James 5:17 (NKJV)
17 Elijah was a man with a nature like ours, and he prayed earnestly that it would not rain; and it did not rain on the land for three years and six months.
What is your favorite part of the Elijah story? Seeing him, in your mind's eye, marching into Ahab's court? Finding Ahab alone in the countryside hunting for food for the remaining court animals? Commanding the fire to come down from heaven?
Elijah's story is associated with great Godly power. And yet we are explicitly told he was just like us. Did Elijah fast?
5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
Seems to me, the Lord drove Elijah to a partial 'fast'. (Sounds a bit like Jesus huh? The Spirit too drove Him into the wilderness to fast for 40 days...) We can be sure it was not his regular routine to eat the food dropped for him by ravens - a scavenging and unclean bird. In fact, the word Cherith means a cutting or a separation. That is one of the purposes of a fast - to separate us from that which comes between us and a clearer view or relationship with our compassionate Savior.
What is your favorite part of the Elijah story? Seeing him, in your mind's eye, marching into Ahab's court? Finding Ahab alone in the countryside hunting for food for the remaining court animals? Commanding the fire to come down from heaven?
Elijah's story is associated with great Godly power. And yet we are explicitly told he was just like us. Did Elijah fast?
1 Kings 17:1-6 (NKJV)
Elijah Proclaims a Drought
17 And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.”
2 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 3 “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 4 And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.”5 So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. 6 The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.
Seems to me, the Lord drove Elijah to a partial 'fast'. (Sounds a bit like Jesus huh? The Spirit too drove Him into the wilderness to fast for 40 days...) We can be sure it was not his regular routine to eat the food dropped for him by ravens - a scavenging and unclean bird. In fact, the word Cherith means a cutting or a separation. That is one of the purposes of a fast - to separate us from that which comes between us and a clearer view or relationship with our compassionate Savior.
1 Kings 17:7-9 (NKJV)
7 And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.
We're considering Elijah's life at the moment. He's been fasting for months, possibly longer. God's been at work as his refining Companion in the solitary valley confinement. And yet, the water dries up and Elijah must move. The next stop? Some 100 miles away. In a drought. I cannot imagine that journey. Did Elijah travel at night? What food did he carry? Did the ravens follow him? As he traveled, he would have seen the devastation caused by the drought that he himself had prayed for. What must that have been like? And yet, comparatively speaking, his personal refinement is only beginning. In fact, his destination - Zarephath - means refining. Wow. That is some serious personal refining.
While God brought Elijah into his fast, He also brought him out of it. God brought Elijah through the work of separation and refining into one of the most singular prophets in revealing God's power recorded in Scripture. Not too long after this - Elijah's refinement completed, He takes Elijah to heaven. I'm sure that during the years since that chariot ride to heaven, Elijah has not for a single moment regretted the separating fast at Cherith or the refinement in Zarephath.
Dear Jesus - grant me eyes single to the future. Lift my mind to the eternal realities that are at stake in the present. Give me the gift of full trust in You always. I praise You that You have promised to complete the work of separation and refinement You have begun in my life. Thank You...
Elijah and the Widow
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.”We're considering Elijah's life at the moment. He's been fasting for months, possibly longer. God's been at work as his refining Companion in the solitary valley confinement. And yet, the water dries up and Elijah must move. The next stop? Some 100 miles away. In a drought. I cannot imagine that journey. Did Elijah travel at night? What food did he carry? Did the ravens follow him? As he traveled, he would have seen the devastation caused by the drought that he himself had prayed for. What must that have been like? And yet, comparatively speaking, his personal refinement is only beginning. In fact, his destination - Zarephath - means refining. Wow. That is some serious personal refining.
While God brought Elijah into his fast, He also brought him out of it. God brought Elijah through the work of separation and refining into one of the most singular prophets in revealing God's power recorded in Scripture. Not too long after this - Elijah's refinement completed, He takes Elijah to heaven. I'm sure that during the years since that chariot ride to heaven, Elijah has not for a single moment regretted the separating fast at Cherith or the refinement in Zarephath.
Dear Jesus - grant me eyes single to the future. Lift my mind to the eternal realities that are at stake in the present. Give me the gift of full trust in You always. I praise You that You have promised to complete the work of separation and refinement You have begun in my life. Thank You...
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