My Epic Journey

I was reading 1 Kings 17 this morning as was struck by the story of Elijah and his interaction with a widowed woman and her son.  Perhaps if you grew up in going to church you would be familiar with this story as it surely taught in your Sunday School class, but for those that are unfamiliar with it, here are some bullet point highlights to give you some background:

• God told Elijah it would rain or dew until He (God) said it would.
• God sent Elijah to the home of widow and her son to be fed and taken care
• The woman had a little flour and some oil in a jar.
• Her plan–make one last meal for her and her son and then die.
• Elijah told her to take care of his needs first.
• The widow and her son never saw the bottom of the jar.

Here is what struck me about this story:

1.  God RADICAL provision.  The use of a widow to provide for Elijah would be tough in good times and yet God chose to use this woman during incredibly HARD times.  TRUTH:  God’s plans are not always OUR plans.  When times are tough (and they are) God will often stretch us to bless us!!!

2.  The AUDACITY of Elijah.  What?????????  How could someone tell a woman who has nothing and is planning on dying to take care of HIS needs first???  ANSWER:  Someone who knew the plan of God and had FAITH that God was going to carry it out!  TRUTH:  Sometimes we must be bold when not only stretching our faith but the faith of others.  We must also be careful though to make sure it is the WORD of God that is telling us so and not our own thoughts and wants!

3.  The PROMISE of God.  God kept His Word by not allowing the bottle to go empty which kept their stomachs from going empty as well.  TRUTH:  When we are FAITHFUL to follow the plan of God, He will be FAITHFUL to follow it through!!!!

As you celebrate the New Year with fanfare AND fear of what lies ahead, rest in the promises of God.

“11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. 12 Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”  –Jeremiah 29.11-13.

I just received a Facebook post from one of our student leaders, Clayton Bushey.  I love how Clay thinks and how he allows God to speak to him.  I asked Clay permission to share the post here on the blog.  Below is his post:

Hey guys, i just wanted to remind you that God is always there for you even when you dont even think about it, he is there when you want him to be and he is there even when you dont want him. During the thanksgiving break i found this song on my i pod called “times” by tenth avenue north. I think the second half of this song really reminds us that God is always there. Here is the second half of the song:

i hear you say “my love is over,
its underneath, its inside, its in between
the times you doubt me, when you can’t feel
the times that you’ve questioned ‘is this for real?’
the times you’ve broken, the times that you mend
the times you hate me and the times that you bend
well my love is over, its underneath
its inside, its in between,
these times you’re healing
and when your heart breaks
the times that you feel like you’ve fallen from grace
the times you’re hurting
the times that you heal
the times you go hungry and attempted to steal
in times of confusion and chaos and pain
im there in your sorrow under the weight of your shame
im there through your heartache
im there in the storm
my love i will keep you by my power alone
i dont care where you’ve fallen, where you have been
i’ll never forsake you
my love never ends, it never ends

you can listen to the rest of this song if you want

thanks for reading and i hope you all have a fantastic week!

Thanks Clay for sharing this!!!