There

"And the word of the LORD came unto him (Elijah), saying, Get thee hence and turn thee

eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. And it shall be, that

thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee THERE . . .

"Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell THERE: behold, I have

commanded a widow woman THERE to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath.

And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was THERE. . ." (I

Kings 17:2-4, 9, 10).

DO not believe that the ravens would have fed Elijah anywhere else, nor would the widow

woman have appeared anywhere else except "THERE." GOD did not say, "Elijah, ramble around

as you please and I will provide for you."

"THERE" was the place of GOD's will for Elijah-the place of His Purpose, the place of His

Power and the place of His Provision.

"THERE" WAS THE PLACE OF GOD'S PURPOSE. GOD has a "THERE" for you, somewhere

He wants you to be, something He wants you to do. You can never be truly happy elsewhere, nor

can you please GOD anywhere but "there." You may do lovely things and become a "success,"

but always there will be the haunting sense of having chosen life's second best.


"THERE" is the place of blessing. When Jacob wandered from Bethel and trouble descended

upon him at Shalem, GOD commanded him, "Arise, go up to Bethel and dwell THERE" (Gen.

35:1). Sometimes we go back to Bethel during the revival but we do not dwell there.

"THERE" is not a particular emotional experience; it is simply the place of GOD's will. David

"served his own generation by the will of God" (Acts 13:36), and in so doing he proved that he

was "THERE." Epaphras prayed that the saints might "stand perfect and complete in all the

will of GOD" (Colossians 4:12), in other words, that they might be "THERE." Our Lord could

say to the Father, "I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou

gavest me to do" (John 17:4). He was always "THERE!"

GOD has a Cherith and a Zarephath for you. It may be across the street, it may be across the sea.

Some sing, "I'll go where you want me to go, dear Lord," but they are not willing to stay where

He wants them to stay. A radio preacher tells of receiving a letter from a young lady who was

sure that she could do great things for the Lord if she could move to Pittsburgh, but was sure she

could do nothing in the small town where she was. It developed that she refused to work in the

small tasks in her home church because she felt too big for it. We have plenty of "Pittsburgh

Christians," or eagles on hummingbird nests, always too big for where they are.

In the account of the Great Commission, we overlook the setting: "Then the eleven disciples

went away into Galilee, into a mountain where Jesus had appointed them" (Matthew 28:16).

They were in the place of the Divine appointing, therefore they received the Divine appointment.

Some of us have had no commission because we are not "there," at the place of His appointing.

In the second place, "THERE" WAS THE PLACE OF GOD'S POWER. I do not believe that the

miracle of the ravens and the meal barrel would have occurred anywhere but "THERE." Men

wonder why they never feel GOD's power or see any evidences of His working. It is because

they are out of His purpose, not in His will. We say, "What power Elijah had!" but he had no

power in himself, he was simply" THERE," in the place of power. We might say, "What power

that radio has!" "What power that electric light has!" But they are very frail contraptions, they

are simply in the place of power, connected with the source.


Finally, "THERE" WAS THE PLACE OF GOD'S PROVISION. There would have been no

bread, no flesh, no meal, for Elijah anywhere but "THERE." "Where GOD guides, He provides"

is a well-worn proverb but gloriously true. Notice that GOD said, "I have commanded the

ravens to feed thee THERE"; "I have commanded a widow woman THERE to sustain

thee." Elijah had gone on ahead and made arrangements. Strange arrangements they were - I

doubt that stranger arrangements ever were made for boarding a preacher! But the plan worked,

as it always does when GOD is in it. He is responsible for our upkeep when we follow His

directions, but He is not responsible for any expenses not included in His schedule.

Elijah began his interview with the widow by asking, like our Lord at the well of Samaria, for a

drink of water. You will observe that when Elijah found this woman, she was engaged at a

menial task, gathering sticks, but before he left she had seen the miraculous. From the menial to

the miraculous! So our Lord found Peter fishing for fish and made him a fisher of men; found

Matthew collecting taxes and made him a Gospel writer. If we are faithful in the least, GOD will

show us much. Fetching a drink of water does not cost much, although a cup of water given in

His Name shall not be unrewarded. But it does not test faith, so Elijah asked next for a morsel of

bread and the first cake at that. Now it looked as though there would be only one cake, so here

was a real test for the widow woman. Alas, we give GOD the crumbs, not the cake; the scraps

and fragments and leftovers of time and thought and talent and money. Malachi reproved the

Jews in his day who kept the good animals given them for sacrifice and gave the Lord the sick

and crippled. How he might thunder at us today who give GOD the crumbs from our tables and

eat the cake ourselves!

The widow woman was fearful, but Elijah reassured her: "Fear not. . . for thus saith the

LORD. . . "

GOD had promised to provide and that was enough.


Yes, when we are "THERE," in the place of GOD's purpose, we are in the place of His power

and provision. ARE YOU "THERE?"



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