"Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come." 1 Corinthians 10:11
Elijah was a man like us subject to the passions we are. It is worth noting that Elijah lived his life always putting confidence in God. In many cases, the church of today has reduced its reliance on God and placed it more on things like technology and giftings. The bible tells us 'The just shall live by faith.' Romans 1:17; and 'Without faith it is impossible to please Him...' Hebrews 11:6. Elijah said 'The rain won't fall until I say so.' 1 Kings 17:1 It was the beginning of an economic downturn. No rain meant no harvests. In this season, it was also a time of supernatural miracles. God sends Elijah to the brook and commands the ravens to feed him. When God is getting ready to bless you, He never begs; He commands people to bless you!
After a while, the brook dried up and Elijah left that place. Because God had commanded the raven, it kept feeding. But He hadn't commanded the brook, so eventually, it dried up. It was because of the dried up brook that Elijah left. Where Elijah went, God commanded a woman to feed him. If a raven would feed Elijah by God's command, surely He would feed him by the woman. The widow woman didn't believe there was enough to feed him, but Elijah encouraged her in God. "Bake me a cake first..." 1 Kings 17:13 Instead of eating the only food she had left and was holding in her hand, she sowed sacrificially in response to the request of the man of God; she didn't eat her seed but rather sowed it. Because of her sacrificial gift in a time of economic downturn, God provided for her and her family for many days, even during a recession. Has the church today mistaken their seed for their harvest?
God is working both on and through the faith of Elijah and the woman's faith. Their faith is now greater than it was before. They understood that man's faith in God will produce every time, not because we have faith but because God is faithful! The enemy wants you to believe God is not faithful. You need to recognize that your faith has enemies. These are some enemies that will come against your faith:
- Doubt
- Grief
- Fear
- Intimidation
- Disappointment
How are we to respond to these enemies? In the midst of her faith growing, the widow woman's son gets ill and dies. Her faith is being attacked. She is compelled to question God's faithfulness. Even in her questioning, Elijah prays for her dead boy and he comes back to life. Elijah presents him to her alive. Both of their faiths are now restored and increased. The widow woman now comes to know Jehovah Jireh, her provider, as Jehovah Rapha, her healer.
In 1 Kings 18, Elijah challenges the prophets of Baal and destroys them and their works. Then in 1 Kings 19, Jezebel threatens Elijah and he begins getting fearful, stressed, discouraged and filled with doubt. Now Jezebel is long dead, but her spirit still lives, even in the church. The spirit of Jezebel (witchcraft) disrespects authority. It manipulates. And the problem is, it is difficult to deal with a spirit if you haven't identified it. Now understand that the Jezebel spirit tries to threaten the life of the man of God. Elijah felt like he was forgotten, forsaken and all alone. The man of God felt like throwing in the towel. It is at this point, you can lose the will to live. He laid down, closed his eyes and prayed that he wake up dead. Every now and again, regardless of the faith God has built up in you, there will come times where you feel like giving up, but there is a dimension of your faith that has the capacity to draw on and connect with the faithfulness of God when you would come to the end of yourself. It will move God to do the absolutely incredible on your behalf to show you He is still God, still faithful. God came to Elijah at that point, when there was no ravens or widow women to bless him, and personally baked Elijah a cake and gave him water. God is saying that He doesn't need the raven or the woman to bless you. He can bless you all by Himself. David told us in Psalm 23:5 that God will prepare a table before you (provision) in the presence of your enemies! When it looks like no one is there for you and no one cares, God will command a blessing in your life! He will personally bless you because HE IS FAITHFUL! God will take care of you - all by Himself!
CHALLENGE: The God of Elijah is here for you today. He is looking to raise up men and women of faith in the body of Christ. Men and women that he can use as examples in this nation to show that He is still God, the God of the impossible. Will you trust Him even when the enemies of your faith try to threaten your life? Remember that when your faith is being attacked, that means you have come to a place where your faith will connect with God's faithfulness to work miracles on your behalf. God will command people to bless you, but understand that He wants you to come to the dimension of faith where you recognize He wants to bless you... Himself!
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