What is it that causes you to worry? I bet you some of you could answer right away what that might be. For me, one of the things is the fuel gauge in my car when it’s approaching E. You know what I mean? I mean, there have been times, even with the family, I’m like, Lord, please let the fumes get us to the next town and gas station. Uh, in my twenties, I was living in Billings, Montana, had my, my first car was a 65 Olds Cutlass F85 convertible. Big old boat with a big V8, gas guzzler, and sure enough, I’m driving up in the heights and it starts sputtering. There’s that gas gauge down below E, and it stopped. Well, I spied a fuel station just up the way on the right and so I was able to coast and, you know, no engine on so get that power steering to turn over and get up and I think I could make it. I think I can. I think I can. I did. I coasted right up next to the gas pump. Mercy. I did not deserve. Okay. You know, another source of worry for me, and I think for a lot of people, can be our finances. You know, I was still in Billings, Montana in my 20s. My friend and I were living downtown in a little duplex. And, uh, middle of the winter, we’re looking at each other one night going, You know what? Um, I said, I don’t think I have enough money to pay rent next month. He goes, I don’t think I do either. And we were on a month to month lease. And so, he ends up moving back in with his parents. For It’s a dubious honor for a mid 20 something year old, and I, I was working with a food concession outfit, and we had a, on the fairgrounds, we had a fish house that sat on the back of a pickup, a 68 Chevy C10, I think. And I moved onto the fairgrounds to live in a fish house. Now, don’t feel sorry for me, the, I had my bed, my stereo, made sure that had room. Had a microwave and a coffee pot, even a hanging plant. The refrigerator was just outside the door on the ground. And I’d use the facilities in the grandstand, and I would shower at the college I was going to.
I mean, if it wasn’t so pathetic, it’d be actually pretty funny. And, uh, wow. So seemingly invincible, but terribly naive in our youth, isn’t it? And yet, I don’t want to make light of things that can worry us throughout any season of life. Because some of you are even here today. You might be really struggling under the weight of some burden, some, something that’s causing you a lot of worry in your life. Because life really does throw us zingers, doesn’t it? Leading to fear that your own resources might run out, whether it’s financial or it can be physically, health related. It can be in our relationships, and it can even be in our faith in God’s grace. So today we’re going to look at, uh, an account in 1 Kings that bumpers meant to kind of be a reminder of where we’ve been looking through the Old Testament and major people and events. Uh, that show us God’s timeless call. And we’re going to look at, it’s actually the introduction of the prophet Elijah. But I’m not sure that all of us might know this story. It’s not his most well known one. But it’s where God provides for Elijah, not just once. But miraculously twice so let me begin by reading verse 1 from chapter 17 the first king now Elijah the Tishbite from Tishbi in Gilead said to Ahab and Ahab was an Wicked king of Israel as the Lord the God of Israel lives whom I serve There will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah, Leave here, turn eastward, and hide in the Kirith ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there. So he did what the Lord told him. He went to the Kirith ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Sometime later, the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there I’ve directed a widow there to supply you with food So he went to Zarephath when he came to the town gate a widow was there gathering sticks He called to her and asked would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink As she was going to get it, he called, And bring me, please, a piece of bread.
As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replied, I don’t have any bread. Only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I’m gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. Elijah said to her, Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. Amen. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me. And then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says, The jar of flour will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain. So she went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up, and the jug of oil did not run dry. In keeping with the Word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. This is the Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. Let me pray for us as we continue. Living God, your Word is full of promises, and we are so grateful for them. Sometimes we flounder believing them. So I ask that you would use your Word, what you did for Elijah and the widow and her son, and by your Spirit in our own hearts, strengthen our faith, and That we may learn to trust you more deeply. I ask in Jesus precious name.
Dear friends grace to you and peace from God Our father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen You know in this text if you’re listening carefully God provides Miraculously for Elijah not just once but twice So my first point to hang your hat on today is to trust in God’s grace continuous provision. Elijah was instructed by God after he’d given this warning of a famine to the wicked king, good piece of wisdom from God, to hide by the Kirith brook. And it was there that God provided for Elijah. Verses five and six tell us that these ravens would bring bread and meat every morning and evening, and then he could drink from the brook. But then, biblical scholars think perhaps about 18 months. The brook dried up due to that drought. Now I don’t know what you’d do if you were Elijah at that point, but I know, I think for me, I’d panic. But God had another plan. He directed Elijah to a widow and her son. A woman left with almost nothing. And yet through that widow’s obedience to God’s word through Elijah, God performed another miracle, revealing that her jar of flour and jug of oil did not run out until the day the Lord sent rain upon the land.
So yes, we can learn to trust in God’s continuous provision. And second, when we have those times of wrestling, let with you. Let faith triumph over fear. Because let’s be real, life’s circumstances truly can be overwhelming sometimes, yes? Elijah faced a drought, a dried up brook, and then a widow with nothing to offer. And yet, he didn’t let his fear overtake his faith. And so for us also, while life’s circumstances may threaten to overwhelm us and seemingly to undo us. Remember that God’s promise of his presence and his provision remains with us, his people, today also. We’re given this wonderful promise in the book of Romans. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life shall separate us. Neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus, our Lord. What a full and wonderful promise. And yet, I think it’s hard to believe sometimes. And I think here’s where the rubber meets the road in our daily lives. How might we wrestle with this promise from God? What might reveal a heart overwhelmed by fear rather than trusting in God? Worry. Worry. Do you, like me, struggle with worry?
