ENCOUNTER AND ENCOURAGEMENT. Click and read

 

 And the word of the Lord came unto him saying, get thee hence eastward, and hide thyself by the brook of Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. And it came to pass that after a while, that the brook dried up….Arise, get thee to Zarephath … and dwell there: behold I have commanded a widow woman to sustain thee. (1 Kings 17:3-8)

As I looked at these verses again I clearly heard these words “made to be an encouragement.”

The truth is that every time you look into God’s word there is always something to glean. Elijah the prophet had made a declaration that no rain would fall for three and half years. Before now we didn’t know much about Elijah. Seriously pause a while, Elijah made a prophetic declaration that had never been made before. That declaration stood because the Lord backed him up. Notice that you would not read anywhere else that the Lord spoke to Elijah on the issue before he appeared before Ahab. So it is safe to say that in Elijah’s closet he had been having serious encounters with the Lord that had made him so confident in the capacity of God to defend His own.

Elijah was so sure of His position in God and did not hesitate to show his stand. As you know the Lord backed his declaration and went on to give Elijah instruction on how to survive the effects of his declaration. Let me ask you, can you boldly make declarations that will have God’s backing and show the level of confidence you have built in your walk with God? The Lord could actually trust Elijah’s swag.  Elijah wasted no time in using his authority in God. Then I ask what is currently holding you back from declaring God’s word by faith and wait patiently for its manifestation?

Elijah followed the instruction for his survival to the letter. He saw God’s provision at the brook and with the ravens. Not too long the brook dried and Elijah was asked to move on to Zarephath to the house of a widow woman for sustenance. It was time to test Elijah’s ability to be an encouragement to that widow. It took the brook and the raven experience for Elijah to be tutored for the assignment ahead. You will read from verses ten to fifteen of the book of 1 Kings 17 that the widow had just enough to last one meal for herself and her son. Yet Elijah made his request by way of an instruction. I want to also say that Elijah did not just instruct the woman on what to do only in his capacity as prophet. Rather it was more from the point of encounter. Elijah had seen God for real. Rain was held by Him at Elijah’s word and the same God feed Elijah via the ravens and the brook.

Elijah’s voice had weight because he could beat his chest to know that God did not lack miracles in his kitty. The widow experienced God’s provision because a man decided to declare based his previous encounter. I pray that after today we all will begin to value our previous encounter with God and declare words that God can back up in Jesus name.