A Change of Direction

By Greg Laurie, Op-ed contributor Tuesday, June 28, 2005

"He went and stayed by the Brook Cherith. . . . The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the brook dried up. . . ." 1 Kings 17:5–7

After Elijah had delivered his powerful message to Ahab and Jezebel, the Lord told Elijah to go into obscurity—disappear for a while—and God would provide for him there.

Does Elijah's sudden turnaround sound a little familiar? Maybe things were going reasonably well in your own life, and God redirected you. It didn't necessarily make sense at the moment.

The next thing we know is that the brook dried up.

Maybe that's happened to you too. Things were humming along, then one day your spouse said, "I'm leaving. I don't want to be married to you." He's gone. Your brook dried up.

Maybe you got a call from the place you've worked for twenty years: "Sorry. We have to downsize." Your brook just dried up. Your world ended. Or so it seemed.

Actually, it might be a whole new beginning. When God closes one door, He opens another. Elijah was about to discover this. In fact, God was preparing him.

God was getting him ready, step by step, challenge by challenge. Big things were coming. The next phase was about to start. It's the same with you. If you've been told to head for the hills and be fed by birds, so to speak, if your brook has dried up, if a door has closed in your life, don't think God is done with you. You need to just trust Him. He may be getting you ready for phase two. He may be whipping you into shape for something beyond your wildest dreams..

—Greg Laurie, Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners

Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Bible text from the New King James Version is not to be reproduced in copies or otherwise by any means except as permitted in writing by Thomas Nelson, Inc., Attn: Bible Rights and Permissions, P.O. Box 141000, Nashville, TN 37214-1000