We're working through 1 Kings with our men's Bible study right now on Tuesday mornings. This week we worked on chapter 18... which means last week we did 17, and next week we'll be doing 19. I've written about this passage before, but these three chapters are among my favorite scriptures, so I thought I would once again share a few thoughts...
(Read 1 Kings 17-19 here.)
The reason that I love this passage so much is that it shows us God's grace and providence in our inexperience and doubt. If Elijah, who was not only greatly blessed by God but also spoke on His behalf as His profit, struggled with these issues, should we really be surprised that we have trouble today? Let's take it one chapter at a time:
Chapter 17 is a perfect picture of God's willingness to provide, and a passage that I come back to again and again when I'm having a tough time... it's also a huge trust building exercise for Elijah! God tells Elijah to go out into the wilderness (essentially) and eat whatever the ravens bring him. Now, I can only imagine having to trust birds for your dinner... but they did bring him food. Until the brook dried up. See, God had just sent a drought over the land (using Elijah as his messenger). So God talks to Elijah again. This time he tells him to go to a village called Zarephath, which he does. There he finds a widow, who, despite having no money and no food and a son to care for, agrees to feed him. Again God is faithful, providing a seemingly neverending supply of flour and oil. Elijah even gets to bring the afformentioned son back from the dead. Pretty cool.
It seems that by Chapter 18, God thought Elijah was ready for the real task that was ahead of him... he sends Elijah back to King Ahab to say that rain is coming... and to challenge the prophets of Baal to a little contest. Long story short... Elijah wins that contest in a BIG way (with some major help from God) and the prophets of Baal end up... well... dead. On top of that, God does send rain... amazing! God has delivered on everything he said he would... seems like Elijah should be feeling pretty good right now, right? Wrong.
He runs away... he runs all the way to Mount Sinai and hides in a cave. And then, when God asks him about it (we're into 19 now), he has the audacity to doubt God's faithfulness (God had even provided him with food to aid him in his journey to Mount Sinai!). Elijah thinks he's all alone in his virtue and faith (which we know isn't true). The incredible thing is that even after all of this, God still shows patience with Elijah... He still has work for him to do. He puts on a pretty good show of wind and earthquake and fire... but then he comes to Elijah in the gentle whisper that so many Christians now refer to as the still, small voice of God. He gives Elijah his instructions, and Elijah goes.
My point is this: Elijah was an extraordinary man who lived an extraordinary life and was used by God in extraordinary ways. And yet he doubted himself and God all the time. God always provided anyways. God took care of Elijah because he was doing His (God's) work. God still calls us to trust Him for our needs. He may not ask us to wait for ravens or widows to bring us our food, or to stand up to one of the most powerful people in the world, but He still expects us to rely on Him for our strength and provisions... and He still provides.
...And yet we still doubt. We still wonder if God will really come through for us. We still try to rely on ourselves. And we wonder why we don't succeed? God is still whispering... we just need to step back from ourselves and from our lives and listen. We need to get our instructions, find out where and how our needs will be met, and then go! We never lack a plan, only the ability to find and trust in it.
