The rocky region, cutting, and the refining of God's care

1 Kings17 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.

2 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan.

4 And it shall be, that thou shalt 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.

8 And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,

9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain 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 of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: 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 saith 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 sendeth 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.

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.

17 And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him.

18 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?

19 And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed.

20 And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son?

21 And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again.

22 And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived.

23 And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

24 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.

Elijah stands as one of the greatest prophets in history. He bursts onto the scene of history, seemingly out of nowhere. 

Ahab and Jezebel had been having a grand time destroying God's religion and people. Oh, they gave lip service every once in a while to God but went about wholeheartedly building up Baal worship in direct rebellion to the God of the universe. Sounds much like the politicians of today's world, does it not?

But, God sends Elijah to interrupt Ahab's party with a message from on high.

Needless to say, it was not a message that Ahab and Jezebel wanted to hear.

It came from a man that came from nowhere, at least to them. Gilead means "rocky region" in the original Hebrew language. Elijah was not a rich man. This was a man that had grown up and lived in a rocky region. He didn't grow up in the city where you could buy everything you needed. He wasn't raised on a winery or a fancy farm, where you had nearly all you needed nearby. 

Rather, Elijah (whose name meant "My God is Jehovah") lived in a rocky region. He had to hunt for his food. He had to hunt through sparse vegetation to find a few mountain vegetables. He had to compete with wild lions, bears, etc, for the meat he could hunt down. It was a rough life. 

People in this environment usually come out one of two ways (if they come out at all). 

First, they can come out very haughty and proud. After all, they scratched out a living with their wits and their bare hands. They survived by learning their environment and enemies and out-smarting their foes. After all, they had to compete with other men of the region for the scarce resources. This makes a man hard and proud. Not much love and care here.

The second kind of man that can come from here is humble. He knows that he owes his very existence to almighty God. He has seen stronger and smarter men than him fall by the wayside, while God allowed him to survive and thrive in horrible conditions. He seeks God with his whole heart, learns to hear God's voice, and obeys what he hears. 

Elijah was this kind of man. 

He had learned to hear and obey God's voice so much that he was allowed to "stand" in the presence of God! 

Think about that a minute. Even today, if we were to be allowed to have an audience with a king, protocol requires us to bow and bend our knee in respect to the monarch. If we do not, we can be arrested, expelled, or even killed. It was even more seriously taken in the days of Ahab. 

Yet, Elijah boldly a) did not bow in respect to "his king", and b) told Ahab that he was allowed to STAND in the presence of the ultimate monarch- God almighty!

What a testimony! 

God took Elijah from the rough and rocky life and put him in national prominence with one bold decree: "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."

The Lord had used Elijah's rough upbringing to cultivate a relationship that could be trusted and to teach him obedience and complete trust in Jehovah. 

So, when the Lord spoke to him and told him to deliver a message to Ahab, he didn't bat an eye. One day he's living in a rocky place and the next day, he's standing in the King's courts telling "his king" what Thus saith the Lord. 

He should've had an escape plan. He should've asked the Lord, "How do I get away after I say this, Lord?" After all, the king has guards whose job includes cutting down insulant prophets that disturb his day with something he doesn't want to hear. But, God didn't give Elijah a way of escape until he obeyed what he was ordered to do. 

It is then that he's sent to a brook in the middle of the wilderness called, Cherith. The word Cherith, in the Hebrew, means, "Cutting."

So, the Lord builds a relationship with Elijah, lifts him up in the eyes of a nation with a bold and rebellious decree to Ahab, and then drops him in a wilderness that he knows nothing at all about how to live in. 

That's our God, folks. 

Elijah had lived by seeking and obeying God for most of his life, but at least he could do some things for himself. He had hunted and foraged, climbed and walked, fought, and won. Yes, with God's help, but he'd done it. 

Yet, here, he's told, "thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there."

This takes relying on God to a whole new and more difficult level.

