The God of Oceans and Brooks

“You will drink of the brook…” 1 Kings 17:4

As we continue to peek between the bushes and lean into the conversation between Elijah and God, we can fully understand the confusion God’s instructions must have generated. God had commanded Elijah to proclaim a 3-year drought upon the region. Following the prophesy God instructed Elijah to leave and to go and camp beside Cherith, a brook on the outskirts of the area. He could have asked Elijah to go to a much larger body of water whose source was abundant and dependable. But instead, he led him to a brook, which by nature was unpredictable and dependent upon rain for its source of water. Elijah must have wondered how he was supposed to survive a long drought by sitting next to and depending upon a dried-up brook with a season that was rainless. But God is the rainmaker and saw Elijah’s future rolled out before him. God spoke that beautiful promise that He still speaks to us all these years later. “The God of oceans made him a promise: ‘You will drink of the brook.’” Elijah – Faith and Fire, Priscilla Shirer, p. 57.

Do you find yourself this morning in a season sitting beside a dry brook? Are you thirsty…lonely…scared…broken…grieving for someone or something that no longer is a part of your life? Are you wondering what or who will sustain you through this drought? Life is made up of a string of seasons and through it all God is faithful to sustain us and navigate us through the different circumstances of our lives. When the bills are coming in faster than the funds…God will provide. When the tears are about to drown you…God will comfort. When your heart has been broken from a loss…God will sustain you through the pain.

“When you’re going through times of separation from your usual surroundings, remember you are not separated from the One who’s promised to sustain you where He’s placed you…if He sent you there, then He will sustain you there.” p. 58. You will never experience one day apart from God and the abundance that He brings with Him. You will never experience one emotion that will make Him leave you. You will never express one doubt that will forfeit your faith and your future. No matter what dried up brook and closed up sky your present situation appears to be… ‘you will drink of the brook.’