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1 Kings 17:17-24
quickly review vs. 7-16 - Amazing miracle - how cool would that be to never have to worry about or even think about getting any food - your pantry is just supernaturally replenishing - your friends ask if you have anything to eat -- uh.. yeah...
Dude I haven’t been to Krogers in 3 yrs. - my frig is full man.
17 “Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.”
Here is this Big, Huge miracle in this widow’s life, but that doesn’t mean the trouble is over... life continues... we live in a fallen world... bad things are gonna continue to come our way - sad, but true.
This woman may have thought, “well God is providing this miracle of the everlasting food, so everything in my life is good, no worries, no problems... not the case.
God’s provision is never given in order to let us rest upon just that
18 “She said to Elijah, "What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?"
She turns on him quickly, right? At 1st he’s this great prophet of God, making way for God’s food miracle, now all of a sudden he’s a bum. She goes bi-polar on him and turns into a hater.
Tragedy will do that to us. Fear will do that do us - it happened to her - ever happen to you?
When things aren’t going as planned, when life isn’t all merry and fun, it’s not always that bed of roses -
something goes awry, something unexpected occurs and really spoils the moment or day, or week, or year.
She’s just lost her son, now she’s lost her control.
In all tragedy or fear we must trust and depend on God.
We need to depend on Him
when the 911 tragedy struck the hearts of every american and others... that tragedy created a lot of fear and anger and raised a number of ?’s and doubt... people began asking how could God allow such a thing? why would he bring this tragedy upon innocent people? lost spouse, parents, children, they hurt, they ?
Many people turned quickly just as this widow did.
What’s important to understand about living in a fallen, broken world, where the Bible describes us as born w/ every inclination of evil - that God doesn’t bring disaster upon anyone, we bring it
B/c we are sinful people, b/c we do not live in a perfect world, bad things are going to happen and we have to be able to trust that Father knows best. Our heavenly Father cares so much for us and knows us better than we know ourselves.
That we can trust that He will guide us thru this and take care of us all the way, and as long as we need.
You mean that much to Him.
And He wants you to call to Him and cry out to Him.
vs.19-20
"Give me your son," Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the LORD, "O LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?"
It's OK to cry out to the Lord, it’s OK to ? God. Asking Him, Hey, Lord, what’s going on here? I don’t get it - what’s happening? - I think those thoughts run thru our minds everytime we cross a scenario like this where the child has past away before the parent(s).
David cried out - known as man after God’s own heart -
“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, and am not silent.” Ps. 22:1-2
“How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and every day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me? Look on me and answer, O LORD my God” Ps. 13:1-3
God wants us to express every ounce of our being, every emotion, every thought laid out b/c He cares, He wants you to tell Him, He loves everything about you - even our questioning.
21 “Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the LORD, "O LORD my God, let this boy's life return to him!"
Look at how Elijah prayed 3 times here.
Don’t stop after one prayer. Elijah prays once for child, we’ll geez I tried, sorry lady.
Our tendency is to quit to soon - we pray once, don’t get an answer, “well must not have been God’s timing or will - I quit”
(it can happen... marriage... relat.... job.. school)
If you call someone, let it ring once, didn’t answer, I guess they’re not available, go over to friends house
go up to door, knock once, they don’t answer - you leave.
Here is God teaching us perseverance in prayer.
“But those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint. Is. 40:31
Sometimes God has a purpose in the wait, in strengthening us - He sees the big picture, we don’t have a clue what lies ahead - so don’t stop praying, seeking God for the answers you need in life.
Daniel prayer in ch. 9 - no immediate response, no immed. idea or sense that God is doing anything at all - then a few days pass, a week passes, then 2 weeks, 3 weeks - here’s what happens:
“Daniel... Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them. But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days.” Daniel 10:12-13
an example of a delayed answer to prayer.
P.U.S.H.
Pray
Until
Something
Happens
in me, or the other, or the situation
22 The LORD heard Elijah's cry, and the boy's life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, "Look, your son is alive!"
God wants to answer, He wants to please, to bring us great joy in life.
“I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly” John 10:10
"Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! Matthew 7:9-11
Jesus also said that He wants to us ask of anything so that our Father in Heaven may be glorified.
“And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father.” John 14:13
Jesus wants us to call out, cry out, regardless of what it is, or even the emotion we are displaying as ugly as that may be in that moment, God says, be real with me - he knows how we feel anyway - He already knows, so He says, be real. (vid)
This is one way our relationship w/ Jesus Christ will grow - if we are real, not holding back anything, any emotions.
How many close relationships do you have that are not real? how close are your relationships that you are holding back about yourself, not really letting the know who you are, or how you feel? How close are you to those people?
J.C. wants to be our best friend - Talk to Him just like you’d talk to your best friend.
remember v.23, you son is alive
24“Then the woman said to Elijah, "Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."
Really? Now you know? The whole everlasting food thing didn’t give you a clue. A little skeptical are you?
Look at how God brings her back around - Everything in life is going great - got the magical replenishing pantry, got a Prophet of God chillin’ in my house - then boom! tragedy strikes
and she loses it - Gets angry at God
and as Elijah crys out to God - PUSH - persevering
God answers - the widows son is brought back to life
and now she believes!
God is faithful - even when we get angry and upset, even if we blame Him, as she did - God is faithful, and He will prove it
everytime.
Doubting Thomas
Now Thomas (called Didymus), one of the Twelve, was not with the disciples when Jesus came. 25So the other disciples told him, "We have seen the Lord!"
But he said to them, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my finger where the nails were, and put my hand into his side, I will not believe it."
A week later (push - didn’t happen immed.) his disciples were in the house again, and Thomas was with them. Though the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, "Peace be with you!" Then he said to Thomas, "Put your finger here; see my hands. Reach out your hand and put it into my side. Stop doubting and believe."
Thomas said to him, "My Lord and my God!" John 20:24-28
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