Now, instead of foraging and hunting for food, he's told "I'm sending your food via airmail. Just wait on it." And rather than trying to find water that's not too dirty or stale to drink, "here's you a flowing and clean stream to drink from." 

Sure, he had to set up some sort of shelter when he arrived (a tent or a lean-to perhaps), but after that, all he had to do was pray and wait. 

To a man that has lived by his wits and strength to a point, this is an environment that cuts. This is something that reinforces his complete helplessness and utter reliance on God Almighty to take care of his needs.  

This is not an easy thing for a man, much less a human, to accept. 

But, God knew what was ahead. Elijah's relationship and reliance on God had to be stretched in order for Elijah to be able to complete the task that God intended for him to accomplish. 

We're not told how long Elijah lived like this. But, I'm sure that his eyes told him that the brook was drying up. The food kept coming, but the water was flowing less and less. 

Did he worry? We're not told. But, I tend to doubt he worried much, being the man he was. 

Did he wonder? This I'm sure he did. 

I can see him filling his hand or cup from the brook every day. I can see him noticing the water flowing less and less. I can see him beginning to ask the Lord, "I'm sure you see that the water is drying up out here, Lord. What's the plan?" 

But, he received no answer.

A lesser man would've left the area and tried to formulate a plan. Maybe God wants me to go here and do this. Maybe God wants me to go there and do that. 

But, Elijah didn't do this. He had been told to go to the brook and stay. So, stay he did. 

He remained obedient in the face of dwindling resources. He remained obedient when the water dried up. I'm sure he kept asking for God's guidance. But, that guidance didn't come until the water was gone. After God's provision dried up and Elijah still stayed put, that's when the Lord answered with the next part of his plan.

At that time, God told him "Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee."

Zarephath means "refinery" in the Hebrew.

Here the Lord worked on Elijah some more. Elijah, a man, had to humble himself and ask for provision from a widow woman with a sickly child. 

Most men would've looked at God and said, "you've got to be kidding me here, Lord?"

Not only could he not hunt and forage. Not only could he not wait on birds to bring him food and dip his own water. But, now he had to ask a weak widow woman, struggling to survive, with a weak and sickly child- who were on their literal last leg, "Excuse me, could you give me water and food?"

This was new for him. There's not much lower for a man to go than to nearly beg for his sustenance from a woman who is about to die herself!

But, God knew that Elijah truly needed to know that God was indeed his provider and that, as long as he obeyed him, Elijah would be cared for. 

Elijah had grown up and learned to trust God in the rocky region. Then, God had cut him further at the brook. Now, God had to refine the process. 

And it was here that the real test of Elijah's relationship with and trust in God came. 

The widow. The one who had stepped out in faith to provide for Elijah. Comes to Elijah in angry, bitter tears. 

"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?"

Elijah has a choice to make.

Does he shrug his shoulders and say, "God controls life and death, why are you mad at me?"

Does he turn tail and run away in the face of anger the likes of which he's probably never seen?

No. 

He takes the child to his room and prays to the only true provider he's ever known to handle yet another situation that Elijah cannot handle. 

And God responds with life-giving force! 

It was the rocky region that gave him the faith to obey the Lord in facing down Ahab again. It was the cutting of God's care in all this, that helped him to challenge the political and religious structure that permeated Israel. And it was the "refining" fire that allowed him to trust in the God of heaven to bring down fire from heaven and completely obliterate Baal's entire hold on most of Israel. 

So, whatever you may be going through, the rocky region, the cutting, or the refining process, please understand that God has a plan. His plan is strong and sure. 

He's working things out of you and working faith and trust in you in each set of circumstances.  

God's got this. Trust him.

And your circumstances will help a weak widow, revive a weak son, and help to revive a nation in dire need of a move of God.

Jehovah Jireh: The Lord my provider

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13 And Abraham lifted up his eyes, and looked, and behold behind him a ram caught in a thicket by his horns: and Abraham went and took the ram, and offered him up for a burnt offering in the stead of his son.

