I get a lot of questions when it comes to the world race. A lot of them follow the pattern of something along the lines of “Aren’t you scared”?
Aren’t you scared…
l because you wont have a phone all the time?
l to be flying that much?
l you’ll be taken?
l you wont like the food?
l you’ll get lost?
l you’ll be hurt?
l you’ll miss home too much?
l you wont find a job when you get back?
All these are completely reasonable questions. They are legitimate concerns that any sane person would have. Honestly, I don’t know why I don’t right now. They’ll all most likely sneak up on me right before I leave for my trip. As of right now they aren’t whats weighing in my mind. That doesn’t mean I’m not worried though.
You want to know the scariest thing about all this is… Finances.
There are endless stories in the bible about God providing for his children. In fact almost every story in the bible demonstrates Gods giving character in one way or another but for some reason the story of Elijah and the ravens comes to mind.
Elijah was a biblical prophet and a wonder-worker in the northern kingdom of Israel during the reign of King Ahab. In the story Elijah just gets done announcing a drought that was about to take place across the kingdom on Israel (1Kings 17:1) Once Elijah delivers this message God tells him to travel to a “wadi” that was close to the Jordan river. (1kings17:2-4)
“Then a revelation from the Lord came to him:“Leave here, turn eastward, and hide yourself at the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. You are to drink from the wadi…”
A “wadi” is a ravine, a ravine that was normally dried up, and only has water in it when it rained…
In other words God tells Elijah go and tell the King of Israel that there will be a drought and then I’m commanding you to go hide out in an area where there will be no or very little water unless it rains, which I just told you it will not.
These is obviously a request that would take a lot of faith and obedience to complete, but that’s not the best part. God then tells Elijah this…
“I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there.”
So to sum this up God pretty much says Elijah go to this area where the water will no doubt run out and you will have to rely on ravens to bring you food. Elijah did as he was told though despite what the circumstances showed. Elijah was bold in his faith, and he was obedient in his faith and he was rewarded for that.
“So he did what the Lord commanded. Elijah left and lived by the Wadi Cherith where it enters the Jordan. The ravens kept bringing him bread and meat in the morning and in the evening, and he drank from the wadi. After a while, the wadi dried up because there had been no rain in the land.” (1kings17:5-7)
So now what though? Elijah was trusting and he was obedient. Great, but now the water is gone so what is he supposed to do now? But God in his love and sovereignty already had this planned out!
“Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Get up, go to Zarephath that belongs to Sidon and stay there. Look, I have commanded a woman who is a widow to provide for you there.” So Elijah got up and went to Zarephath. When he arrived at the city gate, there was a widow woman gathering wood. Elijah called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup and let me drink.” As she went to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.”(1kings 17:8-11)
So once again God provided for Elijah and it was all perfect and everyone lived happily ever after the end… Well not quite.
You see when Elijah requested this the woman had what was probably and unexpected response for Elijah…
“But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I don’t have anything baked—only a handful of flour in the jar and a bit of oil in the jug. Just now, I am gathering a couple of sticks in order to go prepare it for myself and my son so we can eat it and die.” (v. 12)
The woman replied… I don’t have any bread made. I only have a little bit of flour and oil. Just enough to make a little food for me and my son so we can eat in and die…
So after God sends Elijah to a place that runs out of water he sends him to a woman who has run out of food. In fact God sends him to a woman who barely has enough to make one last meal for her and her son before they die of starvation. And God sends Elijah to take it from her… Or so it appears anyways.
At this point I would of had a lot of questions for God. I would of probably stalled for a bit. Tried to figure out if this was really “Gods will”. I would of read some scripture, maybe looked at the Greek to really make sure this is actually what God was asking me to do… I would of looked for a lot of excuses. But Elijah didn’t look for excuses he simply turned to obedience and trust in God. And his response to the woman is very bold….
“Then Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid; go and do as you have said. But first make me a small loaf from it and bring it out to me. Afterward, you may make some for yourself and your son, for this is what the Lord God of Israel says, ‘The flour jar will not become empty and the oil jug will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the surface of the land.””(v.13-14)
Elijah not only shows trust and obedience in Gods promise but also calls the woman to do the same. This strange man who shes never met before tells her to use the last bit of food she has to feed him instead of her and her dying son. He reassures her that if she does than God will provide much more food than they have now. She does and God doesn’t let them down.
“So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. Then the woman, Elijah, and her household ate for many days. The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry, according to the word of the Lord He had spoken through[b] Elijah.” (V15-16)
This story is full of God places challenges in front of Elijah and God rewarding him for his obedience no matter how bad the situation looks. I encourage all of you to finish reading the rest of chapter 17 to see just how faithful God really is!
But how does this tie into my finance worries?
As I look towards this trip sometimes my heart has some doubt. Especially in regards to the financial mountain I have to climb. Its stories like these tho that remind me its not my job to set up the circumstances my finances are not a mountain I have to climb, at least not alone anyways. Its not my job to work out every detail to ensure the success of my trip. My job is to be obedient. So from now on I will try not to become overwhelmed by the amount of support raising I have to do, but get excited about all faithfulness God will show me through this process! I will spend my time being obedient and trusting not worrying and doubting. After all isn’t that what faith is anyways?
In His Grip,
Steve
