We’ve begun a new series entitled:    ” When Life Doesn't Make Sense”, we’re trying to live for God, serve God, love God and trust God and everything seems to be going wrong as it often does. We began to talk about the prophet Elijah and some of the contradictions that we see in his life.

​

We’ve talked about a couple of different contradictions, the first one being that he's taking a stand for God but he's now stalled in his ministry. Last week we talked about the fact that Elijah was sustained by the brook - he had provision but that turned to poverty. The brook dried up.

​

The next thing that we see happening: is “that faith is going to through the fire…it will be tested and this is a conundrum too. I've got faith in God but God's going to test my faith to see the quality of it.

​

Elijah is now dispatched by the Lord to go to another location and his life now intertwined with another person, a widow that God has told him to go and live with, and her faith is going to be tested as well.

​

1 Kings 17: 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.

​

Elijah tells her to make her a small cake for him first. This is the real test - it conflicts with common sense - because if she makes even a small cake for him; she may not have enough for herself or her son and maybe one of them is going to starve to death. It defies intellect and human wisdom but faith compels us to do what the Lord commands us to do.

 

God has a crucible, a place where faith is tested and tried. God has called her and Elijah has given her a challenge. How would she respond? The crucible is there in order to purge away things that would stand in the way of faith; the number one thing on that list is fear.

​

She passed the crucible test - her faith was tried and had come to a place of believing the Word of the Lord from Elijah. Her small faith stood the test and she received salvation. She and her little boy were saved from impending doom. God had called her, in the most severe conditions, she responded; her small faith was tried in the crucible God's blacksmith shop and it burned away fear, doubt and unbelief.

Join us in person on Sunday at 10:00 a.m. or via livestream by going to https://www.firstbaptistsudbury.com and clicking on livestream for “The Blacksmith Shop.”

 

Blessings,

 

Kevin