ch.17: Elijah resurrected a dead boy of a very poor widow.
ch.18: Elijah and Obadiah
ch 19: Elijah flees to Horeb. (Mt. Horeb = Mt. Sinai)
From Girlfriends in God (1/14/2011)
"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked. "There is nothing there," he said. Seven times Elijah said, "Go back." The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea" (1 Kings 18:43-44, NIV).
What struck me as I studied this passage is the fact that Elijah didn't get his miracle right away this time. Could God have opened up the sky and poured out a storm immediately? You bet. Did He? No. Elijah had to wait. His servant had to look for the miracle...and look...and look...and look. Seven times.
Now think about this. God used Elijah in really big ways. Elijah spoke on God's behalf, was God's front-line man in raising a dead child back to life in order to bless a widowed mother, and he was the lead character in a miraculous God-show that brought fire from heaven ... consuming an offering and connecting the hearts of wandering people back to the heart of God. We're talking big God-stuff! Yet even Elijah experienced difficult situations and was forced to wait on God.
When discouragement sets in and you feel unheard - when you are forced to wait on God - when you find yourself caught between faith and a hard place - when there is nothing there ... no evidence of God's miracle on the horizon - remember that God is faithful, powerful, and responsive. He has seen you through trials in the past and He will see you through trials in the future. Even in the challenges you face now, you are seen, you are heard, and He is able. "Look to the Lord and his strength; seek His face always" (Psalm 105:4).
Our waiting years are God's gym, where He builds in us a stronger heart muscle. This is growth that can't be microwaved, truncated, or manufactured at warp speed. A durable faith is formed in the mundane disciplines of daily life, a straight line in the diligent pursuit of godliness (1 Timothy 4:8).
God's answers are like medicine to a heart that yearns for hope:
• When God is silent, God is active. God told Habakkuk, "Look around at the nations; look and be amazed! For I am doing something in your own day, something you wouldn't believe even if someone told you about it" (Habakkuk 1:5 NLT).
• God's solution often comes from an unexpected source.
• God's timing is always perfect. God said to Habakkuk and says to us: "My will is executed with precise timing. I'm not early. I'm not late" (Habakkuk 2:3 ESV).
• God is worthy of worship, regardless of our circumstances.
"Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. God, the Lord, is my strength; he makes my feet like the deer's; he makes me tread on my high places. To the choirmaster: with stringed instruments" (Habakkuk 3:17-19 ESV).
Waiting is considered loathsome to a generation accustomed to having quick answers, fast results, and instant gratification. But we must surrender our hearts to the sovereignty of God who slows us down, because waiting is not wasted time at all. Waiting is the essence of a faith that pleases Him.
Dear Lord, I worship You, the One, true God! You are mighty and powerful; full of never-ending compassion and love. Please help me to see you when I face trials and to trust Your heart when circumstances discourage me."
In Jesus' Name I pray,
Amen.
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