14 And Abraham called the name of that place Jehovahjireh: as it is said to this day, In the mount of the Lord it shall be seen. (Genesis 22:13-14)

This is well-covered territory for most Christians, but God is a good God. More than that, God is a good Father. We are his children. As a good Father, the Lord knows he must take care of us. 

I reiterate this as a reminder to myself and anyone else out there that needs to hear it again. 

My family and I are in a battle. We are on a journey. But, in this journey, we have enemies. 

Some of the enemies are our circumstances. I'm jobless. I'm 54. I'm on unemployment. Most businesses in this day and age have no interest in hiring a man my age. 

First of all, a man my age needs a larger salary than a 22-year-old just out of college. I have established bills and a family to care for. Companies can pay the young college grad (I'm a recent college grad myself) far less than what they would pay me.

Secondly,

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/intentional-insights/202003/why-you-should-hire-women-over-men-according-science

https://disasteravoidanceexperts.com/why-you-should-hire-women-over-men-according-to-science/

That's just 2 examples of the narrative that our society is pushing. Supposedly, 2020 has been declared the year of the woman. So employers are actively searching for reasons and ways to hire women over men. 

Both of these, plus the Covid-19 economic mess has made it extremely difficult for me to find a job. Even looking for a job is more difficult now for us older folks. In my youth, you went to the place you wanted to work at, filled out the application, talked with the manager (many times before you left) and you at least left with an interview set up. 

Now, companies get offended if you look for a job that way. "Can't you go to our website and apply like everyone else? We don't do applications in house." So, we're left with the cold, and impersonal cyber world. We go to the job sites, linked in, and company websites. But, usually, we don't even get a "thank you for applying" email. 

It's very frustrating and disheartening.

Other enemies include the devil (who hates all Christians) and even some brothers and sisters in the Lord who do not like the way that we live or believe. 

These folks actively send curses our way (not from God) by praying for us to fall flat on our faces. Supposedly, in their minds, if we fail, then it negates the scriptures that we live by and they are not responsible to line up with God's word in that department. 

But, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over." (Psalms 23:5)

Take heart! 

God says that when we are surrounded by enemies because we are his child, he will provide for us! He'll even give us a glorious picnic for us to eat while our enemy is kept at bay. All they can do is sit back and watch us eat it! 

Hallelujah!!!

Also, in the process, the Lord will refresh our anointing and fill us to the point of running over again! 

I'm not there quite yet, but he is providing for us. I know the refreshing is coming though- because he said so.

The enemy of our souls whispers, "you're going to lose everything. All is lost. You're God has abandoned you. You're going down this time." He tries to fill our minds with images of our pets and children starving, and we're homeless- having no way or place to go. 

But, just like when Abraham was asked to sacrifice Isaac, if we will willingly say, "thy will be done," the long trek up the mountain will be worth it all. The Lord will make a way where there seems to be no way. 

Abraham and Isaac climbed that mountain. Isaac was willing to be strapped onto the altar of sacrifice. Abraham was willing to strap him in and lift the knife. 

Then God spoke.

There will come a time when God will look at our willingly offered sacrifice and speak deliverance into both my situations and yours. 

When he does, we, like Abraham, will once again call him, Jehovah-Jireh- The Lord my provider.

Until then, let's just hold on to him and enjoy our picnic. Let the enemy watch us eat every bite. Because one day, victory will be ours because the Lord will free us!

The God of second chances

Mark 16 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint him.

2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.

3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulchre?

4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.

5 And entering into the sepulchre, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted.

6 And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.

7 But go your way, tell his disciples and Peter that he goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see him, as he said unto you.

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid.

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

I don't know why I never really saw this before. I've read it many, many times before. But, for some reason that only God knows, this morning it just seemed to jump off the page. 

