Don’t bind the brook, don’t rebuke the Ravens – A simple lesson in obedience

                                       

Over the years of my walking with God, I have come to understand the place of simple obedience to the instructions of God, and the huge difference it could make in one’s life. On the other hand, I have also come to see how some people, rather than taking responsibility for their life in line with God’s instructions to them, disobey those simple instructions, and then attempt to pass on their responsibilities on God through some form of spiritual activity. This is one of the main reasons why there are some people who seem not to be making progress in life in spite of their seeming spirituality. The sad part of this is that some of these people who fail to take responsibility are older Christians in the faith that younger ones should be looking up to, but due to their failure, many young people cannot seem to find the proper alignment between the Christian faith and being productive in life.

The story of the prophet Elijah in 1 Kings 17 clearly illustrates my point on obedience.  The Word of the Lord had come to the prophet to camp by the brook Cherith, where God had commanded Ravens to feed him. We understand that the prophet acted according to the instruction and he was sustained. In the process of time the brook dried up, and God gave another instruction for the prophet to arise and go to Zarephath, where God had commanded a widow to feed him. But why did God have to allow the brook to dry up when He is the God that creates water in the desert? He made water to flow out of the rock for the children of Israel on their way to Canaan from Egypt, so He could have sustained the brook from drying up; or could it be that the devil was responsible for the drying up of the brooks? All these were possible thoughts in the prophet’s mind, and if he had allowed himself to be sucked in by all these thoughts, then he could have responded differently. Rather than yielding to God’s instruction, he could have attempted to engage the power of prayer to bind the brook and to rebuke the Ravens for not bringing him food anymore, and in the end he could have starved to death in spite of his mighty prayer. That is not to say that prayer doesn’t work, but that simple obedience to Gods simple instruction will save you a lot of stress.

There are believers today who would rather spend long hours in prayer than to obey simple instructions, even when they know what they should do. This sort of thing would make their life somewhat inconsistent; some level of success today and lots of setbacks the next day. The reason people choose to ignore instructions could be as a result of laziness or the fear of failure. What if you were Elijah, and you got to Zarephath, and did not find the widow that God spoke about? With such a thought, you would rather stay at the brook, and plead with God to make things happen, when nothing is ever going to happen. Then in the end, it will appear as though God cannot hear or answer prayers, and that He has failed you, when in actual fact you failed yourself and failed God.

Samuel in rebuking King Saul in 1 Sam. 15:22, said to obey is better than sacrifices and to hearken than the fat of rams. You need to evaluate where you are, particularly in the face of the obvious challenges that you might be facing. Could there be an instruction you are missing out on that may account for the seeming drought that you are experiencing, or for your limited progress. Don’t be in a haste to bind the brook or rebuke the Ravens, rather look inwards first, and if you are certain to have taken full responsibility in accordance to the leading of the Lord, be rest assured that God is lifting you to an exalted place soon.

Shalom!