Sometimes where God leads you is temporary, but it’s still where he was leading you.
Sometimes where God last brought you won’t last forever, and it’s not a work of the enemy when you are forced to move on to what is next. We’re so quick to assume when the thing we have now stops working, that is must be Satan working against us. But actually, what if it’s God. What if this is exactly how God is guiding you to what is next in his purposes and plans for you. He brings an end to what is here now, so he can move you to what is next ahead.
What if the very problem you’re facing right now isn’t an arrow from Hell sent to detour you, but a messenger from Heaven sent to guide you. You see, the truth is, if it kept being comfortable here, if it kept working, if the door remained open, you would stay here. But God has so much more for you. And sometimes the only way he can get you to move toward what he has for you is to shut down what you’ve been depending on here.
Look at the story of Elijah. Elijah was a prophet of God. He heard from God. He was guided by him. And God revealed to him that a drought was coming on the land for several years. 1 Kings 17: 2- 6 “God then told Elijah, “Get out of here, and fast. Head east and hide out at the Kerith Ravine on the other side of the Jordan River. You can drink fresh water from the brook; I’ve ordered the ravens to feed you.”
Elijah obeyed God’s orders. He went and camped in the Kerith canyon on the other side of the Jordan. And sure enough, ravens brought him his meals, both breakfast and supper, and he drank from the brook.”
God knows about this drought in your life, and he has already prepared a brook for you. He has guided you to a place where he will provide, and he will sustain. Right? Seriously, you’re making it through, aren’t you? Isn’t that God? Can’t you see how he aligned the place you’ve been in to get you through what you’ve been going through?
But, here’s the thing … this place you’ve been in to get you through what you’ve been going through, isn’t forever. This is temporary. God is guiding you past this. But, you must understand how God sometimes guides us to leave where he last brought us, because it may not look like you imagined. He may not present you with an irresistible next option that has you excited to move on. He may not reveal to you great plans ahead that make staying here undesirable. Instead, you may sit and watch what you’ve had here slowly dry up. And as you watch what God has been providing dry up, it’s going to feel a whole lot like an attack of the enemy. It’s going to feel like God is against you. But learn this lesson so you don’t freak out.
Verse 7, “Eventually the brook dried up because of the drought.”
This brook is where Elijah had been led by God, and where he had been blessed with water to drink and birds that brought him his meals daily. It had been good. Elijah had likely grown comfortable here. He could count on what he needed to be provided. He could see God’s hand in it all. But eventually, that brook dried up. What God had been providing ceased.
Imagine how Elijah must have felt. Oh I bet he felt kind of like you feel as this whole thing has dried up on you. God, you brought me to this place, you guided me to this, and now it’s going to fall apart? Now it’s going to be taken away? Now, after all of this, I’m going to be left with nothing and have to start over?
Sometimes don’t you just want to say “WHAT THE ACTUAL CRAP?”
But honey, when God brings you somewhere and then things change after you’re there, maybe it’s because God has somewhere else he wants to lead you next. And maybe, the only way God could get you to leave the comfort of this and make a change, is for him to force the change. Not because he’s punishing you. Not because the enemy is attacking. Simply because God has a plan for you beyond this and God’s clearest guidance can come through a freshly slammed door.
So Elijah had been supernaturally provided for during the drought at this brook. But then the brook dries up. How unfortunate. But actually, how divine!
Could your unfortunate situation actually be divine? Oh yes, girl, it could be! Maybe you’ve been freaking out over something that is actually freaking good, but the cover of the book doesn’t match what’s inside! You have to open it up and read the story!
Now, here’s the rest of the story after Elijah’s brook dries up and he’s left without provisions. Verse 8-16, “Then God spoke to him: “Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I’ve instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you.”
So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, “Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink.” As she went to get it, he called out, “And while you’re at it, would you bring me something to eat?”
She said, “I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don’t have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we’ll die.”
Elijah said to her, “Don’t worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you’ve said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what’s left for you and your son. This is the word of the God of Israel: ‘The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.’”
And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said—daily food for her and her family. The jar of meal didn’t run out and the bottle of oil didn’t become empty: God’s promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it!”
Girl, what if this redirection in your plans is far bigger than you imagined. What if God isn’t only moving you for purposes concerning your life, but what if God is also moving you for purposes concerning the lives of others? What if this current disappointment and difficulty is bigger than just you?
God met Elijah’s needs during the drought by bringing him to a brook. Great. But God didn’t want him to stay at that brook, so he made the brook dry up. Why? For the purposes of getting him to Zarephath, in the house of this widow. A widow who didn’t believe in Elijah’s God, but God sure believed in her! A widow who was preparing for her and her son to die, but God intended for them to live. God intended for them to believe.
How would it all happen? Elijah would show up and allow God to speak through him.
How would Elijah show up there? Through hardship and disappointment of his own.
I’m sure what you’re going through super sucks, and I’m truly so sorry. But honey, God has seen beyond this. He is moving you towards a greater purpose that will have eternal impact.
You can sit beside your drying up brook and question why God brought you to a place that wasn’t going to last forever, or you can seek where he is guiding you next.
God has a plan. His plan has seen far beyond this problem.
God has made a promise. His promise will not fail. It will be fulfilled to the letter. Guaranteed.
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