After Jesus rose from the dead, 3 women showed up at Jesus' tomb to care for his body, since the customary spices could not be added to the body due to the circumstances. (Jesus died quickly on the cross and due to the fast-approaching sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea received permission to hastily put him in his own tomb.) 

To their utter shock and amazement, these women (Mary Magdeline, Mary the mother of James, and Salome) found the stone rolled away. They had wondered who they could get to move the stone for them, and here it was already moved. This made them understandably nervous.

I can almost see them peeking their heads around the corner to look inside- wondering what they would find. To their further astonishment, they found a man in white clothing calmly sitting inside the tomb of their Lord. What could this mean? Was he a thief? What was this stranger doing sitting in a tomb? Should they approach him? Should they run for help? 

The Angel (for that's what the man was) tries to calm them by saying, "Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here." And to illustrate the point he points them to where Jesus' body had been laid. Now, we know elsewhere in the Gospels, that his grave clothes and the head covering were folded neatly and left there for them to see (John 20:6-7). 

These women had followed Jesus closely. They'd heard his teaching both from him and the others he had told. He'd told people he'd be killed and rise again in three days. So, when the Angel tells them "Jesus is risen", you'd think they'd be jumping for joy, right?

Nope.

When the Angel tells them to go and tell the disciples that Jesus had arose from the dead, what did they do? Did they run to the disciples and say "You're never going to believe this, but...?" Did they happily and tearfully grab passersby on their way to tell the disciples and say, "He's alive! Jesus is alive! Glory to God?" 

Nope. 

8 And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid. 

The Angel had just confirmed that Jesus had indeed told them the truth and had defeated death. But, rather than believing and doing what they had been instructed to do, they quickly got outta there and DISOBEYED the instruction of God given through the Angel. 

Like many of us, lack of understanding brought fear, and fear caused them to disobey the God they loved.

Did a lightning bolt fly from the sky and destroy them? 

Did a loud voice from heaven rebuke them and cause the ground to open and destroy them?

No.

Many times when the Lord tells us to do something, fear rises up and asks questions: "What's happening? This is so far out of what I've ever experienced. Am I crazy? What if I do obey the Angel? (Is that what he truly was?) What if I mess it up? What if I use the wrong words? What if they reject the message- or even worse- me? What if...?" 

Spiritual things are not understood well by the flesh. Just like us, these women were human. Flesh fears what it doesn't understand. Flesh balks at stepping out of the norm. 

Rather than rebuking these wayward and sinning women, the Lord tugged on their heart. "Trust me, child. Go and do what I said. If you don't believe what you saw the first time, go and have another look at the grave."

How do I know?

Mark 16: 9-11

9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.

10 And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept.

11 And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not.

Later, in the same chapter we started in, Mary makes her way back to the tomb. Evidently, the Lord was dealing with her heart. She couldn't shake what she'd seen. She couldn't shake what she'd heard. But, she was afraid. So, just to be sure, she made her way back to the tomb. 

This time, she didn't meet an Angel. This time she met the Lord himself! This time she flew back to the disciples to tell them the good news! 

And God smiled.

He'd asked once to no avail. But, this time, because she went back to the place of her calling, the Lord himself met her. He didn't have to tell her this time to go tell. No, she took off to go and obey her first instructions! 

A scared child of God was now converted to a believing and obedient one. And he smiled.

So, my friend, wherever you are. Whatever you've been told by God to do. I know you're scared. Jesus knows you're afraid. Jesus never asks us to do anything that cannot be done through him. But, it's not easy for the flesh to agree to possibly be made a fool of.  

But, if you'll just go back to the place of your calling (spiritually), he'll meet you there. He's perfect love and he'll cast out your fear. Then, you won't worry about what others may think or how others may act. You'll be so excited because you've been with the master that you can't wait to go and do what he told you to. 

When she arrived to tell what she was told to tell, the disciples DID NOT BELIEVE her. But, it didn't matter to her. She knew the truth because she'd been with Jesus.

