God Provided for Elijah

Isn’t it always the same? When the sun shines and it’s very hot we long for it to cool off, we wouldn’t even mind some rain and would be quite happy if the temperature was a little lower. When it’s wet and cold though, we would rather the sun was shining and would love for it to be warm. The weather can never be just right for us. Imagine if mankind could interfere with the weather. This issue is all about the weather.

The prophet Elijah told king Ahab that there was going to be a drought for the next few years, there would be neither dew nor rain; God told Elijah, “get away from here and head towards the east, hide by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan, you can drink from the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” Elijah did what God had told him, he went and stayed by the brook Cherith, the ravens brought him bread and he drank water from the brook. After a while, though, the brook dried up, as there had been no rain.

God told Elijah, “Arise and go to Zarephath and stay there, I have asked a widow there to provide for you.” So Elijah went to Zarephath and as he arrived at the gate to the city there was a widow collecting sticks. He asked her “please bring me a little water to drink.” The widow went off to fetch it. Elijah called after her “please bring me a little bread as well.” Then the widow said to him, “I have no more bread, only a handful of flour in a pot and a little oil in a jug. I have just gathered some wood and I am going to prepare something for my son and me to eat, then we will die”. Elijah said to her “Do not fear, go and do as you have said but first of all make a small cake for me, then you can bake something for your son and yourself. God has promised you that the flour in the pot will not be used up, and the jug of oil will not be empty until the Lord permits it to rain again.” She did as Elijah had asked of her and Elijah, the widow and her son had enough to eat every day. There was always flour in the pot and the jug of oil was never empty – just as God had promised by the way. After three years of drought Elijah prayed to God seven times in a row, then dark clouds appeared in the sky and there was heavy rain. At the time of the prophet Elijah God did not let it rain for a long time and the people suffered from a drought, only when God decreed did it rain again. As the Lord God provided food and drink for Elijah, He will provide for us too. God can perform miracles and I pray that the Lord God will be with you all.

Sis Deophister Kazembe (Ndola, Zambia)