Mensa Otabil - Receiving the Word of the Lord
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Today is day number six of our 40 days of power, and if you’ve been following through fasting and praying, by now your body is getting used to fasting, and things are becoming easier for you. This week, as I said, we are looking at the subject of guidance and the leading of the Lord, so we’re talking about receiving the word of the Lord. First Kings, chapter 17, verses 9 and 10: «Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.» So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, «Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink.»
God speaks to His children; He speaks to us through His Word, the Bible, but He also speaks to us through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Elijah the prophet is the subject of this passage today. He knew how to receive the word of the Lord. At various times, God has spoken to Elijah, and many times the word that God gave to Elijah would be for him to go and tell people the word of the Lord. But this time, God had to speak to Elijah for himself, and Elijah had to learn to listen to God for himself.
You know, receiving God’s Word is a sign of obedience. It’s very easy to give God’s Word to somebody, especially if you’re not the one obeying it. If you tell a person, «This is what God says you should do,» but you, the giver of the message, are not the one obeying it, it’s easy. But if the word comes to you and you are the one supposed to implement it, it’s difficult. That is the situation God presented to Elijah; he had to learn to receive God’s Word for himself because it takes humility and faith to receive a word and walk by it, to obey it.
Now this is a time of famine, and Elijah actually was the one who proclaimed the word of the Lord that initiated the famine. Now God is giving him a word for himself on how to survive during the time of famine. At this time, Elijah is in trouble because the king and queen want to kill him, and there is famine in the land. So he has issues of protection and provision, and God had to give him a word that would protect him and provide for him.
The first thing God tells him is to go to the brook Cherith, and there he will be fed by a raven. Elijah obeyed the Lord and went, and yes, the raven brought him bread and meat. And now the brook is dried up, and God says, «Step number two: move from the brook and go to Zarephath because there is a widow there to feed you.» Can you imagine a man who is running from the king has to go to a widow’s home for protection and has to go to a widow’s home to be fed in a time of national crisis? But that’s the way God’s Word is; it doesn’t always fit the environment or the national situation, but it is the word of the Lord.
In this season, we have to learn to share the word of God. It may not sound like the most logical thing for you to hear; it may not sound like the easiest thing for you to obey. But if you receive the word of the Lord and you trust the Lord, you will do what Elijah did, and a raven will feed you against all odds, and a widow will feed and protect you against all odds. In both situations, it didn’t seem that the instruction was right; a raven doesn’t feed a hungry man, and a widow doesn’t feed a hungry man. But when God speaks, that is what it is.
So in this season, learn to receive the word of the Lord and judge rightly what God is telling you. When God tells you, have faith and be humble enough to do what He is instructing you to do. May the word of the Lord be clear to each one of us, in Jesus' name. Let’s pray: Say with me, «Heavenly Father, give me a heart that is receptive to Your leading. Show me what to do each step of the way, in Jesus' name. Amen.»