A circumstance threatens you, and in that you can lose all sense of any peace. And rather we can be, come bound up in this downward spiral of worry and fear. Do you know what I’m talking about? I think a lot of you do, and it’s understandable, and I think all of us experience this. So here’s my third point. To recognize worry as a symptom of unbelief. Perhaps one of the most telling measures of our faith is how much we worry, because worry can consume us. It can steal our joy, and it can paralyze our mind. Our actions, Jesus understood this and he addressed it lovingly in what Roger read for us earlier from Matthew six, where Jesus points to the birds of the air and the flowers of the field, saying they don’t toil or spin, and yet our heavenly father tends to their needs, and then Jesus delivers the real punch, the heartbeat of that message, where he says, but seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. And all these things will be given to you as well. He’s really telling us that as we learn to prioritize our relationship with God, everything else can fall into place. You know, actually, as we reflect on Elijah’s journey and the miraculous provision that he received from God, it’s clear that God’s care goes even beyond our immediate needs.
It actually points to God’s ultimate provision. Salvation through Jesus Christ. And just as God sent ravens to feed Elijah and multiplied the widow’s flour and oil, God has provided a way for us to be reconciled to Him. Not through our own efforts, but by His own grace. Has there been a time when you felt spiritually empty or burdened down by sin? Just as Elijah trusted God’s instructions and the widow obeyed God’s word, Despite her lack, we are called to place our trust wholly and solely in Jesus. As Ephesians 2 tells us, for it is by grace you have been saved through faith. This is not from yourselves, it’s a gift from God. This is a major promise in the scriptures that our salvation is not something that we can earn, it’s a gift that we just gladly and fully receive freely by faith in Jesus Christ. So I think here can be a big takeaway. From this text today, and it’s this to let worry be a prompt for you to pray Let it be a prompt for you to pray a heart yielded to God offers room for the spirit Worry is really coming out of our desire to control things, isn’t it? And when we turn worry to prayer It’s a submitting of our own agenda our own desires and plans To God’s will and yielding yourself to God’s will is ultimately it’s a matter of trust But I think that trust is truly the way to experience God’s peace Even in the midst of troubles and for what do you pray?
Listen to this verse from Isaiah chapter 30. This is what the Sovereign Lord the Holy One of Israel says In repentance and rest is your salvation. In quietness and trust is your strength. When we worry, we are not resting, and we are relying on our own strength. Repentance is really a turning from and a turning toward. It’s really a turning from your own plans and desires and a turning toward God, His presence and His promises. I was introduced to a devotional by one of our council members recently. It’s called Jesus Calling by Sarah Young. It’s written in the first voice of Jesus as if he’s talking to you. And since I heard about it, I picked it up and my wife and I have incorporated this into our morning devotions. So we’re in this devotional.
This morning, on a November 3rd, I need to read to you this first paragraph. Because it hit us right where we’re at, and I think it’s apropos for us here today. Every time something thwarts your plans or desires, use that as a reminder to communicate with me. Jesus is saying. This practice has several benefits. The first is obvious. Talking with me blesses you and strengthens our relationship. Another benefit is that disappointments, instead of dragging you down, are transformed into opportunities for good. This transformation removes the sting from difficult circumstances, making it possible to be joyful in the midst of adversity. That was a well timed word from the Lord for my wife and I. And in these narratives, the story of Elijah, And in the teachings of Jesus, we see this consistent thread of God’s promise of unwavering provision and His faithfulness. And not just meeting our physical needs, but God addressing our deepest need, the salvation of our souls. And through Jesus Christ, He provides an everlasting provision that doesn’t run dry like a brook or empty like a jar. God provides a wellspring of life and of grace that flows eternally, eternally through Jesus. So may we therefore respond to this incredible gift with hearts full of faith and set aside fear. Let us lay down our worries and cease striving to earn what has been freely given, remembering the promise in Philippians chapter 4, and my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory.
Even today, as you prepare your hearts to come to the Lord’s table, let it be a time for you to reaffirm your trust in God’s ultimate provision. And may He strengthen your faith. And if you’re relying on your own strength or you’ve been paralyzed by worry, it’s time to release those burdens at the foot of Christ’s cross. And embrace the grace and be embraced by the grace that is given you through faith in Jesus Christ. Join me in prayer. Heavenly Father, we are deeply grateful for your unwavering provision and the miracles you perform even in our lives. Just as you sustained Elijah and the widow in their times of need. Strengthen our faith to trust you wholeheartedly, casting aside our fears and worries and help us to seek your kingdom first. In all that we do, knowing that your grace is sufficient and your promises never fail. In Jesus precious name I pray. Amen.
