“And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” I Kings 17:7 NKJV
a. After a while that the brook dried up: Elijah saw the flow of the brook slow down until it dried up. His source of water was gone.
i. “Ah, it is hard to sit beside a drying brook - much harder than to face the prophets of Baal on Carmel.” (Meyer) Meyer also mentioned different kinds of drying brooks we might experience:
· The drying brook of popularity, ebbing away as from John the Baptist.
· The drying brook of health, sinking under a creeping paralysis, or a slow consumption.
· The drying brook of money, slowly dwindling before the demands of sickness, bad debts, or other people’s extravagance.
· The drying brook of friendship, which for long has been diminishing, and threatens soon to cease.
ii. Moved below…
b. Because there had been no rain in the land: This was the drought Elijah prayed for. He did not pray for rain to come again, even for his own survival. He kept the purpose of God first, even when it adversely affected him. (Guzik)
The Drying Brook!
“Why does God let them dry? He wants to teach us not to trust in His gifts but in Himself. He wants to drain us of self, as He drained the apostles by ten days of waiting before Pentecost. He wants to loosen our roots ere He removes us to some other sphere of service and education. He wants to put in stronger contrast the river of throne-water that never dries.” (Meyer)
Two years ago in January the brook dried up at our church when a staff member retired. He had managed and led a twelve step program on Thursday evenings. My wife and I volunteered to be a stop gap program for the church and continue with the Life Recovery Bible twelve step program. It is God’s ministry not ours and we will continue to lead it until He decides it’s time for the brook to dry up or for the river of throne-water to change course.
Have you experienced the drying brook in your life?
Blessings
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