When we first meet Elijah, God tells him to hide from King Ahab in the Kerith Ravine. Elijah had just declared there would be no rain in Israel until he said so, and Ahab wasn’t a very forgiving ruler.
During his exile, Elijah drank from the brook in the ravine, and the ravens brought him bread and meat every morning and evening. We don’t know how long God had Elijah down there, but verse 7 tells us, “Some time later, the brook dried up.”
Have you ever had a brook dry up on you?
It happens when God’s provision stops coming from a particular direction. He was supplying your needs in one way, but then He stopped.
He doesn’t always tell you why, but He’s giving you a signal. “It’s time to move on. I’ve got something new for you to do.”
Losing your brook can be frustrating. You were comfortable. Things were just beginning to work well. You were getting good at doing what you were doing. You were making plans to build a house near your brook so that you could stay there forever. Then, surprise! He took it away.
I think I know why God takes our brooks away. It’s because we like them too much.
When we get comfortable, we are no longer growing or having an impact on our environment. By drying up the brook, He forces us to search out His provision in another place.
What if Elijah had never left the brook? What if he had kicked the dirt and moaned to God about how much he liked and deserved the brook?
What would have happened to the widow and her son? Who would have won the victory against Ahab’s prophets? Who would have passed the mantle to Elisha?
It doesn’t do much good to complain when God dries up our brook. It’s OK to be sad, but the sooner we get up and get moving, the sooner He can show us our next assignment.
Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.”
So he did what the LORD had told him. . . . The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. —1 Kings 17:2–7, NIV
Prayer: Lord, help us trust You when our brook dries up.
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Thank you for this post. I’ve been dealing with a brook that recently dried up and it was a great reminder that God is in control and things change. It’s time to move on to the next assignment.
Hi, Jason. We are so glad that this story was encouraging to you amidst your own season of change. Our prayers are with you as God leads you to whatever he has next.
This was a very meaningful post . Thank you, Michael, for bringing me a new and more positive perspective on a difficult situation!! It was truly a gift to me to read it!
I definitely have not read every book Compassion has published or recommended but this is by far my favorite of course apart from the bible 😉
Jeremiah 17:7-8 “But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in Him, he will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when heat comes, its leaves are always green it has no worries in a year of drought and never fails to bear fruit.”
Wow, this post was made for today for a specific situation. Thank you for sharing and know your words had an impact.
I love how God does that Amy!
Wonderful post! And so true! I had never thought about it this way before, but you are so right —