Obedience and Provision: Trusting God Like Elijah

Most mornings I am up and reading, praying, and thinking about what to write for my daily devotional well before the sun comes up. Shortly after dawn breaks, I am visited by several black crows. They make a fair amount of noise, often landing on the metal roof that hangs over my screened in porch. Occasionally the noise is loud enough that I go into the yard and make a noise to get them to move on. Upon returning to my chair, they usually just wander around my yard or talk to each other from the trees.

While praying and listening to all this today, I recalled the passage in 1 Kings 17 where God directed Elijah to tell Ahab that there will be no rain and not even a drop of dew until God says so through his prophet Elijah. To protect and to provide for Elijah, God sent the prophet to hide by the brook of Cherith where he would find water in the brook and that ravens would bring him bread in the morning and bread and meat in the evening.

I am looking at the crows in my yard. Yes, I know they are not ravens but close enough for me to start pondering Elijah’s experience. I have no problem with the delivery of bread. I imagine the ravens grabbed some at the outdoor market or from someone’s outdoor kitchen each day. They may have done that both before and after the Elijah story. That God would direct ravens to drop some bread in a fly-by each day or that they walked up by the brook to get a drink and Elijah grabbed the bread they had dropped. Either way, it is an indication of God’s providential care of his prophet. God always keeps his promises.

I read an article about ravens and learned that juvenile ravens start courting and in two to three years find their life partner. They also tend to settle in a specific geography. So Elijah’s ravens probably were already living by the brook when Elijah arrived. That makes the miracle still a miracle but maybe a little easier to imagine.

But thinking about the meat makes me a little nauseous. Ravens eat plants and meat, but they are scavengers when it comes to meat. They steal meat from fox and wolf kills and pick up scraps from the garbage. I am guessing that Elijah had to do some grilling by the brook in order to stomach the daily deliveries of meat from the ravens.

What strikes me about this passage is that God gave Elijah a tough assignment to deliver the message of drought to an evil king who had an even more vile and aggressive wife. After fulfilling the first step of his obedience, Elijah then had to undertake a wilderness experience where he would daily trust that God had not forgotten him but would deliver everything he needed to survive. 

Elijah experienced a pattern of hard assignments with long seasons of waiting throughout his ministry as God’s prophet. As I watched the crows in my yard, I realized that while I have not been called to live in the wilderness being fed by ravens, I am called to be obedient in the assignment that God has given. And if he has given me an assignment, he will see me through it to the end.

I don’t know what assignment God has you in the middle of. Maybe you are just beginning a job or ministry, or maybe you are nearing completion of an assignment like I am in the coming months. Whatever stage we may be in, we can take great confidence that whether it looks or is simple or whether the assignment looks and is difficult, if God is directing our pathway then God will provide for all of our needs. The God of scripture is still moving today and will continue his work until Jesus returns to complete the renewal and restoration of all things.

Father, today we are grateful that you provide our daily bread and that you can and will deliver us from evil. Holy is your name! May your kingdom come on earth as it is in heaven. Use us today as you will. In Jesus’ name, amen.

Your Time with God’s Word
1 Kings 17:3-7 ESV

Photo by Steve Smith on Unsplash
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Dean Collins

Pastor, campus minister, counselor, corporate employee, Fortune 500 consultant, college president—Dean brings a wide range of experiences and perspectives to his daily walk with God’s Word. 

In 1979 he founded Auburn Christian Fellowship, a nondenominational campus ministry that still thrives today. In 1989 he founded and became executive director for New Directions Counseling Center, a service that grew to include several locations and counselors. In 1996 he became vice president of human resources for the CheckFree Corporation (3,000 employees) till founding DC Consulting in 1999. He continues part-time service with that company, offering executive leadership coaching, organizational effectiveness advice, and help with optimizing business relationships.

His latest pursuit, president of Point University since 2006 (interim president 2006-2009), has seen the college grow in enrollment, curriculum, physical campus, and athletic offerings. He led the school’s 2012 name change and relocation from Atlanta Christian College, East Point, Georgia, to Point University in West Point, Georgia. Meanwhile, he serves as board member or active volunteer with several nonprofits addressing issues ranging from global immunization to local government and education. 

He lives in Lanett, Alabama, with his wife, Penny. He has four children (two married) and five grandchildren. He plays the guitar, likes to cook, and enjoys getting outdoors, often on a nearby golf course. 

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