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LIVING THROUGH A CRISIS

1 KINGS 17:1-9

Introduction

What we see here in this passage is a crisis situation developing in the life of Elijah, the servant of God.


God had prepared Elijah for the drought in Israel. He was in God’s secret hiding place!

He had food to eat, water to drink, and everything seemed to be going OK in His life there.


Then the Scriptures say in verse 7 that after a while, the brook dries up. I don’t believe that this just happened overnight. Elijah may have gone to the brook day after day and noticed that the flow of the brook was not like it was before. Quite possibly he watches each day as the flow of the brook becomes less and less each day until it becomes just a trickle. Then finally one day he comes to the brook and discovers that it is completely dry. No more water.


That which God had used to sustain him initially was no longer there. What should Elijah do? Now you and I know that God has provided a widow in Zarephath to sustain Elijah for the days ahead. But Elijah didn’t know that when the brook dried up!


Elijah’s reaction to this incident is not recorded. Were there anxious moments as the flow of the brook slowly decreased and then finally dried up? Or was Elijah so great in his faith that it didn’t phase him? We are not told, but we do know that Elijah was flesh and blood.

He may have had some anxious moments even if he did eventually have great faith in God.


Sometimes we find ourselves in similar circumstances as Elijah. We are enjoying the blessed provisions of the Lord and then something happens that we don’t expect. A crisis situation comes into our lives. Our “brook,” so to speak, dries up.


I want you to notice 6 things regarding this passage of Scripture relating to “living through a crisis:”

I.         ELIJAH WAS PERFORMING THE WILL OF GOD WHEN THE BROOK DRIED UP! (VS 1, 5)

            A.        God Has A Will For Every Believer!

                        Elijah had found and decided to do God’s will for his life.

 

            B.        Elijah Had Performed The Will Of God!

                        1.         He Delivered God’s Message To King Ahab! (Vs 1)

 

                        2.         He Went Where God Told Him To Go! (Vs 2)

 

                        3.         He Had Done All That God Had Told Him To Do!

 

                        4.         There Is Nothing Recorded In Scripture That Would Cause Us To Think That God Was Bringing Chastening Into His Life!

 

            C.        The Brook Dried Up As A Result Of Elijah Performing The Will Of God.

                        (Vs 7)

 

            D.        Finding And Dong The Will Of God For Our Lives Does Not Exempt Us From The Trials Of Life. (Exp–Job–Perfect, Upright, Feared God, Eschewed)

            ELIJAH WAS PERFORMING THE WILL OF GOD WHEN THE BROOK DRIED UP.

II.       ELIJAH WAS ENJOYING THE BLESSINGS OF GOD WHEN THE BROOK DRIED UP!

            A.        Elijah Was Enjoying The Leadership Of The Lord!

                        1.         God Told Him What To Say!

                                    When he spoke it was “Thus saith the Lord. . .”

 

                        2.         God Told Him Where To Go! (Vs 3)

 

                        3.         God Told Him What To Do! (Vs 4)

 

            B.        Elijah Was Enjoying The Protection Of The Lord!

                        He was in God’s secret hiding place.

 

            C.        Elijah Was Enjoying The Provision Of The Lord!

                        1.         God Commanded The Ravens To Feed Him!

Sometimes God uses the strangest things to accomplish his will.

                                    The raven was an unclean bird.

                        

                        2.         God Provided The Brook For Him To Drink!

 

            D.        Elijah’s Time Of Crisis Came Right In The Midst Of His Enjoying God’s Blessings!

                        1.         The Brook Began To Dry Up.

 

                        2.         Then One Day It Was Dry.

 

                        3.         Things Can Happen The Same Way In Our Lives.

            ELIJAH WAS DOING GOD’S WILL!

            ELIJAH WAS ENJOYING GOD’S BLESSINGS!

III.      ELIJAH’S LIFE WAS NOT DEPENDENT UPON THE BROOK, BUT RATHER IT WAS DEPENDENT UPON GOD!

            A.        The Brook Was Just As Much A Provision Of God As The Raven Bringing His Food.

 

            B.        It Is Possible That Elijah Had Began To Take The Brook For Granted.

Oftentimes we direct our minds to the miraculous provision of God and lose focus of the not so miraculous.

 

            C.        Our Lives Are Not Dependent Upon Anything In This Life, But Rather They Are Dependent Upon God!

                        God is sovereign over everything in our lives.                      

 

            D.        Any Other Dependency Will Cause A Crisis In Our Lives And Cause Us To Panic!

 

IV.      THE BROOK DRYING UP WASN’T THE END OF ELIJAH’S LIFE IT WAS THE BEGINNING OF GOD MOVING HIM TO THE NEXT STEP IN HIS LIFE!

            A.        God Always Has Something Down The Road To Sustain Us! (Vs 8-9)

                        1.         That Something May Be Tangible! (Widow Woman)

 

                        2.         That Something May Be Intangible! (God’s Grace)

 

            B.        God Always Has The Crisis Under Control!

                        1.         This Was Not A Crisis To God!

 

                        2.         This Was Part Of God’s Divine Plan!

                                    (i.e It was to move him to a different place of service.)

 

            C.        Many Of Us Are Either Facing A Crisis In Our Lives Or We Are Going To Be Faced With A Crisis Sometime In The Future!

                        Don’t look at it as the end, but as the next step of what God has for you.

 

V.        GOD USED THIS CRISIS TO TEACH ELIJAH A LESSON IN FAITH AND TO PREPARE HIM FOR GREATER SERVICE!

Elijah still had four great experiences yet to face and God was getting him ready for the future.

            A.        The Widow’s Provisions Have Almost Run Out And Elijah Helps Her Through

                         Her Crisis.

 

            B.        The Widow’s Son Dies And Elijah Seeks God’s Face To Raise Him From The Dead.

 

            C.        He Has Yet To Go To Mt. Carmel And Face The Prophets Of Baal.

 

            D.        He Has Yet To Be Threatened By Jezebel.

 

            God will use the crisis times in our lives to teach us lessons in faith.


            God will use the crisis times in our lives to prepare us for greater service.

 

VI.      ELIJAH RESPONDED PROPERLY TO THIS CRISIS IN HIS LIFE!

            A.        He Waited Upon God And God Ended The Crisis! (Vs 8)

Isaiah 40:31–“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.”

 

            B.        Think How Foolish It Would Have Been For Elijah To Have Tried To Go Find Water Elsewhere!

                        There was none elsewhere.

 

            C.        His Only Recourse Was To Wait Upon God!

                        What else could he do?

 

            D.        We Need To Turn Our Crises Over To God!


Conclusion

Do you have a brook that is drying up or has dried up? Are you going through a crisis?


How are you responding to the crisis?


Remember to lean upon the everlasting arms of God!


God may just be trying to teach you a lesson in faith to prepare you for greater service for him.


The Lord will sustain you if you will just look to Him!

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NOTICE:   THESE SERMONS ARE FREE TO BE USED BUT ARE NOT TO BE SOLD!