Good Works To Greater Works

Good Works to Greater Works  1 Kings 17:17- 24

“Some time later, the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. She said to Elijah, ‘What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?’”

“‘Give me your son,’ Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. Then he cried out to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?’ Then, he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, ‘O Lord my God let this boy’s life return to him!’”

“The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, ‘Look, your son is alive!’ Then, the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.’”

Verse 17 begins with more vague words regarding timing: Some time later - again, we don’t know how long Elijah was with the widow, but it was long enough to have a room of his own. the words cried out to the Lord used twice in the passage give us the impression that Elijah was greatly invested in the boy, that there was a relationship there which had been built over time. So, as Elijah prayed to God for the boy’s life, he literally stretched himself out on the boy and cried out to God for his life three times before the boy began to breathe again.

There is a natural progression here in Elijah’s spiritual journey. Elijah learned to trust God to feed him while he waited in the ravine. Then, he had to trust God to provide food for himself and the widow and her son to keep them from starving. Last, he didn’t just pray for the boy to be healed from sickness. He prayed for a boy who had died to become alive again! 

Through all of these circumstances, God was growing Elijah’s faith and trust. God had plans for Elijah that would require him to exercise monumental faith in God on behalf of the entire nation of Israel AND in front of hundreds of people who were anxious to see him fail. Surely, Elijah would look back on God’s faithfulness to him as he stood up to the priests of Ba’al in the showdown on Mt. Carmel.

Chapter 18 of 1 Kings begins with the words - “After a long time, in the third year the word of the Lord came to Elijah, ‘Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.’ so Elijah went to present himself to Ahab.”

From the words —After a long time, in the third year — we can surmise that it has either been three years since Elijah first spoke words of drought to King Ahab or since he first hid in the ravine. All that time, Elijah must have wondered what God was doing. Why a drought? Why did God send Elijah to Ahab and then basically hide him away for three years?

How long have you been waiting on God? 

Does it seem that he has forgotten the plan? Forgotten what he promised?

Maybe you don’t even know why God has you in the place you are now. Elijah probably didn’t either.What seems like inactivity on God’s part can lead to impatience on our part. Then, we try to manufacture new situations which actually end up leading us further from God’s original plan.

And what did the widow learn about God? Perhaps the good work before the greater work was about Elijah’s obedience AND about a need the widow had to know God’s love and care for her. We don’t see her past this one story, but she mattered greatly to God.

Elijah is mostly remembered for his calling down fire from heaven and defeating the prophets of Ba’al on Mount Carmel. But the good work before that greater work had a deep purpose in Elijah’s life and in the lives of the widow and her son. Since she lived in a town, there were surely other people who saw the miracle of the flour and the oil and who heard the story of the boy who had died and then came back to life. 

We, too, can learn much from this part of Elijah’s life.  We often long for the greater work, but most of us are still in the process of learning from, or obeying the good work God has us in right now. You may not even be able to see what that is, but if you are seeking God, following after him intentionally and faithfully and obeying his word as best you can, you ARE in the middle of a good work.  ALL of God’s works are good because He is good. You, yourself, are a good work as God teaches and grows you. 

Take some time to look at your life. Where are you right now, spiritually as well as physically? What life-stage are you in? What can you learn from the place God has you in right now? 

Pray. Thank God that He is always at work in your life. Resolve to be obedient to this place where God has you now and at the same time, be ready to obey the next step God gives you as he leads you from your good work to a greater work.