One of the things I like about Colorado is that we get to experience all four seasons of the year, and on occasion, all in one day (ha ha)! Not only have I learned to dress in layers but also to appreciate each season without hurrying to the next. From the still tranquility of Winter to the bursts of life in the Spring, to Summers full of vitality, culminating with the vibrant harvests of Autumn. All are unique in their own way and how they impact each of us with their colors, scents and experience. It is the same spiritually…what season are you in right now? God has purpose for you in THIS season!
I want to take you to the story of Elijah in the Bible. You may remember him as the one who called the Fire of God down on Mount Carmel in front of masses of people, to prove that his God was the One True God! We may think, wow, he is amazingly brave, no wonder God used him. But let's take a closer look and the seasons he walked through to get to “Mount Carmel”.
I Kings 17:2-6-And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
“Cherith” means a cutting, a separation. The Brook of Cherith is the place where Elijah was completely cut off from other people and totally dependent on God to provide all his needs. A place of private preparation for Elijah. God knew what was in his future and what he needed to be ready for…but more than that, he needed to learn who God was for himself, one on one intimate relationship with the Spirit of God, before proclaiming Him in front of others. The Lord prepares us in private before He sends us to the public platform. If we don’t have a season of hiding ourselves away with God, being trained humbly by His Spirit, fully relying on Him for everything, we risk becoming public performers desiring the accolades of people and not God.
I Kings 17:8-10- Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath.
I Kings 17:23-24- And Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper chamber into the house and delivered him to his mother. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives.” And the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.”
During a great famine, God tells Elijah to go to Zarephath, and there he will meet a widow and her son. Elijah brings her a word from the Lord and asks for food. She takes the last that she has to offer and goes and does as Elijah has said and God supernaturally provides abundantly. "Zarephath" means refinery. This was a place of great faith and obedience. God sends Elijah one on one, to meet with a household in the middle of a famine, and to humbly ask for food from a widow who has almost nothing. We hear about the faith of the widow, believing Elijah’s word, and that is true, but think of the faith it took for Elijah as well. He had to put himself in a place to receive, when he was the one used to giving. Then when her son dies, Elijah was there to seek God on behalf of her son, and he came back to life. It was then the widow says, “Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord on your mouth is truth”. Elijah believed in the God who raises the dead, it was not in just word that he proclaimed this truth, but in action, especially when it mattered most.
Because of the time spent intimately with God, Elijah was able go and humbly serve the one as unto the Lord. Refining his motives, his character and his attitude. Not only was he blessed but the widow was blessed and a generation to come. We never know the true depth of our obedience. It may seemingly look like one person, or even one family…but in God’s hands…He will bless generations to come through the “one”.
I Kings 18:36-39- And at the time of the offering of the oblation, Elijah the prophet came near and said, “O Lord, God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, let it be known this day that you are God in Israel, and that I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. Answer me, O Lord, answer me, that this people may know that you, O Lord, are God, and that you have turned their hearts back.” Then the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt offering and the wood and the stones and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces and said, “The Lord, he is God; the Lord, he is God.”
Elijah was able to boldly proclaim the name of God in public because he knew God was the One true God in private. This did not come overnight, Elijah was trained by God Himself, through the different seasons of learning and when the time came to demonstrate what he truly believed in his heart, he stepped up, not in his own glory…but for the glory of God. And the result…many saw God and believed!
❤️ May this encourage you, whatever season you are in, don’t rush it...there is purpose from God! We may not have a "public ministry” on a stage, or pulpit…but know this…if we believe in Jesus Christ, He will open doors to the world around us, and give us opportunity to proclaim His name through it all! ~love u