When the water runs dry

Curled from "Committed To Purpose"

When I was a little boy, I liked to eat more than was required. Because of my gluttony, I had this ‘handsome’ looking potbelly. You could spot me amongst other children with my potbelly. I would eat myself to stupor such that it became an issue. Apart from that, there was something unusual about my eating habit; when I ate, I wanted the food to last forever. However, it was never that way, so every meal ended with a loud cry for more food. In as much as I wished the food would never finish, it had to finish. Everything that has a beginning has an end. Every phase in life has a beginning and an end. Good experience or bad experience, as long as it has a beginning you should expect the end because it must come.

Consider the experience of Elijah the prophet who called down fire from heaven without long nights of prayer, fasting or vigils. I mean Elijah who declared to Ahab “…there shall not be dew nor rain these years but according to my word” (1kings 17:1 KJV). His experience in the book of 1kings chapter 17 forms the content of this chapter.

Elijah was a no nonsense prophet and he was bold enough to prove this to anyone who came his way.  In an attempt to get Ahab – one of the most unjust kings that ever ruled Israel (cf. 1kings21:25) – to turn back to God, he declared that it would not rain in the land for years.  God had to back Elijah up, because he was God’s man and he must not suffer with an unjust king and a godless generation.

“Go Eastward Elijah” God said “and hide beside the brook called Cherith just before Jordan. You will drink from the brook Cherith and I have instructed some ravens to feed you there” (my paraphrase)

Quickly Elijah packed his luggage and off he went to the brook side.  It was fun for Elijah to have more than enough, when everyone in town was starving. Ravens brought him food morning and evening, and Elijah had the pleasure of drinking from his private stream. I consider it a miracle for those predatory, stingy birds that do not eat healthy food to feed Elijah. Moreover, where were they supposed to find the bread they served Elijah? However, this is God’s doing, He can use anyone and anything, anytime He chooses.  God made wonderful provision for Elijah and I can imagine the excitement in his heart as the days went by. The joy of success, the encouragement you get when things are working right, the applause you receive when you do the right thing, the peace you have within when things work as planned; these and more were the experience of Elijah the Tishbite.

Not too long, something happened. Only God knows how long it took to happen but the author puts it very simple “And it came to pass after a while …?” Good times should not end because such times bring you joy like a river, unbelievable comfort and incomparable peace, the fun should continue but “…after a while, the brook dried up” What a tragedy!  Why should bad things happen to good people? Is there something wrong with a righteous man having endless pleasure? Was it God that did this or was it Satan the devil? How do we explain to the world that our God lifted us up and afterwards let us down? Is it not disgraceful for someone to have tasted palace life and then crash back to the slum? Can you imagine the pain Elijah felt when the brook dried up and the ravens stopped delivering fresh meat and bread?

Have you ever been there? I mean have you ever tasted glory or affluence and suddenly you are down. You used to be wealthy, but now you cannot even find money to eat breakfast. You used to have ideas without thinking much, but now ideas are as scarce as diamonds. There was a time when you were the “special one”, but right now, no one even remembers your name. It happens all the time “after a while the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land”.

No, it is not disastrous that your source dried up, it is not bad news. It is not that God broke your heart or that the devil showed up. It only means that the “brook” is not a place of permanence. God did not make it a place of retirement. Nevertheless, many times you see people who retire and build an empire around their “brook”. It is juvenile to expect your “brook” to be perpetual. No source will remain forever. Only God is our eternal source and He alone can determine what, who and where He uses to provide for us. When a source opens up, maximize it, but do not build the whole of your life around it. It is dangerous to believe that a particular  source will never end.

The “brook” experience is an opening, there are yet more sources to open up and there is a higher level yet ahead. If the Lord brought you to the “brook”, then you can be sure that there is something bigger and better in store for you, so instead of blaming God, the devil, your family, friends or neighbours, why don’t you look up for marching orders! Do not blame yourself, do not blame your enemies, and do not blame your family, friends, leaders or your country’s economy. Rather than play the blame game “…stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near” (Luke 21:28 NIV). Just like David declared “I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills from whence cometh my help.  My help cometh from the Lord…” (Psalm 121:1-2 KJV), when things fall apart and you cannot understand them, it is time to look up.

Your help does not come from anywhere else, not even the “brook”; it comes from the Lord. Take your eyes away from the dead situation, forget the source that is closed up, the Lord says, “look unto me, and be ye saved” (Isaiah 45:22 KJV). You are not finished yet, God is not through with you yet, look up to Jesus, the author and finisher of your faith (cf. Hebrews 12:2). Look up and live! The more you look at the “dried brook”, the more depressed, disgruntled and disillusioned you get. Look up, for your lifting is near. Each time a door shuts, God is saying that your lifting is near. Yes, He is your glory and the lifter up of your head (cf. Psalm 3:3).

Elijah did not have to cry to attract the ‘pity crew’, he did not curse God or blame the devil for his predicament, he did not even loose one night sleep; he looked up and the Lord looked down on him and said “Arise …” . When you see the word “arise” in the bible, pay close attention to it, the addressee is either in a comfort zone or in a state of despair. It is possible to stay in your comfort zone and forget that there are greater heights to attain. The “brook” most times, keeps people so comfortable that they do not want to move forward. That is the reason why the enemy of your best is the good that you have. As I take a deeper look into the situation at hand, it seems to me that Elijah had settled by the brook Cherith. By ‘settled’, I mean  ‘pitching a tent’. It looks like he made the brook a place of permanent abode, so God said to him “arise, this is not the end, get up, the journey continues”.

In case your “brook” has not dried up yet and you have pitched your tent by the brook, God is saying you should rise up and move higher. The best is yet ahead. The glory of tomorrow is greater than that of yesterday and today. It does not matter how sweet, exciting and productive this level is; there is something and somewhere much better than where you are, therefore rise and move up. The more you remain at this level, the more you lose sight of greatness.  A Latin proverb says “qui non proficit, deficit”, meaning to say, “He who does not progress, regresses”. If things are going well right now, still keep moving, do not stop or else it will amount to regression. 

To those of you, who right now are in a state of despair, I mean those who are down in frustration, God also says “arise”. You do not have to settle for defeat. You do not have to live forever with a “dried brook”. Get up, awake from your misery and look ahead, for something better is in the offing. The children of Israel got to that point where they laid down in the dust. They stayed so long in the dust that they became complacent. God had to wake and shake them up “Awake, awake, put on thy strength O Zion; put on thy beautiful garments … shake thyself from the dust…” (Isaiah 52:1-2 KJV).

Wake up and go forward, says the Lord. The experiences of your past and present, all work together for your good (cf. Romans 8:28). The good and the beautiful, the bad and the terrible, the ugly and the frightening – all things work together for your good.