MEANWHILE BACK AT THE BROOK!

Tuesday, April 14, 2020

MEANWHILE BACK AT THE BROOK!

1 Kings 17:2-6

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.

           While the opinions and responses to our current pandemic rage, I often find myself back at the brook Cherith with Elijah. Not that I am worthy to sit on the bank with him, but I feel what he must have felt. I feel “right with God,” but I also feel that I’m doing nothing for God’s cause. Elijah ate a miraculous meal every day as the black birds arrived. He did not labor and, eventually I think, he grew accustomed to this daily wonder.

           We wonder when and if this will ever be over. When things return to normal, what will normal look like? Can I shake my brother’s hand again? Will I ever experience or give a warm embrace? But things will change for us just as they changed for Elijah, but that change was a worsening of conditions.

1 Kings 17:7-9

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.

           The drought that Elijah foretold had dragged on for three years. It was bad, but Elijah had made adjustments. He had learned to rely on the ravens and the brook, but the brook dried up. There is no mention of the ravens, but I suspect they stopped coming to the brook as well. But God always has a plan and His next one was a doozy! Elijah had earned an “upgrade” from ravens to a widow woman!

Ps 37:3-5

3 Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.

4 Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.

5 Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.

Ah, Lord God! We have adjusted to this new way of life, but I wonder if we are ready for the end of it. Help us to trust in you. Help us to never abandon doing good. Give us this day what you know we need. AMEN