(part 2)
Sometimes the dry places of life can prepare us for bigger battles we will face. In 1 Kings the prophet Elijah had prophesied that there would not be any rain for a time period because of the wickedness of the people of Israel’s sin. This lets us know that when we deliberately choose to walk away from the will of God consequences will follow, but for our own good. Discipline is to teach us self control, responsibility, and personal growth.
During the time of the drought God had informed Elijah that his needs would be provided for down at the brook Cherith. God had commanded the ravens to feed him morning and evening and he would quench his thirst in the brook. Elijah was obedient and did according unto the word of the Lord and “after a while the brook dried up.” This lets us know that even the place that God may lead us to for a time will supply our needs for that time period until He is ready for us to move on to another place.
At this point being in a dry place will cause us to see that we are to “move on.” There are times when things may be going good and we become content when God wants us to go to another place to be a blessing to others. This leads him to the widow who God had commanded to take care of Elijah. This would have been interesting because in that time typically a widow would be the one who would need taken care of. Elijah goes to her and she tells him she has only very little. Basically just enough for one more meal and she was going to fix it for her and her son and then they would basically starve to death. Elijah encouraged her to “Fear not,” or not to be filled with anxiety over her situation, but to trust in God and He would provide. The widow had been in a hopeless situation, but agreed to do according to what Elijah had spoken. She chose to trust versus continue in hopelessness. As she did she realized her dry place was going to be taken care of by having just enough oil in her earthen vessel until the rain came again.
The key word in that is “until.” God was supernaturally going to supply their needs until He sent the rain back and then things would go back to how they normally sustained themselves. In some of our dry times of life God will still care for us through our obedience, but we are never to think that when God does supernatural things for us that means He will continually do it that way. Through these experiences Elijah went through was also preparing him for a bigger battle he would soon face with the “evil king and Jezebel.” So if you are currently in a dry place stop to think about how God can use the situation to prepare you for something bigger you may face and how through your trust and obedience will lead to provision even in the midst of a dry place.
12-14-25 ~TRS
Rays of Hope 