“The word of the Lord came to him, saying, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there. I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.’“

— 1 Kings 17:7

Sometimes God prepares us with little tests to prepare us for the bigger ones to come. Elijah, one of the great Old Testament prophets, lived in Zarephath with a poor widow and her son, no doubt an unusual relationship for a man who had spent most of his life in the desert. He spent about three years there, about half that time there was no rain.

One day the widow’s son grew sick and died, and the widow became very distraught. Elijah took the boy up to the loft where he stayed and laid his body out over the boy: “Oh Lord, my God, I pray that You let this child’s soul come into him again.” The Lord heard his prayer, and the boy began to breathe again. The great prophet brought the child down to his bereft mother, and there was rejoicing. She said, “Now, because of this, I know indeed that you are a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth!”

This was all preparation for the great test that Elijah was to have in the great showdown on Mount Carmel with the hundreds of false prophets of Baal versus just him, representing Yahweh. Don’t despise the little tests God puts in your path. He may well be preparing for larger tasks. Make sure you pass all the tests, or you might just have to take them over again.

Father, help me to not shun small tasks. For it is in the mastery of the basics, so often You shape our lives to take on the much larger assignments You have for us. Lord, give me the strength for today to make myself available to You for big tasks or small…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE MAKE OURSELVES
AVAILABLE TO HIM FOR TASKS, BIG OR SMALL.

“For He has said: ‘I will never leave you, nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’”

— Hebrews 13:5-6

How easily we are brought to fear. How often the dark clouds on the horizon seem to gather and they instill fear in our hearts. May I ask you this: Is there anything that is causing you to be afraid right now? Is there some dark cloud gathering on your life? Do you already feel the cold drizzling rain? Is there some terrible calamity that you feel is coming upon you?

Consider how God took care of Elijah, His choice servant, even when he was on the run from the wicked queen who demanded he be executed.

After the brook Cherith ran dry, God continued to care for him. And though the brook dried up, we see that God’s resources had not dried up, and that God’s love and care was shown in that He gave him the command as to precisely what he was to do. Even in the midst of this trial, God led him to Zarephath, which belonged to Sidon, and there a widow provided for him.

This widow was preparing to eat her last meal, but when Elijah came, God provided for her and her son, and also for Elijah. And he says, “Fear not.” This is a great statement we have so often in Scripture—words that were so frequently on the lips of Jesus Christ Himself, and words which we often need to hear. God takes care of His own.

Lord Jesus Christ, Your perfect love casts out fear. Forgive us for limiting in our own minds what You can do. You are a big God and great and can do the impossible, and You care for us. Thank You that You are our helper.

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE WALK IN COURAGE.

“…awesome as an army with banners…”

— Song of Solomon 6:10

We are the army of Christ. We sing “Onward Christian soldiers/marching as to war,” although we too often sing it flippantly and without much thought. Nonetheless, we are exactly that—Christian soldiers in the army of Christ. He is the Captain of the well fought fight who goes on before us. We are called to a great battle with the forces of darkness, with principalities and powers of the air.

We are called to go forth “awesome as an army with banners.” We have a banner. It is the Gospel. The Church has many other banners. “Jesus Christ is Lord” was one of the earliest ones. “He will never leave us” is another. “He always leads us forth in triumph” is yet another. “He is King of kings and Lord of lords,” is yet another. “He goes forth upon a white horse, conquering and to conquer” is yet another of the banners of Christ.

Have you noticed that with the armies of this world, sometimes, when they see the flag, the national emblem, lifted up, even soldiers who are fatigued will get new strength? So we, as the army of Christ are to go forth in that way. And we should indeed strike fear into those who are the enemies of God and the enemies of righteousness and godlessness—not because we would take up a literal sword, but because we would proclaim the Word of God to a lost world, which contains many elements that don’t want to hear it.

Lord God, thank You for the transforming power of the Gospel. Thank You for transforming my heart and daily conforming me into Your own image. Thank You for making us part of Your story…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, OUR
HEARTS ARE TRANSFORMED.

“Who is this who looks forth like the dawn, fair as the moon, radiant as the sun, awesome as an army with banners?”

— Song of Solomon 6:10

A beautiful description of the church of Jesus Christ was uttered centuries before she was officially inaugurated at Pentecost. Although the Song of Solomon has much to teach about human love between a man and a woman, it is also ultimately the story of the relationship of the heavenly Bridegroom and His earthly bride—the church.

Who is she? We are the bride of Christ. Who is she who looks forth as the morning? In the midst of the blackness of night of despair and death, it is the church that brings the hope of the coming morning.

Even in the Old Testament when darkness still covered most of the earth, God’s people were like the moon—that fair moon that gave borrowed light to a needy and hopeless world…a world that could see nothing beyond that hole in the ground where life had little meaning and no hope.

