1 Kings 18:42-44, “…Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bowed deeply in prayer, his face between his knees. Then he said to his young servant, “On your feet now! LOOK toward the sea.” He went, LOOKED, and reported back, “I DON'T SEE A THING.” “KEEP LOOKING,” said Elijah, “seven times if necessary. And sure enough, the seventh time he said, “OH YES, A CLOUD! But very small, no bigger than someone’s hand, rising out of the sea.” “Quickly then, on your way. Tell Ahab, ‘Saddle up and get down from the mountain before the rain stops you.’” (MSG)
One of my friends that I admire, is my friend Pastor Charles who must have a million and one great memories of ministering in South Africa. He is there so much in fact I cannot wait for him to finally inform us all that he is relocating! This last time he traveled there, he had the tremendous opportunity of reaching some lost young people and their parents, and even trained some youth leaders on how to reach young people as well. His schedule was extremely intense, but their Field Director and Pastor Charles managed to sneak away for a couple of hours in a wild game park. And the Lord of all those African creatures was good to them, because He allowed them to see zebras and rhinos and hippos and lions, and many more of God’s African best, and none of which desired to eat them for breakfast, lunch, dinner, or a midnight snack!
However, his most unforgettable moment began when their driver said, “Whoa, that’s fresh! Keep your eyes open for an elephant.” Her “that’s fresh “, referred to a broken branch she saw in the middle of the little road they were on. Now, the staff member he was with as well as himself were a little skeptical, but not for long. As they rounded a bend, There He Was – a big old elephant lumbering down the road ahead of them! They followed behind him for a while and then they watched with ringside seats as he stepped off into a pond, watered himself and sprayed himself. Pastor Charles said it was amazing!
But what caught my attention, as well as watered my mustard seed faith so it could grow to new heights, was the part about when his driver saw just a LITTLE SIGN (of a broken branch) and knew that something BIG was coming up next!
Now, God may very well be doing something BIG on the trail just ahead of you too! Oh, you cannot see it yet, but it is important to be able to see even the LITTLE signs of “God’s something BIG” on the way! After all, that’s part of what our faith is all about!
Hebrews 11:1 says, “What is faith? It is the CONFIDENT ASSURANCE that something we want IS GOING TO HAPPEN. It is the CERTAINTY that what we hope for IS WAITING FOR US, EVEN THOUGH WE CANNOT SEE IT UP AHEAD.” (TLB). The Amplified Bible says it like this: “Now faith is the ASSURANCE (TITLE DEED, CONFIRMATION) of things hoped for (DIVINELY GUARANTEED), and the evidence of things not seen [the CONVICTION OF THEIR REALITY – faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses].” (AMP)
And that is exactly how you need to start living today, by faith! A faith that has confident assurance that what we want is going to happen! Living with a certainty faith knowing that the promises of God are waiting for us! Living by faith in such a way that we know the promises of God to us are Assured; our faith is the Title Deed; it is the Confirmation that our promises are Divinely Guaranteed! And All We Have to Do is Have a Faith That Has a Conviction so Strong That it Acts as if What We are Waiting for Has Already Become a Reality! Nothing about that includes unbelief; doubting; wavering; impatience; worry; fear; anxiety; nervousness; or panic! Therefore, keep your eyes of faith focused on what God said until you see it manifest itself in your life!
Jeremiah 33:3, “‘Call to Me and I will answer you and tell you [AND EVEN SHOW YOU] great and mighty things, [things which have been confined and hidden], which you do not know and understand and cannot distinguish.’” (AMP) Do not allow a LITTLE fear and impatience to cause you to lose focus, because any minute now, God is about to SHOW you something BIG!
Pastor Charles’s driver saw a LITTLE broken branch as EVIDENCE that a BIG elephant was about to appear. Imagine if we walked by faith like that, what would we believe God for, ask God for, and expect with confidence that God is able to do?! Ephesians 3:20, “Now to Him who is ABLE to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly more than all that we dare ask or think [infinitely beyond our greatest prayers, hopes, or dreams], according to His power that is at work within us,” (AMP) Just a LITTLE sign showing that something BIG was about to make a grand appearance, and all they had to do was KEEP LOOKING for it!
