Table of Contents
When all seems to be failing lean on God to see farther.
In 1 Kings 17:5-6, Yes things might have been going very well for you over the years until they stopped but God hasn’t abandoned you.
As said in 1 Kings 17:7, sometimes it’s not your fault but God’s plan to relocate you to greener pastures. During that time everything you do might seem like your hitting a dead end with no results to show, no matter the prayers or fasting or whatever you do in between and nothing seems to be working. Everything you try seems to be failing.
According to 1 Kings 17:8, It’s at this time when you need to rely on God so that he can speak. To give you a sense of direction as to what you should do. It is not a time to be angry with God or his servants. Trust me God is God, and he knows better than any man-made system or so-called prophets. God has the best plans.
According to 1 Kings 17:9 God will always have a plan, a system, or even people waiting to minister to you as you minister to them. No need is too big or too small in God’s eyes.
The book of Luke 4:24-29 clearly says that there were many widows in Zarephath, but Elijah was only sent to only one of them and that was also the case with Elisha, yes, there were many lepers in Israel, but he was not sent to any of them but to a leper in Syria called Naaman.
Even though there were 7000 in Israel who were still faithful to the Lord, God chose not to use any of them to feed and protect Elijah. Many of them would have considered it a great honor to help Elijah, but instead, God sent him to a widow in Zarephath, a foreigner outside of Israel’s borders.
Zarephath is an ironic place to be sent for it is near the home city of Jezebel and Zarephath was considered the heart of Baal territory. “It was often believed that the gods were territorial … If this were true, then Elijah was taking a huge risk by moving to Zarephath” But Elijah went and we see that he was obedient to God.
This widow came from Sidon. As we see in 1 Kings 16:31, Sidon was the country of Jezebel. Her father, Ethbaal was king of the Sidonians. Sidon was the center of Baal worship. Her heritage, as far as her people go, was one of idol worship and sensuality.
Things are going along well, though each day requires new faith in God’s providence; but then, disaster strikes – the woman’s son gets ill and dies. The widow is distraught and she blames Elijah. “O man of God, what have you done to me? Have you come here to punish my sins by killing my son?” (1 Kings 17:18). But through the death and resurrection of the son faith is restored in that area.
According to Luke 17:16-19 Look, there were 10 lepers healed, but one was made whole. The rest didn’t have faith in Christ and that is why they never returned. Most of us want things to be done our way and that is why we miss the blessing.
Why was this the case? it was because they were positioned to receive. Brethren be that one leper or widow who benefited don’t be like what Psalm 106:13 says but they quickly forgot what he had done and acted without waiting for his advice.
How will you know the destiny helper sent along your way?
According to 1 Kings 17:9, God will first direct these destiny helpers to help you advance your life in the right direction, to help you solve your immediate problem. Sometimes they may appear disguised or in a form that you might doubt or not understand unless you are connected to the kingdom, and you can hear the small still voice of God (1 Kings 19:12) speaking to you telling you this is the person, or the way walk in it (Isaiah 30:21).
These destiny helpers might appear in the form of a speaking donkey to warn you ( As we see in Numbers 22: verse 27 to 29); God might even send an angel to help you get that thing you want (Genesis 24:40); God might send a person to help you get rich just like Jacob helped Laban to get rich (Genesis 30:30); while Joseph helped Potiphar to get rich (Genesis 39:2). What about yourself how many of these destiny helpers have you missed in your lifetime? So according to Jeremiah 3:15, don’t miss your destiny helper appointed for you by God (Jeremiah 23:4).
Learn to dream like God and so to do this you need to learn to dream with God helping you. Because when you dream with God nothing is hidden from you, and by that I mean you can see everything hidden (Daniel 2:22). You are not going to raise higher than you see. Yes, we put things on paper but what do you see?
Goals are what you look at (see) when you wake up in the morning, but Vision is what gets you up, vision moves you. According to Ephesians 3:20 before you ask you have to imagine and remember that you can’t imagine something that you think like it can’t be done or you can’t see it in your mind’s eye.
According to James 1:13-15 Without a desire i.e., a strong feeling for whatever reason then you can’t achieve your vision. This desire can pull you into success also, according to Genesis 31:5-13, the desire can even make God send an angel with an answer as to what you should do in order to succeed. But you still have a part to play in all this by honoring your pledge to God according to Genesis 31:11-13. God wants to bless you but are you available and also willing to obey fully.
Most of us are so beat up by life to a point we no longer dream. We no longer believe Mark 11:24 actually operates in our day-to-day world. Brethren when do you receive something? Is it when you prayed or when you see it. The answer is when you prayed by faith you received it.
Proverbs 4: 23, Be careful how you think; your life is shaped by your thoughts. Otherwise, you achieve what you never wanted. What are you watching, reading, and even having as friends because this will shape you in the future?
Growing up who spoke into your life about thinking out of the box was it your parents who belittle your every idea which was out of the box by telling you that it was stupid, and it had never been done by anybody, etc
We can see in Genesis 3:8-11 when you have run away from the kingdom of God just like Adam or the prodigal son you will feel inadequate and also lacking in many things and this might create withdrawal from activities and even people. This can lead to underachievement. Who told you that you are not qualified, or fit for that job, or worthy, etc, ask yourself this question who are you listening to?
According to John 11:39-44, most people’s dreams and visions have long died and those around them have come to accept that, and even when you pray for them some of them are still stuck in their past (past friends, places, habits, even bad events, etc). Yes, they are born again and even are serving in the church but still, they are thinking and acting like before.
Remember that stinking thinking will keep you bound in poverty and misery. If you want to start winning you got to start tearing some of those grave clothes or let others help you do that. It could be a friend or even your pastor helping you tear down those stinking thoughts.
Remember after all those grave clothes are taken out then you must put on the new clothes stated in Ephesians 6:11-14. Is it possible you were lied to all this time, yes because you are still struggling, know the truth about that matter and move on, stay away from anyone who used to make you feel like you are dirty and unworthy before God.
You are a new creation and part of this new kingdom of God so everything in the kingdom belongs to you. But you must be willing to take a step of faith in the right direction. Ward of every evil thought and then think the thoughts of God. Remember the enemy is not playing when he brings thoughts of sickness remind the enemy that you are healed.
Pastor Nathaniel.
