Called into the wilderness…. No, let’s be real. Yanked into the wilderness.

Somehow in your heart, you knew your season in that ‘comfort zone’ was over…. you knew it was time to leave…. but you were too afraid to make a move.

And then, it happened. You got fired, you lost the relationship, you lost your connections, everything familiar was taken away from you. God finally caught your attention.

I Kings 17:2-3 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.”

Kerith Ravine was the place of separation. The place where God revealed a new dimension of Himself to Elijah.

And so it is with us, God will lead us to a place of separation – away from what and who we know, so He can commune with us – and show us a new dimension of who He is.

1 Kings 17:4-6 “You will drink from the brook, and I have ordered the ravens to feed you there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

Kerith Ravine was a dry place, a place where Elijah could practically do nothing to provide for himself.

You will be drawn into a place where it seems like all doors are closed, where opportunities do not seem to open, where everything you try fails, where your gifts and abilities cannot sustain you. When all you have to do, is to turn to God. When you learn to totally surrender and depend on God.

Then He sends the ravines to feed and clothe you. No, it’s not the place of abundance. It’s the place of ‘just enough’. It’s the place of daily bread. It’s the place where you learn contentment.

1 Timothy 6:6-8 But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.

That season does end. New light shines through…it’s time to move forward…. to better prospects…. to growth.

1 Kings 17:8-9 Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.”

Hope comes alive. You have heard from God. There’s confirmation upon confirmation. Indeed, it’s your time to move into a new season.

By now, you have learnt to hear the voice of God. After all, you heard him about Kerith Ravine, He proved Himself to you… He sustained you at Kerith Ravine.

And so you leave, confident that you have heard Him. You knocked the door, asked for the job, positioned yourself for ‘Boaz’, interacted with your destiny helper, everything is going according to plan. This surely is the doing of the Lord.

1 Kings 17:10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks.

But no, something doesn’t add up. They say there’s no vacancy, ‘Boaz’ does not even seem to notice you, the deal doesn’t come together like it should have. It’s an unexpected turn of events.

1 Kings 17:12 “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may ear it – and die.”

It’s easy to quit. It’s easy to give up at the first sign of disappointment. One question keeps beckoning – “Did I hear right?”

Yet something inside of you knows you heard God on this one. That’s when you have to understand the place of negotiation, the place of working the Word of God. It takes resilience to stay on. It takes strategy to find a way through. You must remember Heaven is backing you on this one.

Elijah did not find ready food with the widow. In fact, her answer was contrary to the Word that God had spoken to him. There was no way for her to be the one who would supply him with food. Elijah did not give up. He found a way to make what God said happen.

1 Kings 17:13-14 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the Land.”

Then again, it wasn’t just about strategy. It was about fulfillment of the Word of God. It was about a Win-Win: both for Elijah and the widow. This was a God-ordained exchange.

1 Kings 17:15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

How I pray, that the Lord will give us grace – to survive Kerith Ravine, to hear His voice clearly as He leads us, and the resilience and strategy to bring His will and purposes to fulfillment.

Bon Voyage.