Elijah had just pronounced "hard times" (a drought) would cover the land for a period of time.
This drought would affect everyone including himself. However, the Lord in His loving kindness had made a provision for Elijah (and others) during the coming "hard times".
Elijah was instructed to go to a brook called Cherith, a tributary to the Jordan River. He could drink from the brook while God would ordain the ravens to bring him bread & meat 2 times a day, morning & evening. No doubt Elijah was very grateful to know & experience that his physical needs were being taken care of.
Note that "after a while" (no mention of a time frame), the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
Because of the "hard times" in the land, Elijah's source of provision dwindled & finally seized. Even the ravens had stopped coming.
It was time for him to move on to God's next source of provision.
Our economy is currently experiencing “hard times” as well. For many reasons, all of us are experiencing the affects of an economic drought. Personally, I have enjoyed a long period of prosperity before the “hard times” hit our area of the country.
I am so grateful for God’s provision that He has shown through my jobs residential construction industry. When the economy took a downfall, my “brook” dried up, thus leaving me without the provisions that I loved & enjoyed for many years.
Since there was no more provision from my “brook”, it was time to move on to God’s next source of
provision.
Now here is where wisdom and insight plays a vital part...In spite of our best laid out plans and intentions, there comes a time in all of our experiences to move on!
The problem I faced was that I was ordered to pay regular child support for my minor children, and I could no longer fulfill my obligations as I had previously for many years.
Admittedly, I got stuck in the mire of lingering too long at the side of a dried up source of income, and did not move on quick enough...thus causing me to get too far behind in my child support payments to get current.
Now, do not misunderstand me here... I was working on some projects in order to produce a steady, predictable income. However, I soon realized that I was serving an industry that predicted my income.
I had no control over my own income at all !
No matter how sincere and intense my efforts were, they just did not pan out the way I had planned and desperately needed. Thus causing me to get further behind.
The one factor that bothered me most was the knowledge of my children doing without because of my inability to make the child support payments on their behalf!
In this day and time when a father gets too far behind in making regular scheduled child support payments, the child support office will file a complaint in court against the father, and the judge will find him in contempt of a court order.
Of course, this is a civil matter only and has no impact on the father's criminal record accept for the fact he is incarcerated sometimes up to a year, and treated worse than those that have committed far worse!
This was exactly what happened to me!
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Now let me ask you this...Is it time for you to move on with your life?
Perhaps you too are experiencing your own personal “brook” drying up.
Perhaps your current source of income has dwindled to nothing.
Let me encourage you to look to your True Source, God.
Could God miraculously cause a flood of “wealth” to replenish your “brook”?
Emphatically, yes! God is God, a God of the impossible. And God of the miraculous!
In Elijah’s case, God moved Elijah to go to a new source of provision. Read I Kings 17:8.
God chose to provide for Elijah through a totally unsuspecting source, a widow & her son.
When your source of provision dries up, what will you do?
Grumble?
Complain?
Become Bitter?
Linger too long at the dried up source's side?
Why not choose to be open to other sources of God’s provision?
Allow God to be your provider. Trust in Him!
Be open to His plan of provision for you.
Move On Quickly!
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