17th February, 2022.

A LIFE SPONSORED BY GOD Pt.3

1Kings 17:2-4 Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” NLT

ANOTHER LESSON FROM ELIJAH'S STORY

To avoid being one sided, we need to consider Elijah's story as much as we examined Isaac's. God instructed Isaac not to go to Egypt during famine and he obeyed. In 1 Kings 17:2-4, the same God instructed Elijah to relocate during famine: "Then the Lord said to Elijah, “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food”. If we consider Isaac's story without considering Elijah's story, we may think that God's strategy for sponsorship is to remain in the location where there's famine at all times. God is not static, He's progressive. It is wrong to decide on what to do in a situation using previous experience or popular opinion. It doesn't work that way. Sometimes, there are fresh instructions for every season and that's why we must be sensitive to know the mind of God.

If Elijah had assumed God's strategy for sponsorship is to expect a miracle in a dry land, he may have died of hunger. Sometimes, relocation is God's plan for His children to receive their allocation. Does it mean God made the mistake of putting them where they were before telling them to relocate? Of course not. The idea behind telling His children to relocate could be because their purpose for being there has been fulfilled and they have another assignment elsewhere. At other times, it could be for protective reasons as it was in the case of baby Jesus, Mt2:13-23. In the story of Elijah, he didn't relocate once. After brook Cherith dried, he was instructed to relocate to the house of a widow in Zarephath: "But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. “Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you", 1 Kings 17:7, 9 NLT. Can you see that? That was the second instruction for relocation.

I know a man who was barely surviving here in Nigeria, God instructed him to relocate to one of the west African countries as a missionary, he obeyed without delay not knowing anyone in the country where he was sent. He is serving God's purpose in a very remote part of that country but God's sponsorship is reaching him there. He married, built a house and even started a thriving business there with a flourishing ministry. He has planted over 10 churches among the unreached peoples. As a child of God, what matters is to know the mind of God per time. If Isaac had done the popular thing(relocation) everyone did in his time, He would have missed out on God's sponsorship. On the other hand, if Elijah had stayed back in a land that was ravaged with famine, He would have missed out on supernatural provision. The land flowing with milk and honey may not supply its richness to some because they're not meant to be there yet another land that people call dry may be the Canaan of some. Don't let times and opinion determine your action, just allow the Holy Spirit lead you.