Saturday Devotional...Trust and Obedience...

                                                        ...by walking in the will of God

“So he did according to the word of the Lord; he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank of the brook. After awhile the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land.”

I Kings 17: 5 thru 7
(Amplified Bible)

In this story we see how the Lord directed Elijah to a place where he would be fed and cared for. The Lord had commanded the ravens to bring Elijah both bread and meat in the morning, and also again in the evening. There was a brook there, from which he could drink.

But then, it says that “after a while the brook dried up”. The good thing for Elijah was that the Lord then sent him another word and directed him where to go from there. But just for a moment, I’d like to stay right there at that little brook.

It seems to me that I have been at that place in my life. There have been times that all of my “needs” are being met, and I didn’t need to wonder at what was going to happen tomorrow. I had “found” my place of comfort and shelter and I was content at being where I was. There was no need for me to leave the place where I was at.

But then, one day the brook dries up. Now this concerns me. This wasn’t in my plans, I think to myself. “The Lord has been providing and caring for me, this just can’t be. There must be something wrong! What could I have possibly done to deserve this? Lord, there must be some mistake!” I say. I begin to call out my thoughts to the Lord, but the brook remains dry.

My first thoughts in times like these, even though I hate to admit it, are thoughts of myself. It is because I have become comfortable with the way things are. I am satisfied with being “fed and watered” without it taking too much effort on my part. I don’t have to worry about what I will do tomorrow, for I will simply do again, what I have done today.

These are the times that I have come to recognize as the “uncomfortable” times. I don’t know what lies ahead. Now, in this particular story, the Lord does tell Elijah where to go, and who is going to help him. But when he gets there, it surely doesn’t look like what the Lord said is really going to happen. He does get fed, but he surely doesn’t arrive at a place where the “banquet” table is already “set” for him.

My point is this; at times the Lord is going to give us those places of comfort. But, just like Elijah, we must be ready and willing to move on when the Lord tells us that it’s time. We cannot stay beside the “dry brook” praying for rain! We must move when the Lord says to move. He will bring us into those times of uncertainty so that we can learn to trust in Him. Not on the brook with the seemingly endless water supply. It is Him that truly supplies for all of our needs. Even when our circumstances don’t seem to appear that way, in fact, especially then.

We must be like Elijah, the Bible says, “So he arose…” . He didn’t stay there, kicking his feet and complaining that he had liked it the “way that it was”, as so many of us do. No, he arose and went on the way that the Lord was directing him to go. He didn’t know how long he would “stay” at that “new place” or how comfortable he would be, but he went anyway.

That is how I want to be. I want to willingly “rise” from that place where I’m at. I want to “rise” quickly, and without complaint. I want to leave that place, thanking the Lord for His goodness and provision to me. I want to go into the new place with a thankful heart. I want to remember how the Lord had provided, and how He will provide again, if I only allow Him. I want to be at each and every place in my life for only the appointed number of days. No more, and no less. I want to be “in step” with each and every plan that the Lord has for my life.

Thank you, Lord, that you are the One in Whom I can put my trust. Thank you that with You, all things stay the same, yet you allow change to take place in our lives so that we will come to fully know and understand You and your ways of caring for us. Help us to arise when its time to arise and to rest when it’s time to rest. Above all else, help us to place our love and trust in You alone, and never on the circumstances that surround us. It is in Your name that we pray, and that we ask these things. Amen.

Written by Beverley A Napier