The Lord who sustains !

1 Kings 17 :7-9, “And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.

The word ‘sustain’ has a literal meaning of ‘comfort’, ‘strengthen’ or ‘support’. In faith life, this term is commonly used, especially when a person goes through a phase where he is out from a situation from where he or she yearned for a deliverance, but is yet to reach the desired destination. The Israelites cried out to the Lord to be delivered from the heavy oppression of Pharaoh of Egypt. The Lord delivered them and took them out of Egypt into wilderness. But they longed to be in the promised Canaan. They had to cross a wilderness before reaching their desired and promised destination. The wilderness was intended to prepare the people to handle the promised blessings in the right way. The Lord sustained them in wilderness for 40 years. The Lord’s complete control and Lordship was there over their sustenance. They never lacked any basic needs nor the divine protection.  It’s a phase of life, where one might not see God’s expected ways, but yet His unexpected ways become visible and loud enough to strengthen us to believe firmly that the Lord is in complete control.

Elijah, who was  prophet of God, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.’ (1 Kings 17:1). When Elijah said this, he was obeying the Lord, without giving a thought about his own survival. The famine would effect him too. But yet, he obeyed the Lord. 1 Kings 17:2-4, “Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ³ “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. ⁴ And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” As soon as Elijah obeyed the Lord, the divine provision for Elijah was unfolded. God sustains those who obey and serve Him unconditionally.

1 Kings 17: 7-9, “ And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” When the brook dried up, we don’t read about an anxious Elijah. For he knew that the Lord who gave him one source of provision is faithful and powerful to reveal the next one. The Lord unfolded the next source of provision at the right time. God sustains those who put complete trust in the Lord.

Though the Lord said that He had commanded a widow to provide for him, further conversations show that the widow did not know  that the Lord had commanded her to provide for the man of God. God’s interventions and display of His ways change from time to time. When the widow presented her own helpless situation, Elijah persuaded her to still give him from the left overs and encouraged her to believe His promise. 1 Kings 17:15, ‘ So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.’ Obeying Him is not easy at all times. The widow’s helplessness could have discouraged anyone from persuading her to give up her little leftovers. Had Elijah not persuaded the widow, both he and the widow and her family would have starved. But Elijah trusted His Word and not on the situation that lay bare before his physical eyes. God sustains those who choose to overcome the hindrances that comes the way of obedience.

In 1 Kings 18:1, the Lord told Elijah that He would send rain on the earth. The Lord did not intend to feed Elijah and the widow and her family with the barrel of flour and oil all their lives. Neither did He intend to feed Israelites manna all their lives. There was a set time for abundant rain. There was a set time for abundance of Canaan. And the Lord faithfully sustained them till time of abundance. When God sustains His people, He  shows the world that He alone is the living God, whereby we also confess boldly, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want…(Ps.23:1)”.

1 Kings 18:41, “Then Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink; for there is the sound of abundance of rain.” Elijah heard the sound of abundance of rain even when his physical eyes saw famine. His heart was inclined towards what God said, more than what his eyes saw. God told Elijah that He would send rain on earth. But this involved not just complete faith and patient waiting, but also fervent prayers. 1 Kings 18:42, “So Ahab went up to eat and drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; then he bowed down on the ground, and put his face between his knees,…..” Elijah prayed fervently for the promised rain. Promises  come to pass through fervent and faith filled prayers. It  caused Elijah to move from sustenance to abundance.

1 Kings 18:44, “Then it came to pass the seventh time, that he said, “There is a cloud, as small as a man’s hand, rising out of the sea!” So he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ^[j]‘Prepare your chariot, and go down before the rain stops you.’ ” The servant told Elijah that he did not see anything in the sky 7 times but it did not stop Elijah from continuing to pray for the promised rain. The news of ‘physical nothingness’ might come again and again, but its important never to give up till we see the rain as promised by the Lord. The sight of a small cloud made Elijah say to Ahab about coming of a heavy rain. Works of faith and prayers of faith in togetherness witnessed  transformation from sustenance to abundance .

1 Kings 18:45, “ Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black with clouds and wind, and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel.’ The Lord sustained Elijah and the widow’s family for 3 years, till the rains came.  Joshua 5:12, “Then the manna ceased on the day after they had eaten the produce of the land; and the children of Israel no longer had manna, but they ate the food of the land of Canaan that year. The Lord sustained the Israelites for 40 years with manna, till they possessed the promised Canaan.

Abundance always might make one take His grace and mercy for granted. But sustenance causes us to realize the Lord’s complete control over every grain of food that reaches our mouth. Sustenance is important to realize the richness of His mercy , while abundance makes us realize about His generosity, of which we are not worthy of. Abundance or sustenance, He is always faithful. On the other hand, let us be content and be grateful to Him, both in sustenance and abundance.  Phil.4:11-13, “ Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: ¹² I know how to ^[d]be abased, and I know how to ^[e]abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. ¹³ I can do all things through ^[f]Christ who strengthens me.’

GOD bless us all.