Hello and welcome to the blog devoted to helping you win the race Christ has marked out for you. These words of introduction, which have always marked the podcast, are taken from the book of Hebrews. After its author devotes 40 verses to highlighting the faith of the members of the biblical Hall of Fame in chapter 11, he says to each of us: Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, AND LET US RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (12:1-2a).
Notice that this description of the life God has planned for you and me to live is a race requiring endurance. That is a stunning revelation of what God is doing in our lives—building enduring trust in God. James explains that there is only one way to build enduring faith. “Consider it all joy,” he writes, “when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produce endurance.” God is telling us in his Word that the individual race marked out for us will relentlessly test our faith to produce endurance. This podcast series zooms into the life of Elijah the Tishbite because the race marked out for him has so many parallels to the race marked out for us. Today we continue to see God relentlessly testing Elijah’s faith.
When we left Elijah, last week, he was hiding beside the brook Cherith. His obedience had placed him, in the helpless situation that required him to trust God daily for food. God was taking Elijah through those demeaning days of helplessness in order to drive a truth deep into his soul: God is trustworthy; he keeps his promises every single day. And every day, with his own eyes, Elijah saw God’s faithfulness—ravens arriving with bread and meat. Every day, incrementally, the truth of God’s faithfulness was driven a little deeper into his soul. Every single hunger pain turned into an exercise of faith to develop the herculean faith he would need to stand up to 850 prophets of Baal & Asherah, to Ahab and Jezebel, and to an entire nation. Let’s pick up the story 1 Kings 17:7.
And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah (1 Kings 17:7-16).
Elijah is trusting God every single day for his food from the ravens—and this is not a big enough test of his faith? No; God tests it further. God does not supernaturally keep brook Cherith flowing while the rest of the nation was in a drought. He did not lead Elijah, just in time, to discover an underground spring. Elijah’s only source of life—water itself from the brook--disappeared. Doctors tell us that an adult can only live without water 3-5 days. Elijah is in the heart of God’s will—beside the brook that is vital for him to stay alive—and God lets it dry up. Put yourself in Elijah’s sandals: I would be saying, “Lord, I did exactly what you commanded me to do. Now you reward my obedience by letting the brook dry up?”
Have you ever stepped out in faith trusting God and obeying his voice only to have the bottom fall out of everything? You are not alone. This experience is so common that it seems to be a pattern. David bows his head to be anointed King of Israel by Samuel as a teenager, then spends 15 years living in caves fleeing from Saul who tries to kill him. Finally, at age 30, Saul dies and, as we saw last week, 10 of the twelve tribes refuse to acknowledge his kingship and he has to wait 7 more years before they do so.
Moses courageously confronts angry Pharoh saying “Let my people go.” Finally, after the angel of death kills the firstborn, Pharoh relents and tells Moses to get out of Egypt. As promised, the Israelites plunder the Egyptians…battle won, story over, right? Wrong. Pharoh changes his mind and sends his army after them cornering the Israelites at the shores of the Red Sea.
At 65, Sarah is told by God through Abraham that God promised to supernaturally give them a son through whom all the nations of the world would be blessed. Ten years later, at age 75, she still had not gotten pregnant and decided to follow the sinful custom of giving her handmaiden, Hagar, to her husband to get her pregnant. Hagar gave birth to Ishmael, creating enormous family problems. Sarah had to wait another 15 years, until she was 90 to become pregnant—25 years after God made his promise to Abraham. God tests faith. Count on it.
BIBLICAL OVERVIEW ON THE CAUSE OF TRIALS
A. Some trials come as a consequence of our own sin. Ahab's Kingdom was in ruins. It was experiencing drought, which, as we have seen was a direct consequence of his worship of the false god, Baal. Israelites who worshipped Baal also experienced the loss of livestock, crops, even perhaps the death of the weak and frail through starvation. “The wage that sin pays is death,” says Paul (Rom 6:23). To the Christians at Galatia, he wrote, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap life extending to eternity.” Pain and suffering are often a “reproof of life.” When we sin, we run our finger against the grain of the universe a the Holy God has created and we get a splinter. Although God spares us from the eternal consequence of our sins—being cast out of his presence, he spanks us with the reproofs of life, to teach us to walk the path of righteousness. Talking to our wife harshly may bring painful angry words in response. Lack of self-control leads to wasting time. Being lazy when we need to step up and discipline our child leads to the child acting up more in the future. Difficulties, pain, and trials are often self-inflicted “reproofs of life.”
B. Some trials come as a result of others’ sin. All of Israel experienced the drought but there were still in it 7000 who had not bowed the knee to Baal. Iranian citizens who oppose the Islamic extremist Imams and the Republican Guard who have proved that they would use the nuclear weapon they are developing, suffer under the US devastation of their country and economic blockade. Families whose daughters have been raped and murdered by repeat offenders let out of jail because of radical left-wing ideology, unjustly experience broken hearts and lives that will never be the same. This week, as we remembered the unspeakable atrocities of the Hamas attack upon Israeli civilians on October 7, Hamas men raping mothers in front of their children, beheading babies, using severed heads as soccer balls, and video taping it all was as close to pure evil as I have ever seen on video. But God allowed it all to happen.
