the same reason.