There was the church (as in God’s congregation), even back then, that was fair as the moon. That is, of course, an idealized picture of the church. Unfortunately, there are many who would be seen merely as pockmarks on that moon; but, nevertheless, that is the picture He draws of the church.

And yet there came a glorious day when the night would fade away. On that bright and marvelous morning when Jesus Christ walked out of the tomb and the darkness of death faded away forever, the church became clear as the sun.

Lord of the church, we thank You, Jesus, for the miracle of the church. We praise You that by Your strength, she has endured through the centuries and will stand triumphant and glorious on the last day as Your beautiful and spotless bride…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, THE BRIDE OF
CHRIST PREPARES FOR THE BIG WEDDING.

“But what is the divine reply to Elijah? ‘I have kept for Myself seven thousand men, who have not bowed the knee to Baal.’”

— Romans 11:4

Elijah the Tishbite—his name no doubt conjures up certain images. He was a man of the wilderness and the desert. John the Baptist was a prophet like unto Elijah. He was a man of solitude—a man whom God had prepared for a most difficult time. He was a man of unbending character. He was an austere man. A man whom perhaps many people would not find particularly likeable. He was what some people would call rigid in his beliefs. He was a diamond hard man for the hard days that were there.

To set this in context, in the early years of the reign of Ahab, he married Jezebel, who was the daughter of the king of Tyre and Sidon and she brought the Sidonian religion of the worship of Baal into Israel. This religion prospered and grew and Jezebel had set herself up to see Baalism replace the worship of Jehovah in Israel. She had killed a great many of the prophets of the Lord and provided hundreds of prophets of Baal. Baalism was rampant in Israel so that there were very few worshipers of the true God.

Elijah said that they have slain the prophets of the Lord and that he was the only one left, and they were seeking his life. But God encouraged him, as seen in the verse above, that there was still a faithful remnant.

May God help us to have resolute character to faithfully serve Him for our tasks at hand.

Righteous Father, we see our own country turning away from You and we too are discouraged by all the ungodliness. Thank You that there are many more than seven thousand in our land who have not bowed their knees to Baal…

BY GOD’S GRACE AND STRENGTH, WE CAN
STAND FIRM AND STRAIGHT IN A CROOKED WORLD.

“When a servant of the man of God rose early in the morning and went out, a force surrounded the city both with horses and chariots. And his servant said to him, ‘Alas, my master! What will we do?’”

— 2 Kings 6:15

As noted yesterday, Ben-Hadad, the king of Aram, found out that Elisha the prophet was revealing to Israel Ben-Hadad’s inner secrets for attacking Israel. Ben-Hadad decided to capture Elisha.

So he sent a large group of chariots and horses and soldiers to take Elisha. First the spies tell him that Elisha is in Dothan, and they make a march by night and then the sun rises. That morning, a young man who is a servant of Elisha goes out to look around, and he discovers in the valley all around are the horses and chariots and enemy soldiers. He is filled with terror, with trembling.

How many times in our life do we exclaim, “Alas, my master! What will we do?” There was no escape. They were completely surrounded. There was no army there, no soldiers, just two of them. They were totally outnumbered. They were helpless.

But Elisha said, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them” (2 Kings 6:16). Then he asked God to open his servant’s eyes, so He did, “and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire surrounding Elisha” (2 Kings 6:17).

Dear friends, if that concept really filled our hearts and minds it would literally change our lives—most particularly in the difficult places of life. With the eyes of faith, Elisha could say, “Do not be afraid, for there are more with us than with them.”

Sovereign Lord, we praise You that You know and see all. We ask that You give us strength for today to go about our lives with the assurance of Your sovereign watch over our lives. Forgive us for harboring secret fears and unbelief…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE ARE PROTECTED.

“Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.”

— Ephesians 6:4

Well, dads, this is your day—Father’s day, and what is the state of fatherhood in modern America today? One lady, a few decades ago, put it like this: “Women need a man like a fish needs a bicycle.” That is what she said. That is what Gloria Steinem, one of the leading gurus of the feminist movement said.

And so, men, fathers, it seems that we are obsolete. We are unneeded. There has been a huge denigration of fatherhood and maleness in our country in our generation. It is even said that maleness is a recessive and repressive gene, and it’s a big mistake. We’d be better off without any men in this world. I’ve got news for those ladies. There wouldn’t be any civilization without men, but I guess they are working on that next.

America is suffering from a serious case of fatherlessness. An absentee or brutish father, an abusive father, a weak father, has an enormous impact upon the children. Scientists have discovered that you, gentlemen, as godly fathers, as faithful fathers, have an impact and an importance which is vastly greater than anybody imagined many years ago. Yes, it seems that fish need bicycles, doesn’t it?

