THE LORD WILL PROVIDE I Kings 17:1-16

The Context of Elijah’s Appearance God’s people were in a state of spiritual decline King Ahab led Israel into idolatry Israel’s idolatry made God angry Elijah tells Ahab that it would not rain for 3½ years

Application for Today If there are idols in your life, God will attack them If you are looking to something other than God to provide for your needs, don’t be surprised when He shuts it down

God Provides for Elijah God promises to provide for Elijah In order for him to experience God’s provision, he had to go where God told him to go God took care of him in 2 ways: Naturally Supernaturally

What Does This Mean for Us? If you’re living outside of God’s will, you’re going to miss the ravens Don’t miss out on God’s supernatural provision because you don’t want to go where he tells you to go If God is calling you to an isolated place, it’s because that’s where His provision is

Elijah’s Provision Dries Up Elijah pronounced God’s judgment on the land, and now that judgment is affecting him Even when you’re living according to God’s will, sometimes things dry up When God allows things in your life to dry up, it’s because He’s moving you to a different place of provision

God Sends Elijah to Zarephath Zarephath was the center of Baal worship This widow had even less than Elijah God will sometimes test your faith by sending you to places you would prefer not to go

Elijah Gives the Widow a Challenge He was challenging her to put God first His job was to get her to act in faith for her own benefit Until you act in faith, you will not see the supernatural open up

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Luke 4:24-26 “I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his hometown. I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.”