Even the human suffering from natural calamities like hurricanes, floods, and tornados is caused by our race’s fall, which brought God’s curse upon the ground. Jesus repudiated the teaching that suffering from such natural calamities or disease were a direct result of one’s sin. Nevertheless, it is the indirect sin of our race that has brought upon Adam’s race natural disasters. And tragically Adam’s corrupt sinful nature passes on to every succeeding generation. Innocent college women are gang raped. CYA administrators cover it up exposing other women to the risk of future assault. Drunk drivers kill the loved ones of everyday innocent people. Every day we even suffer from the sinful nature of those close to us. Spouses don’t meet each other’s needs as commanded to in Scripture. Sharp words tear into the tender self-esteem of each other. Self-centeredness and selfishness rise to the surface.
Because of our race’s fall, life on planet earth brings enormous suffering. As much as my lazy, fallen nature wants him to, God does not put his loved ones in a protective bubble, insulating them from the suffering that exists in a fallen world. His promise is not freedom from suffering, but that he is working all things together for the good of those who love him and are pursuing his purpose for their lives. Elijah and the widow of Zarephath suffered because of others’ sins.
C. Trials purify our character. Someone, (probably a Brit), has said that the character of people is like the character of a tea bag, you don't know its strength until they're in hot water. The word "Zarephath" means “refining” or “a smelting furnace.” In Zarephath, God will further refine Elijah’s character, Peter communicates the same idea about trials. These (trials) have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire, may prove genuine. Our trials, even the minor everyday ones, are a crucible, the furnace that allows our bad attitudes to float to the surface like dross. That way we can see them, humble ourselves, confess, repent, seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and grow more deeply into Christ-like character.
We don't see these bad attitudes floating to the surface in Elijah's life in the text. But I strongly suspect they were there. The NT tells us Elijah was a man of like passions as we are. I doubt he was thrilled hiding at the brook Cherith. After all, he was a prophet; he was God's man and was called to be God's voice. I don't think he enjoyed being alone, being fed by birds and unclean birds at that, since ravens were on the list of unclean creatures given in Scripture that were to be detested (Lev 11:13-15). Then the brook dried up and he was not sent to a rich Israelite ally with extra food; he was sent to a destitute widow, living in a Gentile land. He had started this drought in the palace of Ahab, but his career had descended to depending upon one of the poorest people in the land, this widow who was so poor she was one day away from starving to death with her son.
D. Trials are God forcing us to exercise the muscles of our faith.
- As we have seen, Elijah was forced by God to have to daily exercise the muscles of his faith, having to trust God everyday to send ravens with his bread and meat. But now, he has a heavier weight for his faith muscles to lift—the brook dries up. He now has 3-5 days to find water or he will die.
- However, God steps in and reveals to Elijah that he has a plan to keep providing. But two problems with the plan further challenge Elijah’s faith. 1) Zarephath was in Sidon, a Phonecian coastal region that was known for being the center of Baal worship. It was ruled by the father of Jezebel who had grown up there. In this confrontation with Baal worshippers, God was sending Elijah into the evil lion’s den that was in the heart of the enemy. 2) The next safe-place for Elijah was 100 miles away. Elijah had no guarantee that ravens would travel with him to provide food or that he would have water to keep him alive. But he set out in obedience to God.
E. Trials are sent by God because he loves us, desiring what is eternally best for us. A great football coach has his guys running hills and wind sprints in August until they drop from exhaustion. There is a simple reason. His focus is on the fourth quarter on game day. He knows that when his team is in a close, tough game, and their endurance gives them the little edge they need to prevail over their opponents, they will look back on those wind sprints with joy. Peter’s words about our trials refining our faith have this game-day focus. These trials have come so that your faith of greater worth than gold which perishes even though refined by fire may be proved genuine and may result in praise glory and honor when Jesus Christ is revealed.
CS Lewis, in his great book on the problem of pain, speaks of the relationship of our trials to our eternal joy. He notes, “Scripture and tradition habitually put the joys of heaven into the scale against the sufferings of earth and no solution of the problem of pain which does not do so can be called a Christian one.” We will look back on tough times that have built our faith and pleased our heavenly father with great joy someday.
4 CHARACTERISTICS OF FAITH THAT TRIUMPHS OVER TRIALS
A. Triumphant faith is trusting God.
- Elijah trusts God to feed him through Ravens at Brook Cherith.
- When the brook dries up and God tells him to travel 100 miles to Zarephath, he trusts God to provide bread, meat and water day by day as he makes this long journey by foot.
- Going into the Baal-worshipping homeland of Jezebel, Elijah trusts God to keep him safe from Jezebel’s spies and her father’s troops.
- He trusted God to help him identify the widow who was to help him.
- When he finds her, he discovers that she is out of food. So, Elijah must trust God to work in the widow’s heart and then trust God to supernaturally replenish the supply of flour and oil.
