Nov. 10, 2024
“When the Ravine Goes Dry” by Rev. Phyllis
I was thinking about the drought and Elijah in 1 Kings 17 when God sent the drought and told Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
So Elijah did as the LORD told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land.
Elijah did exactly what God told him to and God took care of him. We see here that God has control over all nature, brooks and birds. Elijah did not cause the drought nor did he cause the ravine to go dry. God had a plan. He sent him north to the country where they didn’t worship the God of Israel. He sent him to a widow who was about to die because of the drought with her son. So he went to the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. The widow even though she did not know the God of Israel, obeyed his words. Yes you are right she didn’t have much to lose they were going to die. But still she obeyed even if it was reluctantly. And as you remember they had plenty to eat. But then her son died of some other cause. That is when she cried out the Elijah, “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to point out my sins and kill my son?” In essence she was crying out to the God of Israel and he met her and he answered her through Elijah. Elijah took the boy and he cried out to God. 1 Kings 17:20-21 (NLT) “O LORD my God, why have you brought tragedy to this widow who has opened her home to me, causing her son to die?” And he stretched himself out over the child three times and cried out to the LORD, “O LORD my God, please let this child’s life return to him.” And the boy lived and the widow lived. We learned that the God of Israel has control over life and death. There are so many lessons in this story, but sometimes I think we miss the most important one and that is the importance of crying out to God and trusting him to hear. After all it is about the prayer, which is the meeting with God more than it is the answer to prayer. Being with our Lord Jesus Christ is the answer to all prayer. So before our ravine goes dry as it surely will at some point, we must remember it isn’t about the ravine, wet or dry. It isn’t about good times or bad times. It isn’t about getting our way. It is all about God, all about the meeting with a Holy God. Prayer does change things, but just maybe it is more about the prayer, than it is the answer, not the request, but just perhaps it is the meeting God in prayer that is the answer. There are so many lesson from this text, but that is enough for one day.
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