Testing By the Brook
"So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he
went and lived . . ."
Once he knew for sure what God
wanted, in simple trust, he simply obeyed.
He knew the Lord was building his
faith, his character, and preparing him for things to come. His obedience was a result of his faith in
God.
Application: What would you or I have been doing?
Not legalistic obedience as with
the Pharisee's, but the obedience of faith that acts on the principles and
promises of God.
Are you perplexed about certain
things in your life? Then ask, what is the Lord seeking to teach me? Ask "How is the Lord wanting to use this
in my life or in some one else's life?"
Ask "Is God trying to change some of my values and priorities, or
reveal some of my false sources of trust?" Pray and think about it!
An
Illustration: Some years back, in a
small men's Bible study, one of the men shared a problem for prayer.
Let's look at each of the clauses
here, because each is significant.
"And it happened after a while."
This translation could give you the impression that Elijah was simply
the victim of some unfortunate circumstance that just happened.
Principle: Whether by the natural occurrences of life or the supernatural interventions of God, things do not just happen to
us.
Two Illustrations:
1.
Remember
how the Lord Jesus showed us God's involvement, control, and concern for every
detail of our lives?
He taught us that God numbers even the hairs of our head,
and that not a single sparrow falls to
the ground without His knowledge and control (Matt.
2.
Another
time, to show God's involvement and care for us He called attention to God's
care for the birds of the air and then said, "are
you not worth more than they?"
He then turned to the glorious
beauty of the lilies of the field that neither toil nor spin, and then added, "will He not
much more do so for you, O men of little faith?" (Matt. 6:26-30)
What does the word
"sovereignty" mean?
It emphatically speaks of God's
authority and control as King over every sphere of life. The Psalmist declares that God is in control
regardless of how it may appear to us.
In the context of the
passage of Psa 103, the Psalmist is calling us to
trust the Lord because:
He is also just (vss. 6-9),
He is gracious (vss. 10-12),
He is like a loving
father (vs. 13),
He is our creator/architect
who knows us completely (vs. 14).
"But
our God is in the heavens; He does whatever He pleases" (Ps. 115:3).
Three things:
First, this statement is made
against the attitude of the nations who are blind to the presence and activity
of God, at least as He is revealed in Scripture (vs. 2).
Second, this statement about God's
sovereignty is made to contrast the sovereign God of the Bible with the
impotent idols of the world (Psa. 115:4-8).
God has given us all things to
enjoy, but anytime we depend on something other than God for our security, and
our happiness, we have made that something into an idol.
Third, this
statement of God's sovereign control and activity is made as an incentive for
God's people to trust the Lord as their help and shield, as their source of
life, security, and joy (vss. 9-11).
Though much of the difficulty of
life and all of the evil are caused by man's sinfulness, his foolishness, and
Satan's activity, still God is in control, is aware of every detail, and allows
and uses it all for His own wise purposes.
So, we have a
principle: Based on these statements and promises of
Scripture, we can know that even the apparently normal happenings of life, like
the drying of the brook, are not without God's control and concern.
"After a while" is literally "at the end of days."
God deals with us not simply "after a while," or "sometime later," but at the
end of specific days, in His time
which is the best time.
Some Observations:
(1) God's timing is usually not our
timing. This is one of the reasons we
are told numerous times in Scripture to
wait on the Lord.
(2) God had a
specific plan that
included divine provision by the brook for a specific number of
days.
(3) I think this
also emphasizes the temporary nature and shortness of this life and our
experiences in it.
Concerning our days and
particularly our days in testing, it is helpful to remember a number of
vital concepts:
(a) This world is temporary. It is passing away and a new and glorious day
is coming (1 Cor. 7:31; 1 John 2:17; 2 Cor. 4:16-18).
(b) We have no abiding city or place in this
world. Our citizenship and our lasting
treasures are in heaven and we are to think of life in this way.
This is what distinguishes
believers (or should) from the unbelieving world which Scripture calls
"earth dwellers" (Phil. 3:20-21; Heb. 13:14; Rev. 3:10;
(c) Life is full of sudden changes, some of them
very painful, but we should never be surprised (1 Pet.
(d) Therefore, we are to redeem
the time God gives us and wisely use our days, even our days of pain and suffering
or trial (Ps. 90:12; Eph.
(4) The Lord has
promised to supply our needs according to His riches in glory.
There can never be an end of His supply for our real needs (Phil.
Our flesh, our old nature, is quick to respond,
and happily so, to the world's false
teaching that we are sufficient to ourselves, that we, all by ourselves can
figure out a way to achieve what has value in life without kneeling first at
the cross of Christ.
An unbelieving world system,
energized by Satan and appealing to our fleshly natures, is working overtime to
squeeze us into the mold of assuming that something other than God offers what
we really need and makes life worthwhile.
(5) The Lord is
never confined to any one method in supplying our needs, but uses a variety of
ways, people, things, places, and conditions, generally natural, sometimes
supernatural, to supply them.
(6) We should never
get caught up with the method, or means He uses, or the things He
supplies. Our need is to ever keep our
eyes on the Supplier who is in control and working all things together for His own purposes.