God has chosen earthly fathers to essentially be His representative on earth to their children. Therefore, let all Christian fathers strive to be great examples to our children.

Lord, help us to realize the importance of our relationship to our children. Help us to fulfill our vows that we made to bring up our children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord…

IN HIS STRENGTH, WE CAN REFLECT OUR
HEAVENLY FATHER TO OUR CHILDREN.

“Then the king of Aram was fighting against Israel, and he took counsel with his servants, saying, ‘At such and such a place will be my camp.’”

— 2 Kings 6:8

God uses different means to achieve His good purposes. In the days of Elisha the prophet, Ben-Hadad, the wicked king of Aram, wanted to go to war against Israel, the northern kingdom. So he sent one of his bands of marauders into Israel to take prisoners and gather substance and treasure. These marauding bands of Ben-Hadad were sent frequently into Israel. But all of a sudden something had happened. Every time they would go to lay a trap for the king of Israel, he would be forewarned and he wouldn’t be there.

Finally, Ben-Hadad was much troubled. He thought there must be a traitor in their midst, but his captains assured him there was no traitor among them. Rather, it was that prophet Elisha who was being such a problem because he could hear the very words of the king of Aram, which were spoken in his bedchamber, in a distant land.

Now the fame of Elisha had spread since God had used him to cure Naaman,  general of Syria, of his leprosy. And the word had gone out. They knew he was the prophet of Israel, and so Ben-Hadad, foolishly, decided he was going to capture him.

Despite Israel’s many shortcomings, God was keeping watch over His own. He used the man of God Elisha to prevent His people from being destroyed. God uses different means to protect His own. Only in heaven will we be able to see the myriad ways in which the Lord has protected us.

Lord God, Keeper of Israel, thank You for also keeping me. Thank You for keeping me from sin and keeping watch over my comings and goings. Most of all, thank You for keeping my soul safe for eternity…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE ARE KEPT SAFE.

“So the king said to me, ‘Why is your face troubled though you do not seem sick? This is nothing but a troubled heart.’”

— Nehemiah 2:2

Nehemiah was the cupbearer of the Persian king, Artaxerxes. He was among the Jews left in Persia who had originally been taken into captivity by the Babylonians. When Nehemiah got word that the walls of Jerusalem and its temple were in total ruins, he was very sad.

We might go out in this day as Nehemiah did and survey the spiritual wall around America; then ask ourselves the question: Is that wall broken down or is it in good condition? It was true in Nehemiah’s day that if the wall was destroyed the temple would be destroyed and the faith of the people of God would be greatly set back. So today, if America falls, the Church of Jesus Christ will be greatly set back, since about 75 percent of all the money and manpower for the world mission cause of Jesus Christ originates from North America.

What did Nehemiah do when he heard about Jerusalem’s broken walls? He wept. He fasted! He prayed! We need to pray that that wall around America may be built again.

Lastly, Nehemiah went to Jerusalem to work. God grant us the faith to pray and the faith to work that the nation may survive, that the Church may continue, and the Gospel of Christ may go out into all of the earth. There comes a time when we have to pause from the ordinary course of things to take a look at the walls which make all of the rest possible.

Lord, if ever a nation needed to turn back to You, such is the case with our land. Thank You that You care about the broken walls in our country. We ask for Your grace that there be true repentance and revival throughout our nation…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH, WE
WEEP AND THEN WE ACT.

“Then I looked, and I heard around the throne and the living creatures and the elders the voices of many angels, numbering ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands…”

— Revelation 5:11

A comforting truth in the Scripture is that there are innumerable angels—these supernatural servants and messengers of God. There are myriads of myriads of killiads of killiads, vast hundreds of millions of billions of angels, and there is no doubt that the angels of God outnumber the enemies of God. Not that they need to. If one of them can handle 185 thousand fully armed soldiers in one night (2 Kings 19:35), they don’t need to outnumber them, but they do outnumber them.

One of the things about angels is that they are present a lot more than we realize. I’m sure they are all about us all of the time. They are sent to minister unto the heirs of salvation Hebrews tells us, and they are watching over us. They have a great interest in and they are commanded to watch over the people of God. Now what a wonderful thought that is. Nonetheless, we are not to worship them, but only God alone.

There are different times when human beings encounter angels, and they mistakenly bow down to worship them. Here is an example: “I, John, am he who saw and heard these things. When I heard and saw them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who showed me these things. But he said to me, ‘See that you not do that. For I am your fellow servant, and of your brothers the prophets, and of those who keep the words of this book. Worship God!’” (Revelation 22:8-9).

Father, thank You for Your servants, the angels. Thank You that we who are saved have received something they have never experienced, Your divine redemption. We praise You that You are so holy that the angels hide their faces from You…

BY GOD’S STRENGTH,
WE RECEIVE DIVINE HELP.