the brook dried up

And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.

1 Kings 17:6-7

Elijah's prophetic ministry began with an intense test of faith. His first message was confrontation with Ahab, the wicked king of Israel. He declared that God had decreed a three year drought. And then God hides him at the brook Cherith where ravens bring him morning and evening sandwiches (that's what I would make with bread and meat) and the running brook brings fresh water. Elijah starts his ministry hiding, but secure.

We don't know how long Elijah lived in this way, fed by ravens at Cherith, but it would have taken some time for the stream to go dry. Every day the ravens brought Elijah his food, and eventually as the drought took its toll, Elijah saw the water supply dwindle, until one day a stagnant pool was all that was left of the once nourishing stream that God supplied. The stream ran dry. And Elijah watched it happen, powerless to change it as he trusted God. It was only when the brook dried up that the prophet received direction from God. The Lord took his faith to the very last drop of water.

There are seasons in life when God lets the brook dry up. He takes us right to the point of desperation. We watch what sustained us turn to dust so that our trust will be in God and not the stuff He gives to us. It is those times that prove our faith. Are they tests? Maybe so. Maybe not. I tend to think that God simply works with us in this way most of the time so that we might trust Him more.

I write these words on a humid Kansas early summer morning. It is going to rain today again. It is a wet summer already, the kind of wet that causes flooding and forces you to mow your yard twice a week so that you don't live in a suburban jungle. It's like a midwest rain forest... and it is hard to imagine anything drying up right now. But I know it happens... come August or September this same yard will be dormant, brown, and dry. And the dryness is also known by God. He will nourish what the rain cannot sustain. He will provide for my soul when the brook dries up.