Learning To Hide In Jesus

 Then the Lord said to Elijah, ³ “Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. ⁴ Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. ⁶ The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook.  1 Kings 17:2-6

The Lord spoke these words to Elijah right after He told him there was going to be a severe years long drought. But why? Why would God tell him to hide now? God knew Elijah would have to strengthen himself in the Lord to develop his trust and faith in Him. An extended drought was going to cause a tremendous amount of struggle and loss. God was preparing him to be a light in those dark times that people would see the hope found in Him alone.

Spending time away from all the things that would distract him, allowed Him to focus on his relationship with God, his trust in him would increase and he would see God as not only His Provider but also his provision. The brook that kept flowing during a drought and that scavenger birds that are known to steal food, would be bringing him bread was all ways to build his reliance on Him.

Thousands of years may have passed, but people basically stay the same. We may not face a something as severe as a years long drought, but in the world we live in with its constant barrage of news and social media we too need to get away from it all. Like Elijah the best place is to learn to hide in the presence of the Lord. He Himself becomes our sanctuary, a place to stop the noise and chaos, a place of peace so we can hear Him as He speaks to us and direct us in His wisdom. At the end of Sunday’s Sermon we were challenged this week to begin to take a short period of time to become quiet and focus on Jesus. We were reminded that we have been so conditioned to hear something constantly that even two minutes of total silence not doing anything was way too long. So start small a minute or two and then increase the time you spend just listening to as Simon and Garfunkel put it, “the sound of silence”. But in that silence, it is then we will be able to hear the peaceful voice of our Savior and Lord. And just like Elijah, our relationship, trust and faith in Him will grow and strengthen us. Then we will be prepared to take on whatever the world chooses to throw at us.