Elijah and the brook

The Lord sent Elijah to the brook, and he was refreshed there. The ravens fed him, he was fully provided for.

But then the brook dried up.

But he didn’t have to fear when the blessing of the brook dried up. Because he served the Blesser, and he could trust his hand and heart.

The brook may have dried up, but the Almighty did not.

Elijah, fleeing for his life, found his way to a juniper tree. The juniper tree is incredibly inhospitable. It protects itself with prickly and harsh branches. Elijah fled to the most inhospitable place, but in Hebrew, the juniper tree means to “repel the enemy.” He hid somewhere, to repel the enemy.

His soul was weary and he asked the Lord to take him home, he laid down and slept.

An angel came and refreshed him, he didn’t scold him, he brought food and water, twice.

The journey was too great for Elijah, he needed to rest and eat. It took Elijah longer than maybe even he expected to be able to continue on his journey. It’s not a sin for the journey to be too much for you. It’s only a sin if you quit.

Sometimes you have to recognize that you need to rest. Elijah wanted death more than life at this point, his heart was depressed and defeated.

But the Lord saw him there, and didn’t forsake him just because he was struggling. He ministered to him, in a special way.

He didn’t rebuke him for the “journey being too great.” He refreshed him.

When the brook dries up, trust the Blesser instead of the blessing.

When the journey is too great for you, don’t give up, the Lord wants to use you still. Let him minister to your heart.

Elijah struggled, more than we probably can comprehend. But he STILL was someone that Elisha wanted a double portion of the touch on his life.

The journey being too great for you, doesn’t mean the journey is over. It means you need to rest and eat.

The brook drying up doesn’t mean God is done with you, and has forgotten you, it means he will provide again.

The journey being too much for you doesn’t make you a bad Christian, it means that the Lord has an opportunity to make his strength known in your weakness.

The brook may dry, but the Blesser did not.