When Your Faith is Tested…

Join Sarah in this post as she reflects on how Elijah responded to a tragedy and how that relates to when your faith is test.

It’s been said that the only consistent thing in life is change. It seems like change is all around us, and with our advances in technology, change appears to be happening more and more rapidly these days. In the midst of all the change, it’s comforting that God never changes. I’m comforted by verses like Hebrews 13:8, which says, “Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever.” The constancy of God is an immense comfort, especially as our situations seem to be constantly changing.  

1 Kings 17 is an interesting chapter with some of the prophet Elijah’s more famous experiences. But I think reading through the chapter as a whole helps us see how our faith has opportunities to grow as our circumstances change. And how we can hold onto who God is even when we find ourselves in extraordinary circumstances. 

The Word Came

1 Kings 17 opens with Elijah making a bold prophecy to an unhinged king. Verse 1 says, “Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.’”

Wow! What a prophecy! I don’t know if that’s a prophecy that I would want to give, but Elijah was bold in sharing this word of the Lord. We don’t know anything about what Elijah was thinking or feeling in this moment, but I can’t help but wonder if he knew how this famine would affect his own life.

The Testing

After Elijah gives that prophecy, God instructs him to go to a specific location, and God promises to provide for him. And Elijah obeys. 

“So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.” 1 Kings 17:5-6

What an incredible act of faith! Elijah leaves his usual surroundings to follow God into the wilderness. He stays there and is fed by the ravens each day. It reminds me of the manna and quail that God sent to the Israelites in the desert (see Exodus 16), except Elijah actually followed God’s instructions. 

It took immense faith for Elijah to not just speak to the king, but to follow God, literally putting his body on the line. And God provided for him in extraordinary ways. I imagine this did amazing things for Elijah’s faith as he saw, day after day, God providing for him. 

But then everything changed.

New Circumstances

“Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.” 1 Kings 17:7

This is such a short sentence, but let’s think about this for a moment. “Some time later” is three words on a page to us, but that’s days, weeks, and maybe even months for Elijah. We don’t know how long it took for his entire world to change. The way God had been providing for his prophet was about to change. God instructs Elijah to go to yet another location and, this time, instead of the ravens caring for Elijah, God had instructed a widow to be part of the provision. 

“So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me, please, a piece of bread.’” 1 Kings 17:10-11

In the previous season, the ravens came twice a day on God’s schedule, and Elijah could get water from the brook whenever he wanted. Now, he had to ask for these things. He had to trust God and trust another individual in order to survive. What a different place to be in! 

We learn that the widow was nearly out of flour and oil and was planning to use the last little bit to make food for her and her son’s final meal. What had initially been a tragic day ended up being a miraculous one! God’s incredible provision was experienced not just by Elijah, but also by this widow and her son. 

Tragedy Strikes

Verse 17 begins with a phrase we’ve seen a lot throughout this chapter. “Some time later…” the widow’s son grows sick and dies. What a horrible tragedy! After seeing God provide again and again for days, weeks, or even months, now her son has died. 

I wonder how Elijah was feeling in that moment. He had spent a considerable amount of time with this widow and her son, getting to know them and experiencing this collective miracle together. Was he heartbroken as well? Did he question God in that moment, too? Was he just as shocked as the widow? 

We will never know the answers to my endless stream of questions. But we do know that Elijah took the boy and prayed to God, crying out that the boy would be saved. Elijah prays until finally the boy breathes again. What an incredible miracle! 1 Kings 17:24 says, “Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.’”

When Your Faith is Tested

I love looking at this chapter as a whole because we see how Elijah’s faith is tested. He first has the faith to speak to this ruler (which would be a large leap of faith). Then he’s sent into the wilderness and is provided for by God in a beautiful and peculiar way. Then he becomes reliant upon God performing a miracle through another person, the widow, whose faith is also tested in that season. And, finally, both of them are tested when her son dies, but God is able to bring him back to life. 

In this chapter we see that faith-filled steps lead to even greater tests. And throughout this story we see the consistency of God. At every step, as circumstances change, God is present and caring for his people. It’s a beautiful, odd, and hard story, but I think there’s some comfort in it for us.

Our lives are not easy. Tests, trials, and even circumstances outside of our control can derail our plans. Sometimes, God leads us into a wilderness, which forces us to endure uncomfortable moments. But God is still present, even in the wilderness, the testing, and the tragedy. Life may not look how we want it to, but 1 Kings 17 reminds us that we can still trust that our God is near. 

What About You?

How do you handle it when your faith is tested? We would love to hear from you in the comments below.

From the Desk of Sarah J Callen

Candid Moments

The Lord is constantly extending invitations to us to experience His presence, join His mission, and become more like Him, to name a few. We are already invited; we get to choose how we respond.

In Candid Moments: Responding to God’s Invitations in Every Season, we explore some of God’s invitations and reflect on our response. For twenty-one days, let’s explore what God is inviting us to, and along the way, we will learn more about who God is and who He created us to be!

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