The Bible says “Elias
was a man subject to like passions as we are” (James
5:17).
Yet he was mightily used
of God. This reference is talking about the time Elijah became so despondent
that he asked God to kill him (1 Kin.
19:4).
Elijah wasn’t perfect; yet
he called fire down from heaven three times; he was the first person to raise
someone from the dead; he caused the greatest revival in history up to that
point; his word started and ended a three-year drought; he multiplied food
miraculously; and he is one of only two men who never died—he was caught up
alive into heaven. There is a lot we can learn from a man like this, both
positive and negative.
The Bible gives little
background on Elijah. It wasn’t his pedigree or education that brought him into
a position of influence and power. Elijah was nobody until he received a
word from God. It was the revelation God gave him that put him into a position
of leadership.
Likewise, anyone who is
born again, or baptized in the Holy Spirit, or has a good relationship with the
Lord, has a revelation from God too. Just as Elijah’s revelation from God put
him into a position of influence, anyone who has a revelation of God has the
potential to influence others also. The only difference is that Elijah knew
what he had and was bold enough to speak.
Many of us have been
intimidated by the ungodly. We aren’t boldly speaking the truth we have from the Lord. What
if Elijah hadn’t spoken that prophecy to King Ahab? The drought may have
occurred anyway, but Elijah wouldn’t have been able to use it to affect the
nation. The people would have dismissed the drought as a natural occurrence.
Elijah was
bold enough to speak before there was any proof that what he was saying would
come to pass. That took faith and great courage. When the drought came as
promised, Elijah became the most sought after man in the nation:
“As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither
my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he
took an oath of the kingdom and nation, that they found thee not” (1 Kin. 18:10).
If we would speak forth
the truths God has shown us, just like Elijah, the truths we speak would
ultimately prevail.
Elijah didn’t have all the
answers or know what would happen next when he spoke the prophecy to King Ahab (1 Kin. 17:1). Ahab had forbidden
worship of the true God, instituting Baal worship. He killed the prophets of
the Lord, and Elijah was putting himself in harm’s way by obeying the Lord.
It wasn’t until after
Elijah delivered the word of the Lord, that God spoke to him about how He would
protect and sustain him.
First Kings
17:2-4
says,
“And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Get thee hence, and
turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before
Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have
commanded the ravens to feed thee there.”
One of the great lessons
we can learn here is that God doesn’t reveal His complete plan immediately. He
reveals His will to us one step at a time. After we obey the first step, He shows
us the next. Why should the Lord show us step two or ten if we haven’t obeyed
step one? That would just make us more accountable. So, don’t try to figure out the next
step until you have acted on what you know to do now. That’s a powerful truth.
The Lord told Elijah to go
to the Brook Cherith. He had already commanded the ravens to bring Elijah bread
and meat “THERE” every morning and evening. This was miraculous! What a
provision during a terrible time!
But notice this: The Lord
didn’t send Elijah’s provision to where he was. A quarterback doesn’t throw the
football to where the receiver is, but where the receiver is going. Elijah’s miracle wasn’t where he
was but where the Lord was sending him. That’s
awesome!
Each of us has a place
called “THERE,” where the blessings of the Lord are waiting. The Lord never fails to
provide, but people often fail to receive because they aren’t all “THERE.” If
Elijah had not gone to his place called “THERE,” his disobedience would not
have stopped God’s faithfulness; however, he would not have received the
provision; it was over “THERE,” by the Brook Cherith.
This is exactly what is
happening to many of us. The Lord has placed something on our hearts to say or
do. But, if we haven’t obeyed, we aren’t in our place of “THERE.” We aren’t seeing God’s provision,
because we aren’t in that place of obedience.
I’ve heard many people say
the Lord told them to attend Charis Bible College. But they just can’t see how
it could happen. They want to see the Lord’s provision before they go “THERE.”
That’s not how it works.
Some of you are not seeing
God’s provision because you aren’t doing what He has told you to do. This
doesn’t mean the Lord is punishing you. If Elijah hadn’t gone “THERE,” he would
have lost his provision. The Lord has provision for you too, but it’s “THERE.”
This place called “THERE”
changes. God changed the place and method of Elijah’s
provision:
“And the
word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which
belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman
there to sustain thee” (1 Kin. 17:8-9).
You can’t just seek the
Lord once, hear His voice, step out in faith, and then stop listening. The Lord
brings us into His perfect will step by step. Elijah moved when the Lord told
him to move.
This led Elijah to the
city of Zarephath where he asked a widow to give him the last of her food. It
looked like he was taking from this woman, but he was actually giving to her.
Instead of this being her last meal before dying, the Lord multiplied this
woman’s supplies, which kept her, her son, and Elijah alive for about three
years (1 Kin. 17:15-16). What a
great miracle!
That wasn’t all the widow
received. Her faithfulness in giving caused her son to be raised from the dead
(1 Kin. 17:17-23). She had been
operating in faith every day. She would use the last bit of oil and meal for
Elijah and then find that there was always enough to make a cake for herself
and her son. This was a great faith builder, which I’m sure figured into the
miracle of her son.
Elijah went on to call
fire down from heaven and consume a sacrifice in the sight of all of the people
of Israel (1 Kin. 18:36-38). The
people who saw it cried out, “The Lord, He is the God. The Lord, He is the
God.” They killed all the prophets of Baal, and the whole nation turned
to the Lord.
That same day, Elijah
prayed and ended the drought by a great rain storm (1 Kin. 18:41-45). He was so
pumped, he outran Ahab’s chariot in a twenty-mile race after Ahab had a head
start. Elijah was excited!
Here is a very important
lesson: After great
victories come great temptations. This
is primarily because we lose our sense of humility and dependence upon God (1 Kin. 19:4). Elijah had successfully
defied the king, his armies, his prophets, and all the people in the nation.
But the next day, a note from a woman caused him to run in terror (1 Kin. 19:2-3).
The Lord appeared to
Elijah and asked, “What are you doing HERE, Elijah?” (1 Kin. 19:9). Elijah wasn’t “THERE” anymore. His place called
“THERE” was back in Samaria. People were now worshiping the true God, but
Elijah had run away in fear, leaving the people without a leader.
This resulted in the Lord
replacing Elijah with Elisha. Elijah’s ministry fell short of what it could
have been. The Lord actually spoke to Elijah in an audible voice. He told him
to do three things, one of which was to anoint Elisha to replace him (1 Kin.
19:15-16). Elijah anointed Elisha (1
Kin. 19:19), but didn’t do the other two things. That means Elijah failed in two-thirds of the
things the Lord told him to do. That’s amazing.
You might think this meant
Elijah was washed up and was never used of God again. That’s not the case.
Elijah went on to prophesy (1 Kin.
21:17-24), and he called the fire of God down two more times (2 Kin. 1:9-12). And most impressive of
all, Elijah never died; he was caught up into heaven by a whirlwind (2 Kin. 2:11).
This man, who failed
miserably, still walked so closely with God that he never died. This speaks
volumes to us. The Lord has
never had anyone working for Him yet who was qualified. He uses us in spite of what we do, and
not because of what we do. If
we will hold on to our faith, we can still experience wonderful things from the
Lord even after failing BIG TIME. What powerful truths.
http://www.awmi.net/extra/article/place_called_there
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