Sermon Central
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Up A Creek With God
Contributed by Dr. Ronald Shultz on Jun 25, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: You need not worry about paddles since He controls the currents!
Being up a creek without a paddle can be bad, but up one with God is a great thing!
1 Kings 17:1-6
1 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. KJV
Elijah certainly spent time alone with God long before this, but imagine being alone for three years with no company but ravens who delivered your meals on wings. Is it any wonder this man was so filled with God's Spirit and power to where he could call down fire to consume a drenched sacrifice, the altar and even dry up a moat around it? He could run before a chariot and beat it into the city.
Isa 40:31 But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. KJV
Clearly, he is a living fulfillment of this verse. How often he must have waited patience before the Lord to last three years at a brook alone. Yet, we know after this he fell into a depression and had to be ministered to by an angel and have God speak to him in a still small voice after seeing the wind and the earthquake where most of us look to find the Lord. If such a great man could experience this after all the time He spent with God why do we think we can be immune with a quick devotional and dropping off to sleep prayer? Yea, my brothers, it is why we are so weak and unfruitful. We neglect spending time at His feet and thus we suffer defeat.