- Just as in his days by the brook Cherith, Elijah now must trust God to resupply his and the widow and her son’s needs day in and day out.
In a similar way, God puts the widow’s faith to the test, as well. She must trust God's promise to supply her needs and the needs of her son enough to first use up all her flower and oil to feed Elijah. It’s one thing to take a risk regarding YOUR OWN needs. It’s something else to risk YOUR CHILD’S NEEDS GOING UNMET. But she trusted God’s promise enough to spend the resources her son would need the next day to stay alive, using them to feed Elijah.
B. Triumphant faith is proved by obedience. Elijah went to the brook Cherith. Elijah went to Zarephath. The widow mixed her last ounce of oil with her last bit of flour to bake the bread for Elijah. Biblical faith is never just a mental ascent. It is always proved by obedience. As we saw last week from James “As the body without the spirit is dead so faith without deeds is dead.
C. Faith that triumphs over trials learns to trust God one day at a time. Perhaps, you’re thinking, “I know. I've heard that 150 times.” But maybe we haven't heard it often enough if we're not living life that way. Elijah had to trust God one day at a time to bring his food via the Ravens. Elijah and the widow had to trust God one day at a time for the flour and oil they and the widow's son needed that day. There is a lot behind Jesus’ teaching in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6:34, “Do not worry about tomorrow for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” Today God gives me the grace I need to handle today. But he doesn't give me today the grace I need to handle tomorrow. There is great peace in understanding this great promise of Jesus. Whatever tomorrow holds, God will give me the grace, then, to handle it. Theodore EPP, in his book Elijah A Man of Like Nature writes,
"Few of us have faced the extremity this widow experienced. It seemed as though each day, starvation looked her in the face. Yet, each day, by faith she looked into the face of God. The result was that she and her house “ate many days.” God supplied not a year at a time but a day at a time. This is what we need with regard to God's grace. We do not need a great stockpile of it for future use but a daily appropriation of it, which God supplies freely. Just as the manna was gathered daily, not in the evening but in the morning of each day, and each one gathered for himself, so must we gather grace from God. We cannot hoard today's grace for tomorrow or call on yesterday's grace for today. We cannot gather enough on Sunday to last a whole week. It is good to gather what we can on that day but we need to have daily contact with God, particularly through the morning watch.”
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul refers to this samed, "day by day" approach to living. He explains that our outward man is aging, but that our inner man is being renewed in Christ “day by day.”
D. Faith that triumphs over trials brings the experience God's faithfulness. Elijah, the widow, and her son experienced the reality of God's daily supply of flour and oil. Our God is a promise-keeping God. Yes, he will test you. He will try your faith. He will bring trials into your life and into mine. He tells us he's going to do that. He tells us that our race is going to require us to learn to run with endurance, so he will relentlessly try us. But his purpose is always to bring blessing to us.
Some years ago, a group of farmers were raising cotton in the deep south They were eking out a living, barely, as farmers do. Then the devastating Boll Weevil came and obliterated the cotton crop. In fact, they couldn't get rid of the Boll Weevil to ensure that it wouldn’t destroy the next year’s crop. The infestation was so severe that they couldn't grow cotton anymore in that entire area. They were all on the verge of bankruptcy when someone said they should look into growing peanuts. So, they did and decided to switch crops and grow peanuts. Before long they were making twice as much money as they ever could have growing cotton. They realized that what seemed like a disaster really proved to be a boon. So, do you know what they did? In the center of the town, they built a monument to the Boll Weevil! They built a monument to the very thing that caused them enormous pain and suffering because it greatly benefited them in the long run.
When we get to heaven I think we're all going wish we could go back and build some monuments, because we'll realize that the painful, difficult trials that hurt us and frustrated us greatly were the very things God has used to transform our character making us most pleasing to Jesus.
THE AUTHOR AND FINISHER OF OUR FAITH
Before closing this podcast, I want to return to the beginning words of Hebrews 12, which describe the race marked out for us, the race you and I are running right now, today. Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith.
As we’ve seen, this race is going to be tough. It is going to have everyday pain, and obstacles. We can count upon God to relentlessly take us through hard situations that force us to exercise the muscles of our faith. But there is a secret to putting one step down after another to persevere and build endurance. It is looking to Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith. Jesus is, first, the originator, i.e. the founder of our faith. Jesus regenerated us and gave us our faith in the first place. So, as he grows our faith to maturity—we can trust him to give us the additional faith we need to persevere. Second, he is the perfector, the completer of our faith. He will never tire of supplying us with the trust in him that we need. We can therefore be certain that like the desperate father of the demon possessed boy in Mark 9, we can always cry out, “I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.” Jesus is the power source—the author and perfecter of our faith.
For Further Prayerful Thought.
- What stood out to you in the biblical overview of trials?
- When God told Elijah to go to Zarephath, where a widow would care for him, what obstacles to his trust in God do you think he had to overcome.
- What do you most admire about Elijah’s faith? What do you most admire about the widow’s faith?
- When God has tested your faith through tough times, what has most helped you still trust God and get through those times?
