Empowered

The Lord Gives and The Lord Takes Away; May His Name Be Praised! 

Life Lessons Devotional Series, Friday May 19, 2023

Scripture: 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?” ¹⁹ “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, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” ²¹ Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 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!” 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.”

Life Lesson: On the heels of every miracle will come another time of testing that can cause you to question the faithfulness and provision of God for your life.  Always remember that He who has been faithful to you in the past is the same today as He was yesterday!

– Note that the above account is recorded immediately subsequent to the account of God’s miraculous provision for the widow and her son. Yes, it does say, “Some time later” and this friend is always the case following an experience of God’s miraculous provision for us, even today.

– Every year I am humbled, yet also tested by the fact that our congregation, though mighty in faith, prayer and loving relationships; we who are few look to God for His miraculous provision to make our budget and every year the Lord far surpasses our expectations! It is nothing less than a miracle how the Lord faithfully provides each year, yet each year is a new challenge to believe that God will provide!   

– God had miraculously provided for the widow and her son, all was well and good.  Then suddenly, inexplicably, her son tragically dies.  How could this happen?  Did God only save their lives yesterday to take her son’s life today?  Can this be real?  We decry, “It’s not right!  It’s not fair!”  Yet the righteous words of Job who tragically lost it all including all of his children testifies, Job 1: ²⁰ At this, Job got up and tore his robe and shaved his head. Then he fell to the ground in worship ²¹ and said: “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away; may the name of the Lord be praised.”

– Job’s response to the sudden tragedy he experienced of unsurpassed loss was to worship God!  It is the devil’s work to steal, kill and destroy, John 10:10 and it is the devil’s intention to destroy our faith in God by doing so, Job 1:11.  But Jesus assures us that He has come that we might have life and have it to the full, John 10:10!  The life to the full is the confidence of His resurrection power flowing through our veins!  Never believe the devil lies, Luke 8: 50; choose instead to trust in the Savior’s love!