Thursday September 22, 2022

Scripture Passage: 1 Kings 17: 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 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?”

Life Lesson: The miracle that we experienced yesterday will always by challenge by the crisis we will face tomorrow. 

– Here lies a biblical principle that most fail to accept and anticipate.  Not the we should live in a mentality of waiting for the next crisis, however, those who are children of God and who live in a hostile environment must not be taken by surprise when trouble yet again comes knocking at our door. 

– This principle is found throughout the scriptures and prominently portrayed in the Exodus, a type or foreshadowing of what God would later do for humanity through His Son Jesus Christ.  God saved Israel out of the bondage of Egypt only to confront them time and again with what seemed like impossible situations.  The trouble at the Red Sea was only the beginning of the many challenges the Israelites would face on their way to the Land of Promise. 

– The widow exercised faith in the word of the Lord and subsequently she experienced a tremendous miracle of God’s provision.  However, that miraculous provision would seemingly be eclipsed by the subsequent illness and death of her son.  After what good is the miraculous provision of food that saved her son’s life if he would soon succumb to illness and death?!

– This is the dilemma many believers often times find themselves in.  The tremendous miraculous provision of yesterday can be overshadowed by the tragedy of today.  What was it that Job said pertaining to such realities?  Job 2: ¹⁰ He replied, “… Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?” I don’t know about you, but I’m all about accepting good from God but not much into the trouble part!

– Like the widow, when tragedy strikes, we too might cry out, “God, why are you doing this terrible thing to me?”  I know some do not like that language but those people need to read through the psalms as well as really take to heart what Job said in response to the tragedies he experienced.  Sometimes we might wrongly think God is reminding us of our past sins but we must always remember our past, confessed sins, are under the blood.  Jesus corrected the wrong thinking of the disciples who asked, John 9: ² … “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³ “Neither this man nor his parents sinned,” said Jesus, “but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him.  Always remember that what the enemy intends for evil, God intends for good, Gen. 50:20, see also Rom. 8: ²⁸ And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”!