Not going to lie. Today I'm freaking out a little bit.
My husband was fired today. Abruptly. After we moved across the country 7 months ago for this job. To a place where we know nobody and had no support system and the geography/weather is horrible to our liking and from what we're used to.
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Elijah Fed by Ravens (NIV) 1 Kings 17: 2-17
2 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: 3 “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. 4 You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
5 So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. 7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.
The Prayer of Faith (ESV) James 5:17-18
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed fervently that it might not rain, and for three years and six months it did not rain on the earth. 18 Then he prayed again, and heaven gave rain, and the earth bore its fruit.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SO many times, I have had seasons of "limbo" and uncertainty. In hindsight, the Lord has brought me through every single one of them.
Newsflash: Statistically speaking I have technically survived 100% of everything I've been through. Every day I've lived.
Yet, every time I enter a *new* season of limbo and uncertainty where I don't know the future and the "plan", much like the Israelites in the desert, I "paint pictures of Egypt" and question "Why did you bring me here? I'm going to be ruined. This is too hard. Just give me my old life back!"
I don't know why I forget so easily, all that God has done.
He has been so incredibly faithful to me.
Or Here: Thelma & Louise a TRUE Story.
Or Here : Not what you'd expect. (Warning Graphic)
Not ONCE has he left me to my own devices, and no matter how bleak things looked, I have not, in fact, for example, ever lived in my car.
Intellectually I know things could always be "worse" yet for some reason, I always think everything "bad" that happens is "the worst thing ever!"
Not ONCE has he left me to my own devices, and no matter how bleak things looked, I have not, in fact, for example, ever lived in my car.
Intellectually I know things could always be "worse" yet for some reason, I always think everything "bad" that happens is "the worst thing ever!"
And then proceed to fall apart.
#FirstWorldProblems
I think it's interesting in the passage in 1 Kings, that it simply says "Some time later" ... we don't know that it's 3.5 years until much much later in History.
For the time we are waiting in limbo, just frustrated and confused, a month can even seem like an eternity! Tell me it’s gonna be 3.5 years before breakthrough and I might just scream. But...
I want to be more like Elijah. I want to be able to sit in a season of uncertainty, and be "fed by Ravens" which I take to mean in my contemporary context, to be provided for by the Lord. Whatever that provision is.
#FirstWorldProblems
I think it's interesting in the passage in 1 Kings, that it simply says "Some time later" ... we don't know that it's 3.5 years until much much later in History.
For the time we are waiting in limbo, just frustrated and confused, a month can even seem like an eternity! Tell me it’s gonna be 3.5 years before breakthrough and I might just scream. But...
I want to be more like Elijah. I want to be able to sit in a season of uncertainty, and be "fed by Ravens" which I take to mean in my contemporary context, to be provided for by the Lord. Whatever that provision is.
Sometimes it's things like Rent and food and car repairs. Sometimes, it's things like Peace and Contentment and Joy.
In James we read he PRAYED FERVENTLY.
In James we read he PRAYED FERVENTLY.
Not pitifully like I often do, because I know I’m *supposed* to.
He prayed for breakthrough... with extreme Faith and Patience.
He believed whole heartedly that his prayers mattered & he literally CHANGED THE WEATHER. That’s some serious power!
(Maybe that's an issue many of us have. Do we believe our prayers do not matter?)
I tend to focus more on the fact that it was 3.5 years and it’s just “too long”
I tend to focus more on the fact that it was 3.5 years and it’s just “too long”
I'm the one that will cry out “how long will you tarry for my soul is weak". I do have a bit of flair for the dramatic.
It's our humanity and perhaps a little of the 21st Century, that has gotten us to believe that everything must happen "right now" and we need answers or else the whole world will cave in. We need to be in control.
However, truthfully when we are in Christ. In Faith. Operating in Holy Spirit.
The “wait” won’t seem purposeless, it won’t feel burdensome. It won't seem long. It just is. And when we are finally given our next steps, we will rejoice. And we will move into the next season, stronger and more content than ever. Because, God.
So right now, I find myself in a season of limbo. Again. I ran the gamut of emotions, between anger, sadness and fear today.
I know that no matter how long this season is, I will have to humbly submit my life to Jesus moment by moment... and pray for breakthrough, fervently.
Because the BLESSING the "Rain" is coming... and I want to be found watching obediently for a cloud- even one just the size of a mans fist.
ELIJAH PREDICTS THE RAIN 1 Kings 18: 43-44 (NIV)
43 “Go and look toward the sea,” he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
“There is nothing there,” he said.
Seven times Elijah said, “Go back.”
44 The seventh time the servant reported, “A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”
So Elijah said, “Go and tell Ahab, ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’”
