Trouble Comes Even When You are in His Will
How many times have you been where you thought God wanted you to be, yet the storms came anyway? At that time, did you wonder if you had misread what God wanted you to do putting you in the wrong place? I know I have. I believe that is because we have the misconception that being in God's will means everything will be easy. Nothing is further from the truth. In fact, being in God's will means everything will be more difficult. The story of Elijah in 1 Kings 17:1-16 is an example of this. In 1 Kings 17:1 Elijah informs King Ahab that there will be no rain because Israel was worshipping idols again. Then in verse 2 God tells Elijah to go hide because Queen Jezabel is killing all of God's prophets because she is a worshipper of Baal.
Read the following text: 1Kings 17:1-16
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah."
God specifically told Elijah to go hide by the brook and He would provide for him, but the brook dries up. If I was Elijah, I would have most likely complained about that. Then God specifically tells Elijah to go to the widow and she will provide for him. However, when he gets there, she tells him she can't because she doesn't even have food for herself. If I was Elijah I probably would have thought, "Well God, did you give me the wrong address? How can this person with no food for herself feed me?" Even though Elijah was doing exactly what God told him to do it wasn't easy. The fact that Elijah is having to hide in the first place is because He obeyed God. As you can see, you can still have troubled times even when you are in God's will. Obedience to God can not be equated with easiness of task or times. What you can be rest assured of though is that obedience to God will mean peace in your heart. So the next time you see a storm brewing on the horizon, don't automatically assume it is because you are out of God's will. Don't fail to notice though, that God did provide for Elijah miraculously which brings more glory to Him. If the brook hadn't dried up and the widow hadn't ran out of food, then Elijah would not have seen the miracle of the little bit of flour and oil never running out. When the storms roll in look for God's miracles and praise Him for them.
Staying the narrow path - Have a blessed day!
Check out my website at www.thenarrowpath.net
Read the following text: 1Kings 17:1-16
"Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe [a] in Gilead, said to Ahab, 'As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.'
2 Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: 3 "Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there."
5 So he did what the LORD had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the LORD came to him: 9 "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" 11 As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."
12 "As surely as the LORD your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die."
13 Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.' "
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 16 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah."
God specifically told Elijah to go hide by the brook and He would provide for him, but the brook dries up. If I was Elijah, I would have most likely complained about that. Then God specifically tells Elijah to go to the widow and she will provide for him. However, when he gets there, she tells him she can't because she doesn't even have food for herself. If I was Elijah I probably would have thought, "Well God, did you give me the wrong address? How can this person with no food for herself feed me?" Even though Elijah was doing exactly what God told him to do it wasn't easy. The fact that Elijah is having to hide in the first place is because He obeyed God. As you can see, you can still have troubled times even when you are in God's will. Obedience to God can not be equated with easiness of task or times. What you can be rest assured of though is that obedience to God will mean peace in your heart. So the next time you see a storm brewing on the horizon, don't automatically assume it is because you are out of God's will. Don't fail to notice though, that God did provide for Elijah miraculously which brings more glory to Him. If the brook hadn't dried up and the widow hadn't ran out of food, then Elijah would not have seen the miracle of the little bit of flour and oil never running out. When the storms roll in look for God's miracles and praise Him for them.
Staying the narrow path - Have a blessed day!
Check out my website at www.thenarrowpath.net
posted by My Nickels Worth @ 4:18 PM
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