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Scripture: 1 Kings 17:1–6
Key Verse: “And 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 17:6)
My husband had been out of work for an entire year. I felt unstable! Every day I prayed and asked where was God in the midst of this? Why was God not providing a job? Why couldn’t I feel God in the midst of this rocky place? I couldn’t see what was next, where my husband would find a job, where money was going to come from. I was so afraid of the unknown, questioning God’s goodness and love in my life. Have you ever felt that way? Unstable, fearful, frantic? Sometime during that year, I began to see the ways God was providing for us. God was there, but in ways different than I had anticipated or, to be honest, really wanted. I just wanted my husband to have a job! But, God was shaping me, deepening my trust in him.
I went through that year learning to rely on God’s provision. What I love about the account of Elijah, is God’s show of love and care for him. Right after Elijah delivers a very significant prophecy he is forced to go into hiding. God, in his creative, out-of-the-box way, provides food and water for Elijah by means of ravens (large black birds). Crazy, right? Who would have thought? But that is what God does sometimes. God provides what we need in ways we do not always expect—or want. We often want the quick fix. We want the circumstances to change, but God has the full scope of our lives at heart. In the midst of the unknown and unstable times, God’s love and provision remain steady.
Consider
Can you think of a time in your life when you doubted God’s love and provision? What “ravens” can you now identify? Have you seen God provide in other people’s lives? What happened?
Practice
Make a list of all things you are grateful for and the ways God has provided for you in the past.
Memorize 2 Timothy 1:7: “For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.”
Chat
Dear Lord, thank you that you love me and that you are always present. Please help me trust you and lean on you when I can’t see the future. you alone are my stability. Amen.
