God Will Provide!

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah saying, "Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan and it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the  brook dried up, because there had been a famine in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See I have commanded a widow to provide for you." So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."

I am an IT contractor, and my last contract ended on February 29th, 2008. I was working for a great company and had been there for over 18 months. When my time there ended, I thought I would find another job pretty quickly. However I did not get another job until May 21st! Therefore in the midst of those 10-11 weeks without work, this passage from 1 Kings really opened my eyes to see how God's provision is so fascinating.
God spoke to Elijah, telling him exactly where to go. That's one thing I love about God. He is always one step ahead of us! Before telling Elijah where to go, He had already made the preparations for him to be fed. This shouldn't be overlooked. What if Elijah had decided not to obey but instead had gone west of the Jordan, instead of east? He would have missed out on what God had in store for him. It is the same for us today. God wants to provide for all our needs (Philippians 4:19). However, we must cooperate with His plan by obeying His word and listening to His voice. Furthermore for us to confidently obey the Lord, we must trust Him. We must trust Him to know that whatever He asks us to do is for our good. Elijah could have said, "well Lord, I don't want to go to that brook. I have heard that the water is dirty." Because Elijah trusted God and was in close fellowship with Him, he simply went to where God told him.
Not only did God tell Elijah where to go, but also what would happen when he got there. He would be fed by ravens! Can you believe that - ravens carried bread and meat to him each morning and evening. That's amazing! God is so awesome as to cause a bird to bring food to His prophet. We see here that there is no limit to how God can provide for His people. Nothing is too hard for Him to do, and you can rest assured as Elijah did, that God can bring you what you need when you need it, and there are no barriers that can stop Him. If we could grasp this principle, there would be no room in our minds for doubt or fear, but we would give more room to peace and confidence in the Lord's love for us.
As we see though, the brook dried up, because there was no rain. This situation represents God's provision for a particular period coming to an end. Elijah now had no water to drink. We could equate this today to a person who is employed or in work of some kind being made redundant, or not being able to earn for one reason or another (e.g. through sickness). These times can be very testing. A similar situation happened to me in my last job. One week I was working, then the next, I was at home with no income.
When the "brook runs dry", what do we do? What did Elijah do? Did he start worrying about where he would get his next drink from? No. He simply waited on the Lord to speak to him again. The same God who could tell a raven to bring food twice a day is the same God who could provide again. He spoke to Elijah again, giving a simple instruction, while assuring Him of what He'll do upon Elijah's obedience. Notice that God initiates once again. At no point did Elijah have to ask God anything. God simply came through in His perfect timing. He says "I have commanded a widow to provide for you." Wow! The Lord is worthy to be praised!
God can command people to provide for you too! When God provides a job for you, see it as God commanding that company to provide for you. When you start a business and start to get some customers/clients, see it as God commanding those customers to provide for you. In my own life, thinking this way has helped me to realise that God is my source in that it is He who opens doors for me to work and earn a living.
During my 10 weeks off, my wife was actually pregnant with our first child. The first few weeks at home for me were hard because I kept counting how much money I could have been earning. I got put forward for various jobs and went on interviews but with no success. However as the days went by, God helped me realise that my life was in His hands, and I would only get a job when He wanted me to get one. No matter how many companies wanted to hire me or how many interviews I attended, the door was supernaturally closed at every turn. I acknowledged that God had ordained this time for me not to be working so I could support my wife during the final weeks of her pregnancy - cooking, washing up, taking her to the hospital etc. I really enjoyed my time at home, and thank God for how He worked things out!
As I end this article, I want to ask you a provocative question in order to make a point. Why didn't God use a beautiful eagle and a rich young man to provide for Elijah instead of a scavenger bird and a poor widow? I may not be able to answer fully myself, but it just shows that we should never be proud. We should be open to the fact that God can use anyone or anything to be a blessing in our lives. If Elijah had "turned up his nose" at a raven or poor widow, he may have starved to death! God can use anyone or anything to accomplish His will.