Why Can't I Stay At Cherith?

WHY CAN’T I STAY AT CHERITH?

Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

1 Kings 17:2-6

*Elijah had called out the sin of the nation of Israel and the sins of King Ahab. He declared there would be no rain on the land until Elijah himself called for it.

*GOD WAS PLEASED WITH ELIJAH’S FAITH AND FAITHFULNESS!!

*God provides supernatural care for Elijah even when everyone else is without—Elijah had food and water daily while the rest of Israel suffered from drought and famine.

*God’s promises and provision for Elijah are still available to us today and still being poured out upon us today.

*As we are enjoying the provision of God, it is easy to become settled, comfortable and sometimes even haughty (God is taking care of me, what is wrong with you?)

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. V 7

1. Sometimes the blessings of God can become a barrier.

--There can be times in our lives where we are so comfortable with what God is providing in our lives that we forget what it is like to be in a drought.

--A Christian who constantly enjoys the brook of Cherith is in danger of becoming a spoiled brat.

--There is also the danger that we can take God and His blessings for granted, and sometimes even believe we deserve them.

--“The means by which God maintains us are always in danger of becoming the barriers that shut us out from Him” (Winkie Pratney).

2. Sometimes the privileges God provides can turn to pride.

--“Look at what God has done for me. What on earth is wrong with you? Why are you struggling so much?”

--There is a grave danger of forgetting that but for the grace of God…

--The only thing that separates you from anyone else is the grace and providence of God.

--We have been made in God’s image, and that is what makes us special.

--“Hey, I’m a man/woman of God. He owes me this blessing.”

3. Sometimes the rest and peace God gives can make a permanent recluse.

--There are times in our lives where we need to rest and relax—sometimes wounds need to be healed.

--The danger comes if we get so comfortable in God’s rest and provision that we quit the battle to which God has called us to fight.

--The soldiers all want to get back into battle even as they lay in a bed recovering from an injury.

--God told Elijah to “hide” at Cherith, not to live there.

Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that pace to supply you with food.”

V 8-9

--If we get stuck in Cherith or if we mourn the drying up of the brook, we are in danger of missing the next move of God in our lives.

*If Elijah had stayed at Cherith the widow and her son would have died*

--There are people in need of the life that you can bring them but they can’t be found at the Kerith Ravine

--In the growth of our spirit, the next thing that God has for us is better than the current (2 Corinthians 3:18)

*You may miss the brook, but you will not miss God.