Provision in Strange Places

1 Kings 17:1, 3-4, 7, 9, 22-23

And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the Lord God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.

Next time you announce yourself make sure people know whom you serve. It does not matter where you are from or even who you are. If you know who is for you, then no one can be against you as in Romans 8:31. When you speak the Word of the Lord over a bad situation, make sure God has your back. This drought affected Elijah also. How many of you know that when God calls you, he will provide. No matter what the word is, whether blessing, condemnation, or judgement, God caused Elijah to be unaffected by his message. God spoke and God provided for the one faithful to him. Faithfulness to God always produces a good result.

Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there.

God has a place appointed for you unlike the place from which you came. This place will be all by yourself with no competition. See Elijah hiding at the name of Jesus. His name "is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe" in Proverbs 18:10. These ravens were directed by God. How many of you had only God and the ravens. You did not see anyone but a bird and suddenly you were ok. You did not have anyone in your corner, not even a widow, and were all by yourself; then God commanded the situation to feed you. How is it there is water here and nowhere else? God promised. The birds came because God provided for them too. Even the animals obey the word of the Lord. The birds got water and Elijah got his food. Obedience to God can ensure the survival of all persons concerned.

And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

The widow's story shows that when you are getting ready to die in verse twelve, do not forget to look for the hand of God. Following God produces crazy faith. Elijah did as God had showed him. I imagine before this, Elijah was shaking over what God had said. It affected his hometown and family too. But after spending time with the birds and the brook alone with God, Elijah was ready to show this widow God's power. Elijah's life, the widow's, and her son's were God's; they were not the widow's to control. See, she was getting ready to kill somebody, but God. In what followed, can it be that God tested her next by the thing she tried to take. You are responsible for what you lay your mouth on.

And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth.

We see in these verses that when you have restored what you tried to take or given what was not yours to give, God steps in. When there was only God and you had nothing for yourself, God came through. God is truth. The words and actions of Elijah were God's. Some of you have a situation over which you need to preach Jesus. Lay the word of God over the situation. The breath of Elijah was of the Spirit of God within him. The widow's son had no life in verses seventeen and eighteen because of what happened. Elijah had to lay the Word of God and himself over the situation until God made that thing better. Sometimes throwing the Word at a situation may not make anything better. Elijah did not have it in him to heal this child. It was all of God. The position, the power, and authority were God's. Look, in the text here the child is alive. They all lived because of the power of God. Is what God raised in two minutes any less of a miracle than the lives he sustained for years? Could it be that the woman blamed Elijah for causing the situation. Could it be she was a widow because of the drought situation. God will provide for your lack. She had no husband, but she had her son, Jesus, and the prophet of God. You will have even when you do not because of the power of God. Creating power alone came from God. The power of forgiveness alone comes from God in Mark 2:7. It is not your place to forgive. It is God's. Only God can forgive sins. When the glory comes, it will be of God and not of you. Someone shout the blood of Jesus.