HIDE YOURSELF


 Image result for GOOGLE CLIP ART OF HIDING YOURSELF




After walking in disobedience for years and totally ignoring the Lord God, like a lightening flash, Elijah comes to Ahab.  I assume there may have been prior knowledge of Ahab, the "Sacred Record" doesn't say.  Elijah's first words to Ahab, "As the Lord, the God of Israel lives.."  It seems that Ahab may have practiced, "if I ignore God and His laws, then, He doesn't exist!"  This same mentality seems to be alive in our culture and very prevalent UNTIL something painful happens to the individual, then guess who is blamed?

At this point in the narrative, we are not given Ahab's response 1 Kings 17.  The second verse, "And the word of the Lord came to him..."  God's direction to Elijah is to go to the east of the Jordan River and hide yourself by the brook Cherith.  Cherith is in the hilly region with 700 feet hills of limestone and caves surrounded by brush.  Obviously, Elijah will go into hiding to protect himself from Ahab.  This hiding, orchestrated by God, will be used to teach, encourage, and strengthen Elijah.  He of course, has not lived the rest of the story in chapters 18-22. but he will need the spiritual backbone to affect the kingdom of Israel and Ahab.  

As I think of the words, hide yourself,  there have been times that God has placed me at Brook Cherith...a place where HE has my full focus (as full as I can focus) and it is a place of seclusion...just HIM and me.  It seems I have been to Brook Cherith several times:  accident or illness of a loved one, financial losses, disappointed hopes and dreams, not teaching Bible study classes, and death of loved ones, just to suggest a few to which you also can relate.  God has NOT put me aside to punish or discipline, but to build my faith stamina for the days, weeks, months, or years ahead.  I have not always understood at the time, but because I have been at Brook Cherith before, I know that I get to learn from the Master Teacher, the Holy Spirit.  This may have been a waiting time for Elijah also, a time that he gets to wait upon the Lord for the next Holy direction.  Psalm 27:14, "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; yes wait for the Lord. Father God knows how I do not wait patiently, so AGAIN the Master Teacher is going to show me!  Ever learning!  In process, still! #IHAVETHREESONS

 

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