So, go back and meet with Jesus. He'll forgive you for not obeying the first time. He'll give you a fresh experience of his love. And then, you won't worry about other's reactions because you know you've been with the Master- and he's the God of second chances. 

And one thing we all need sometimes is a second chance.

 

Let go!

We have 7 dogs and a cat in our home. As such, sometimes we find ourselves battling fleas. This morning, one was on my shirt. Della was trying to catch it. I pulled back on the material (thinking to help her) and it wasn't long before she said, "Let go." I was confused. Let go of what? So, she said it again, "Let go." I finally realized that she had meant to let go of my shirt.

But, it dawned on me, How many times do we do God that way? 

He's trying to help us with a problem and he keeps saying, "let go." Yet, we keep holding on to it. 

It could be a sin. When he tells us to repent, he's essentially telling us to let go of the sin so that he can take it away and wash us in his blood. That way, we can be holy in his sight.

It may be a situation that we're trying to fix. God sees it. He knows how to fix it. He keeps telling us to "let go." Let go of our lost children. Let go of the job situation. Let go of our political anxieties. Whatever it is, when we hold onto it with our hands, we don't allow him to step in and take control. 

More often than not, the harder we try to fix it, the worse the issue becomes- and the more aggravated we become. Why is it so hard for us humans to trust God with our troubles? He tells us to "cast all (our) cares upon (him)." (1 Peter 5:7)

Sure, he could force us to let it go. But, God wants us to willingly release to him what we are holding in our hands into his all-powerful and all capable hands. That way, when he fixes it, we stand in awe of his amazing handiwork. But, when we stubbornly try and turn the problem this way and that way, he just sits back and watches us- waiting on us to come to the end of ourselves. 

When we finally reach the end of ourselves and realize that our efforts are truly doing nothing to fix anything, then we will finally give it to him. Much like a toddler who is trying to take something apart finally looks up at the parent and says, "help," we lift the problem to God. He smiles, takes it from us, and corrects the problem as only he can. 

What an awesome Father we have. He loves us and is ready, willing, and able to take care of whatever needs to be taken care of. 

So, whatever the problem in our lives: a sin, a sick loved one, a job, political worries, wedding plans, etc., we need to give it all over to him. God is well able to fix the problem. And he's ready to take it out of our hands and make something beautiful out of it. 

When we do, we'll be amazed at the end result for he truly does all things well.

Matthew 11:28

Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 

A sincere apology and plea

It has come to my attention that some of my blogs have come across to some people that I think I know more than they do. 

I don't.

The purpose of this blog is to spread God's word with whosoever will read it. I'm not a Bible School grad. I don't have a TH.D. Many of you who read this have much more education than I. Lot's of you have accomplished many more things than I ever have. 

I only share what the Lord illuminates to me- as he gives it to me. Many times, I'm learning as I'm writing it down for you. It's similar to a preacher preaching a sermon. The Lord gives him a passage of scripture and illuminates it to the preacher while he's preaching. You can hear him saying, "I've never seen this that way before," as he's preaching. 

That's all I'm doing as I'm writing this blog. 

I'm not trying to prove how smart I am. 

I'm not saying I have it all together. 

I'm not looking down on anyone. 

I don't think that my readers need to "come up to my level."

In fact, I believe many of you can teach me a thing or two. 

I DO believe that we all need to come up to the levels that GOD wants us to be at. 

So, if I've offended any of you, I'm truly sorry. If I've come across to anyone that I think I've "arrived" at some high place in God and I think I'm above anyone, I'm very sorry. 

Please forgive me. 

The only thing I can do is pray, and humbly seek God for the words he wants me to write. 

If I hurt anyone, I'm sorry. 

But, do me a favor. Pray for me. I need the Lord's guidance in all that I do or say (or write). 

And if you think I've missed the mark, let me know. As long as you're not rude or ungodly in what you say, I'll listen. And I'll take it to prayer. 

Thanks for your prayer and for reading the few words the Lord gives me. 

God bless you all.