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| Volume 26 Number 2 February 2024 |
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| Volume 26 Number 2 February 2024 |
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When the Brook Dries Up
Rodney Nulph, Associate Editor
One of the extreme frustrations that some Christians face is not understanding that God’s ways are different from man’s ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). Man can only see one dimensional and is even limited in that view of life and its circumstances. God often gets blamed for not loving us or not protecting us when we encounter a difficulty, especially if that difficulty is monumental in size and hurtful. In fact, some have erroneously concluded that God does not exist because a loving God surely would not allow suffering (i.e., “atheism’s ‘unanswerable’ argument”). We see in 1 Kings 17 a narrative unfold that shows more than just one dimension. Due to the wickedness of Ahab and the nation, God withheld rain and dew from the land for three and one-half years (1 Kings 17:1-2; James 5:17). At that time, God instructed Elijah to camp by the brook Cherith and take his sustenance of water from that brook. It was also at this time that God sent ravens with bread and meat to provide Elijah’s food sustenance (1 Kings 17:4-6).
Can you just picture that scene? Imagine Elijah cross legged on the banks of Cherith, warm sunshine on his face, full belly of bread and meat, with cool, refreshing, pure water in abundance. Life is good! However, each day that brook seemed to flow a little more slowly, and eventually “the brook dried up” (1 Kings 17:7). I am not sure what Elijah was thinking, but I am sure that if I were in Elijah’s sandals, I would be wondering what just happened. “Where are you God? I thought you would provide for me, and now, nothing!” As we read further in the Divine Chronicle, we see God still providing for Elijah by using a poor widow in Zarephath who had almost nothing (1 Kings 17:8-12). From man’s viewpoint, when the brook dried up, there was no hope! Have you ever been there? Things were going well; God was blessing you, and then, out of nowhere, the brook dries up! What do we do then?
Firstly, we must look back mindfully! When our brook dries up, it is so easy to only look at the immediate struggle we are facing. However, a mindful look backwards at all the times God has provided for us in the past will help boost our confidence in the present. When David was in the middle of a “dry brook” in his life, he affirmed, “I will sing unto the LORD, because he hath dealt bountifully with me” (Psalm 13:6 KJV). On another occasion, the Psalmist, possibly David, found himself in a horrific place in life, but when he looked back mindfully at how God dealt with him in the past, he was at rest. “Return unto thy rest, O my soul; for the LORD hath dealt bountifully with thee” (Psalm 116:7). When the brook dries up, look back mindfully!
Secondly, we must look up patiently! Life’s circumstances and problems are not always resolved in “microwave” time. While God could act immediately, sometimes God chooses to wait. God’s Word is filled with passages that remind us to learn to wait patiently on Him. Many of those passages are in the context of life’s “brooks drying up.” While we do not know for certain, some scholars suggest that when David penned, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14), that he was mourning the loss of his parents. Regardless of what he was facing, David was certainly at a low point in his life. As David looked around at the righteous people’s brooks drying up and the unrighteous seemingly overflowing with abundance, He patiently looked up and exhorted, “Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him…” (Psalm 37:7a). When you find yourself in the middle of life’s “dry brook,” look up patiently!
Thirdly, we must look ahead confidently! In the middle of the arid place of a dry brook, David affirmed confidence. “But I have trusted in thy mercy; my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation” (Psalm 13:5). While David’s heart may not have felt like rejoicing at the time of writing, David looked ahead with confidence and knew that it would not be long until his heart did rejoice once again. The place of our hope, especially during life’s dry brooks, really matters. “I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope” (Psalm 130:5). The Word of God is replete with confident expectation for those who put their trust in God. Our first century brothers and sisters were in a “dry brook” like never before, but Jesus reminded them to look ahead with confidence (Revelation 2:10).
God is a benevolent and merciful Benefactor, and His daily sustenance is wonderfully overwhelming. However, since we live in a fallen world that is filled with sin, there will be times when the brook dries up. We have a choice of how we will handle those times. Please understand, though, that what we can see is only one dimension at best. God sees the entire portrait! When the brook dries up, “Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5).
