‘What’s going on? How am I supposed to respond? What are we to do now?’
Here we are enjoying the blessing of God upon our lives, family, ministry, local church – when suddenly the resources that God has given us start to diminish, and despite our prayers now they have dried up, just like a creek in a drought.
Where is God in this ‘drought’ – especially as it affects Christians who are being careful to live a godly life? In such times we are prone to doubt God’s providence, or perhaps swing to the other extreme of morbid introspection looking for any and every sin as being to blame.
Yes we’ve got to be open to God’s discipline. But it also may be something else: God’s development of a higher degree in the school of faith.
So it was for Elijah as he watched the brook dry up. Elijah was being taught that God takes away so that he would with an empty hand depend on God alone by grace. God wants us to trust in the Promiser not merely the promises, to have faith in the Giver not just His gifts.
It is this faith that survives change and is effective for service regardless of context; a faith that trusts and waits on the Lord.
God is not messing with us by dramatic changes in our lives or brings new stressors into them, He is making us more like His Son “who learned obedience through suffering” (Heb5:8).
Where is God? He is still there – and nothing can separate us from His love. The question is, How’s your faith shaping up?