1 Kings 17:1-6 New Living Translation
Elijah Fed by Ravens
17 Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in Gilead, told King Ahab, “As surely as the Lord, the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!”
2 Then the Lord said to Elijah, 3 “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. 4 Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.”
5 So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
There are so many radio stations where I live that the possibilities for listening to all kinds of songs can seem endless.
For a time, though, one song seemed to be aired far more often than others—or at least I paid more attention to it than to others.
It was meant to be a love song, not necessarily a worship song, but whenever I heard it, it felt like God’s Spirit was whispering:
“Come and spend time with me. Let me shower you with love for a while.”
This happened during a time when I was busy and tired, and the Holy Spirit’s nudging in my surgically repaired heart heart to linger just a little while in his presence — it was a tender reminder that He would not leave me to flounder.
As we read and pray through the Word of God, we realize sometimes God meets us in ways that are a bit unusual, unexpected—and maybe even unconventional.
In our devotional text today we read when Elijah was alone in the wilderness, God cared for him in a way that was considered taboo or impossible at that time.
Levitical Laws declared that Ravens were taboo, unclean birds, so receiving food directly from their mouths, touching one would have seemed strange for Elijah.
He might have wondered if it was even okay to receive any help from something that was declared by God to be strictly off limits.
But God can use anything to bring the message of refreshment and restoration, and renewal, into the brokenhearted, whether it’s ravens or songs on a radio.
As Near the Air We Breath God is to the Brokenhearted
Psalm 34:18 The Message
18 If your heart is broken, you’ll find God right there;
if you’re kicked in the gut, he’ll help you catch your breath.
In much of Christian social media content and chatter, it’s easy to believe that God is always looking for the strong, the go-getters, the over-achievers in life.
Many individuals and Christian groups all over the globe, assert that He is much closer to those who are “the strong,” to those who are achieving their goals and making things happen around them, the “Movers and the Shakers” of the faith.
Perhaps you and I have fallen into that “fowlers snare” and believed it, too?
Maybe in a moment of “weakness” at your lowest points, maybe you have doubted if God is close by, or have wondered if He’s turned His back on you?
When looking at Scripture, we realize God never turns his back on his children.
From Genesis to Revelation, so much of the Word of God is written of the size of God’s heart towards those who are weak and vulnerable, broken, and in despair.
Jeremiah 31:25 states how God wants to refresh the weary and satisfy the faint.
From yesterday, we read Isaiah 40:29 also reveals His compassion, describing how “He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.”
Often when we are experiencing heartbreak, disappointments, vulnerabilities, setbacks, weakness, weariness, and more, in those exact moments, it’s very easy to feel like God isn’t near, like He does not care or even has time for you.
Yet Psalm 147:3 assures that,
“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.”
Psalm 147:1-6 The Message
147 Hallelujah!
It’s a good thing to sing praise to our God;
praise is beautiful, praise is fitting.
2-6 God’s the one who rebuilds Jerusalem,
who regathers Israel’s scattered exiles.
He heals the heartbroken
and bandages their wounds.
He counts the stars
and assigns each a name.
Our Lord is great, with limitless strength;
we’ll never comprehend what he knows and does.
God puts the fallen on their feet again
and pushes the wicked into the ditch.
Still, in our sinful humanity, as much as try to resist those thoughts, it’s too easy to feel hopeless and fearful believing there is no one around to help you.
Nevertheless, Isaiah 41:10 encourages you to
“Do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
Through His Word, God reaches out over and over again to the weary and the vulnerable and the despondent among us – even when we are those afflicted.
Scripture describes how the Apostle Paul dealt with an ongoing weakness, yet reassures of God’s presence in the midst of it.
2 Corinthians 12:9 states, “But he said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me.”
During discouraging times, 2 Corinthians 4:8-10 encourages you to remember God is with you, even if you are hard-pressed on every side, you’re not crushed.
2 Corinthians 4:8-10 New Living Translation
8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.
If you’re feeling perplexed you don’t have to be in despair, and if you are being persecuted, you can be confident God has not abandoned you – even if you and I have been struck down, because God is forever with us, we are not destroyed.
The Word of God from Psalm 73:28 tells us that it is good to draw near to God.
Psalm 73:28 New Living Translation
28 But as for me, how good it is to be near God!
I have made the Sovereign Lord my shelter,
and I will tell everyone about the wonderful things you do.
So take heart today in the knowledge he is always closely present in your life.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Psalm 8 The Message
8 God, brilliant Lord,
yours is a household name.
2 Nursing infants gurgle choruses about you;
toddlers shout the songs
That drown out enemy talk,
and silence atheist babble.
3-4 I look up at your macro-skies, dark and enormous,
your handmade sky-jewelry,
Moon and stars mounted in their settings.
Then I look at my micro-self and wonder,
Why do you bother with us?
Why take a second look our way?
5-8 Yet we’ve so narrowly missed being gods,
bright with Eden’s dawn light.
You put us in charge of your handcrafted world,
repeated to us your Genesis-charge,
Made us stewards of sheep and cattle,
even animals out in the wild,
Birds flying and fish swimming,
whales singing in the ocean deeps.
9 God, brilliant Lord,
your name echoes around the world.
Lord, we are amazed that nothing is too hard for you and that by whatever means you deem necessary you will come to reach us wherever we are. Thank you for doing what it takes to restore us to you. We live by grace in the power of your name. Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 