Hidden Hurting Healed Series

Hidden Hurting Healed

(Note to pastors this message is available on my church website in audio and PDF format. The PDF file includes embedded graphics I used in the powerpoint for this message. The PPT file is available if you contact me directly. Blessings. http://www.plymouthcf.org)

1 Kings 17:1-9 Now Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the settlers of Gilead, said to Ahab, "As the LORD, the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, surely there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word."

2 And the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

3 "Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

4 "And it shall be that you shall drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there."

5 So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan.

6 And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook.

7 And it happened after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

8 ¶ Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying,

9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."

I believe the Lord wanted me to bring an encouraging word this morning, can anybody use an encouraging word?

In the next two weeks From this passage of scripture we going to see the Lord encourage two very special people, both of which probably struggled with whether or not the Lord cared about their situations.

The widow woman by far had the more issues going on, but Elijah also had things I believe he struggled with.

I am going to make 3 main points from this passage of scripture:

Hidden

Hurting

Healed

We are going to see how both of these people God’s care for them was hidden, and yet it was there all the time.

We are going to see the great struggle that hurt them.

And we are going to see how God put their lives together in a marvelous way to bring a measure of healing to both.

Today we will only deal with the first point:

Hidden

This weaving is displayed in the home of Corrie Ten Boom. She often would use it in talks, and if you go on a tour of her house the guide always shows it underside first.

The following poem is read

Life is But a Weaving By Corrie Ten Boom

My life is but a weaving

Between my God and me.

I cannot choose the colors

He weaveth steadily.

Oft’ times He weaveth sorrow;

And I in foolish pride

Forget He sees the upper

And I the underside.

Not ‘til the loom is silent

And the shuttles cease to fly

Will God unroll the canvas

And reveal the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful

In the weaver’s skillful hand

As the threads of gold and silver

In the pattern He has planned

He knows, He loves, He cares;

Nothing this truth can dim.

He gives the very best to those

Who leave the choice to Him.

After the reading the other side of the weaving is shown.

Often times the work of God is hidden in our life. In our story Elijah is specifically told to go and hide himself. Many commentators believe it was for his protection this was done. (See I Kings 18:5-15)

That may have been part of the reason, but I think there were other more important reasons, that had to do with the tapestry God was weaving in Elijah’s life. God could have protected Elijah anywhere, but for the other things He was doing Elijah had to go through a season of hiddenness.

There were 4 things Elijah encountered in his time of hiddenness and they are crucial to the making of every man and woman of God.

1. Lost Productivity

2. Limited Provision

3. Learning Patience

4. The Lords Purposes Revealed

1. Lost Productivity

1. There shall be neither rain nor dew. For the prophet either. We must be willing to be set aside to be used.

No rain is one thing, no dew is quite another. What was happening in the natural was paralleled by what was happening in the spiritual.

Elijah went from a prominent ministry to nothing. From sensing God moving in mighty ways to nothing. From flowing in the Spirit to almost complete inactivity. From being used to seemingly being abandoned. Could your faith take God saying “Elijah you are pretty much done for the next three years”?