1 Kings 17:1-6 (NKJV) 1 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.
In my last post we began looking at the possibilities of God verses natural possibility. 2 Corinthians 5:5-8 points out that when we “walk by faith and not by sight” we have confidence. The world is suffering a crisis of confidence right now. When we limit our expectations to what we can see in the natural, we will lack confidence in most things. However, when we allow our expectation to in God’s possibilities, we will be able to see that our future is bright indeed.
We also looked at a tool God has placed in every human being to help us see beyond the natural. That is the tool of imagination. We cannot live in imaginary worlds. However, we can use this wonderful tool to begin to allow our minds to think on what God could do in our situation. If he is God, anything is possible. Imagining the possibilities of God are not enough to get results. They do give our faith a starting place so that when we see the promise in the Word of God that fits our need, our faith can take hold of the promise because we have already imagined it as a possibility.
We looked at Joshua 1:8 as a scriptural confirmation to this thought. The Lord told Joshua to meditate in his word day and night. When we meditate in the Word of God we are using our imagination to see what the Word says and what God can do for us. When we couple our ability to imagine with the Bible we have a powerful tool to produce success.
In order to exercise imagination, we have to have a story. We might turn to testimonies of other believers to see how God did miraculous things for them. If he moved for any person, he will move for you. The other place we must look is to the bible itself. The Word of God is full of stories of everyday people facing impossible situations and how God met their needs. God is no respecter of persons and he will meet your need as well.
In 1 Kings 17 we find the story of Elijah and how God provided for him in the drought which came as judgement for Israel’s sins. In the first verse we see something that I believe is important if we are going to tap into the power of God’s possibility. God was the one that brought the drought on Israel.
We must remember that the Lord is not only dealing with us but with the whole world. God has a plan to bring all things together under Christ and sometimes sin causes that plan to produce hardship in the earth. When we understand that God is doing something that will produce good in the long run, we can better deal with the present circumstances.
When God is moving in judgement, he takes a greater responsibility for caring for his people. The bible is full of stories of God taking care of people who trusted him even when he was bringing judgement. Israel in Egypt and Joshua and Caleb in the wilderness are both examples. God was judging Egypt for their sin but he provided for Israel in the midst of the plagues. God was judging Israel in the wilderness. A whole generation died there because of their unbelief. Joshua and Caleb were part of that generation yet they did not die because they saw the possibility of God not the impossibility of the situation.
In story we are studying today, God brought judgement on the Kingdom of Israel by the words of Elijah. However, God immediately made provision for him so he would not die in the judgement. The provision God made was supernatural. It looked beyond the possible into the possibility of God.
Let me point out one of the most important things we must understand if we are actually going to access the possibilities of God. Elijah heard and obeyed the Word of the Lord. The Word directed him to God’s possibility and unlocked Elijah’s faith to receive. If we are going to walk in the possibility of God, we must have our minds geared to “Word of the Lord.” This begins with the promises of the written Word. If we do not remember that, this will end as an exercise in imagination and nothing more.
That said, let us look at what was possible for Elijah. First, he was going to need a consistent water source so he would not die of thirst. God did not tell him how long the drought would last. Elijah said to the King it would not rain again until Elijah said it would but Elijah’s words had to be at God’s direction. They could not just be what he wanted.
One of the hardest things we deal with in a trying time is the fact that we often have no idea how long it will last. God hears us immediately and he will not be late. However, he is doing what needs to be done for us and for the world. We have to trust in his timing as well as his care for us.
God told Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith that flowed into the Jordan. The fact that it flowed into the Jordan meant two things. It was flowing water and therefore safe to drink. Also it was a major tributary of the river so it would last longer into the drought before it dried up. This was a natural possibility that God used to provide for Elijah. Most often that is how he will provide for you. He will either reveal or manipulate natural things to provide you with supernatural provision.
Elijah faced a second need that required more “creativity” on the part of God. Elijah needed to eat as well as drink. The solution God reveals to him is nothing that we would ever expect. Once again he used a natural thing but in a way that it would never happen in the natural. He commands birds to feed Elijah.
Everyday ravens came and brought him food. I do not know what they brought him. Maybe they picked up bread from various homes. Maybe they took meat from the king himself. (That would be just like God!) Wherever they got it, it was enough to sustain Elijah for a long period of time.
Let me note another thing we are going to have to understand. He does not always provide in the way we might like. Ravens are basically crows. We have many crows where I live. I see them gathered around the remains of animals that have been killed on the road. I do not think I would want to be sustained by “road kill café.” We must learn to trust that God will never give us something that will hurt us. If he gives us something we do not like, that does not mean it is not good for us. He may be working something out in your life or even in the life of someone else. God’s possibilities come with God’s conditions.
As we read this, let us focus on one fact. Crows would never bring us food whether we liked the food or not. However, when there was nothing else. God used ravens to feed Elijah. With God, the possibilities are endless. Let your mind think on how God might provide for you. Take the limits off for this exercise. I am certainly not saying God is going to use crows to bring you food. I am saying he could!
God has not forgotten the recipe for Manna! You may have run out of possibilities but God has not. He can provide in ways you would never think of. Let your imagination open up to include all that is possible for God. Then listen for the promise or the prophetic word that will release faith for the one he will actually use!
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