Trust and Obey … by Katelyn Erickson

Today’s Passage – 1 Kings 15 – 17 (Click on the references to listen to the audio – Click here to view the passage from Blue Letter Bible)

(Second Milers also read – Mark 15 – 16; Proverbs 22; Psalms 106 – 110

Listen to this morning’s Scripture song –  Proverbs 3:5 & 6

Read the “0422 Evening and Morning” devotion for today, by the late Charles Haddon Spurgeon

This song comes to mind as I read these first accounts of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17: 

We see that after Elijah prophesied the famine to Ahab, God sends him to a special place, a particular person, and He answers a powerful prayer.

In vs. 1 – 7, God had prepared a place for His man to be well taken care of. He sent ravens to feed him and fresh water to drink. Elijah got all he that he could while he was there…he didn’t squander the opportunity God had given him. When the brook dried up, he didn’t just hang out there…he obeyed and trusted once again. 

In vs. 8-16, Elijah went to a particular person God had planned to use to take care of Elijah. Not someone who had plenty to share, but someone who would have to sacrifice and surrender. A woman who had no hope and needed the touch of God in her life. God wants to use people who will cooperate with Him, especially when what He is doing doesn’t seem to make sense.

In vs. 17-22 When the widow’s son became very sick, Elijah then cried out in powerful prayer to God to heal him. His prayer was not a request out of religious duty, but a genuine plea for help and mercy from the Lord.

The God of Elijah is still the very same God of today and when we find ourselves in our own seemingly hopeless situations, let’s be reminded of these simple truths in this passage….God loves us, provides for us, desires to use us, and He hears our prayers! We just have to trust and obey.