What Do You Do When You Can’t Make it Rain?
1 Kings 17:1-7
And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. 2 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 3 Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 4 And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. 5 So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. 6 And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. 7 And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
Elijah was sent by God to tell Ahab that no rain would fall in Israel for 42 months.
He goes to the king and tells him “God is judging you, No More Rain.”
God backs him up
Elijah had no idea the drought would severely affect his life.
He drank from the brook Cherith, unaffected by this drought Soon even that dried up and Elijah was suffering the consequences of his own victory!
Elijah spent the next 3 and a half years waiting for rain.
I.) WE NEED MORE INSTRUCTION ON WAITING THAN WE DO ON MIRACLES.
During the drought, Elijah was refreshed by a brook called Cherith and was supplied with food by ravens. The brook eventually dried up, and the ravens retired (at least from the fast-food business).
Elijah needed a miracle called rain.
Elijah may have asked for rain.
God's season for it had not come.
We believe in God's Miracle Working Power.
We spent more time waiting for the miracle than actually seeing it.
We think We Know what WE Want.
GOD’S PLAN IS PERFECT.
Elijah learned a TRUTH.
Ø We need God's direction more than His mighty works.
The key to getting God’s answer is being committed to His Word.
You CAN’T "make it rain,"
You CAN set your heart to hear the Word of the Lord.
Proverbs 3:5 Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.
Psalm 37:4 Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart. 5 Commit thy way unto the LORD; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.
He might not answer the way you and I want .
He will bring it the way He wants!
DELIGHT means to be “soft, delicate, or pliable”!
To DELIGHT in the Lord means to say:
• God I don’t understand what you are doing
I am just going to trust in you!
Elijah could have panicked!
He could have tried to REVERSE THE CURSE, but it wasn’t God’s time yet.
He could have walked away, gone to another country to try and find water, “WE KNOW GOD HELPS THOSE THAT HELP THEMSELVES”
It was God’s will for him to be right where he was!
He couldn’t make it rain.
God was going to speak to him!
II.) ELIJAH WAS NOT GOING TO GET RAIN AT THAT TIME.
Elijah would wait and listen!
God was speaking to his heart!
How often have you and I been frustrated concerning something we needed God to do?
We prayed, fasted, believed, got together and agreed in prayer, and yet, nothing!
If we could, we would make it rain
Instead of getting rain, This is what Elijah got:
1 Kings 17:8-9
8 And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, 9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
Elijah discovered that God was going to sustain him through the drought BETTER than he never dreamed!
HEARING AND OBEYING God’s Word unlocked God's provision for the prophet.
His faith, patience and endurance all grew as a result of hearing God's Word.
III.)WHEN WE THINK THE LORD IS NOT MOVING - IT’S TIME TO SHARPEN YOUR LISTENING SKILLS.
When we can’t make it rain, listen for the voice of God.
Three reasons that God might not be sending the answer that we desire.
1.) The miracle may be approaching from a different direction.
The children of Israel had prayed for years for a deliverer. They were looking for a conquering hero who would descend on Egypt with a military force, sweeping them out of their prison to safety.
God was sent the miracle thru a baby named Moses.
God had a better plan. It was His plan, and deliverance came through God’s method in God’s time.
In Enterprise, Alabama, there is a statue in the town square that is dedicated to the boll weevil. You may think that strange, but several years ago the boll weevil came in and destroyed all their cotton crops forcing the farmers to plant peanuts instead. The peanuts made them a fortune, more than the cotton crop had ever done. So, what seemed to be disaster actually turned into the greatest fortune they had known.
The answer that comes to us may be different than the one we are expecting, but if we will just trust God, we will see that the outcome will be far greater than anything we could have expected!
Proverbs 16:25 There is a way that seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death.
Isaiah 46:9 Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, 10 Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure:
We just need to understand that God knows more, and He knows what’s best for us!
Look the attitude of Job when he said:
Job 23:8 Behold, I go forward, but he is not there; and backward, but I cannot perceive him: 9 On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.
God, I don’t know why I am going thru this, but You do and I trust you!
This must be for a reason, and you know where I am right now! I trust You, Lord!
2.) God may plan to do MORE than you originally thought.
Luke 5: 5 And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. 6 And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes: and their net brake. 7 And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. 8 When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. 9 For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken:
I think that maybe God wants to astonish somebody in this place!
3.) There may be an area of your life that God has determined to touch.
Jesus turned Peter over to Satan to be sifted.
Peter would have chosen a different method, but Jesus knew what he needed. But, before He turned Peter over, he prayed for him that his faith would not fail!
God may be letting a situation SIFT YOU, but before He did, He prayed for us!
Concl.
Romans 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
God uses situations that we can’t change or control to make us lean entirely upon Him!
When you can’t make it rain, you just have to trust God!
When you trust God, you know He has a plan for your life.
The rain did come, but God determined to meet Elijah's needs and prosper him long before the first drop fell.
You may not be able to make it rain today, but you can joyfully find fulfillment in what God has prepared for your life.