Which brings us to Elijah. Elijah had prayed that God would show His power in Israel by sending a three-year drought. In 1 Kings 18, beginning in verse 42, we see why the Bible presents him as a man whose prayer was “powerful and effective “: (James 5:16-18, in the Message Bible reads, “Make this your common practice: Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you can live together whole and healed. The prayer of a person living right with God is something powerful to be reckoned with. Elijah, for instance, human just like us, prayed hard that it would not rain, and it did not – not a drop for three and a half years. Then he prayed that it would rain, and it did. The showers came and everything started growing again.” MSG). Now, we have already chatted a bit about why our FAITH is so important, but now let us also be reminded that so is our PRAYER LIFE! Your Prayer Life is a Lifestyle, not a Lifeline only used for when you are in trouble and need God to get you out of what you got yourself into! Elijah prayed hard! When is the last time your prayers could be described like that? He prayed so hard and consistent for the rain to stop that it did; then he prayed the same for it to start back then it did. When is the last time your prayer life yielded results like that?! Believing God by faith is wonderful, but you have got to continue your communication through prayer with God even before your something BIG comes to pass! You must make sure that God hears from you consistently! We already know that there is nothing too hard for our God, so clearly the problem is not with God, but the problem just may be that we do not pray hard enough! Selah…
So, now Elijah’s praying for the drought to end. The Bible says, “Elijah climbed to the top of Mount Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees. ‘Go and LOOK toward the sea,’ he told his servant. And he went up and LOOKED. ‘There is nothing there,’ he said. Seven times Elijah said, ‘Go back.’ The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’ So, Elijah said, ‘Go and tell Ahab (the king), ‘Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.’” (vss. 42-44) It had not rained for three years, but Elijah saw that little cloud as EVIDENCE that, “It’s Coming!” Do you have enough faith in God to see a LITTLE sign and know that something BIG is coming?! Elijah did not need to see the rain, he saw the sign, the evidence found in a LITTLE cloud no bigger than a man’s fist, and yet he spoke by faith, “…Hitch up your chariot and go down BEFORE THE RAIN STOPS YOU.” Not only did he know it would rain, but he knew the down pour of rain would be BIG enough to stop a chariot! Do you have faith in God like that?
The Message Bible reads, “… Meanwhile, Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bowed deeply in prayer, his face between his knees. Then he said to his young servant, “On your feet now! LOOK toward the sea.” He went, LOOKED, and reported back, “I DON'T SEE A THING.” “KEEP LOOKING,” said Elijah, “seven times if necessary. “And sure enough, the seventh time he said, “Oh yes, a cloud! But VERY SMALL, no bigger than someone’s hand, rising out of the sea.” “Quickly then, on your way. Tell Ahab, ‘Saddle up and get down from the mountain before the rain stops you.’ “Things happened fast! The sky grew black with wind-driven clouds, and then a huge cloudburst of rain, with Ahab hightailing it in his chariot for Jezreel. And God strengthened Elijah mightily. Pulling up his robe and tying it around his waist, Elijah ran in front of Ahab’s chariot until they reached Jezreel.” (MSG) It may have been a three year wait, but once God answers prayer, “…THINGS CAN HAPPEN FAST…”! I need you to believe that wholeheartedly!
Elijah kind of reminds me of Pastor Charles’s guide and driver there in that African game park. His eyes are wide open, LOOKING for and expecting some early sign of the major work God was about to do. Pastor Charles saw a LITTLE BRANCH, but the one with the trained eye said, “GET READY FOR AN ELEPHANT!”
Elijah’s servant saw a LITTLE CLOUD, but Elijah, with his trained eye for God at work, said, “GET READY FOR A DELUGE!” The word ‘deluge’ is defined as: ‘A SEVERE FLOOD OR VERY HEAVY FALL OF RAIN; A GREAT QUANTITY OF SOMETHING ARRIVING AT THE SAME TIME; TO OVERWHELM.’ Its Old French Origin, from Latin ‘diluvium’, from ‘diluere’ literally means ‘TO WASH AWAY!’ In other words, when the flood comes it will wipe out of its path everything that was there before it came. Anything DRY will be replaced with a DOWNFALL! And likewise, it will happen just like that for you! When your ‘deluge’ of expected and well anticipated blessings comes, it will remove the discouragement, the fear, the lack, want and need, it will wipe away the tears and replace them with a smile! All your sadness will have to flee as you will have to make way for your unspeakable joy to arrive! After all, if you have prayed for this; if you have waited and expected this; if you have walked by faith waiting for this to manifest itself; shouldn’t it arrive in a BIG way?! Blessings That Will Literally Chase You Down; Run You Over; and Overwhelm Your Entire Life Are on The Way and All You Have to Do is Keep Your Faith and Prayers Intact! Note: GET READY IT’S ABOUT TO RAIN! The Next BIG Blessing Coming into Your Life is Going to Be a Deluge! It is Going to be VERY HEAVY, OF GREAT QUANTITY, ARRIVING AT THE SAME TIME TO OVERWHELM YOU! I Reiterate, Get Ready!
“God is Getting You Ready for What He’s Already Got Ready for You!” (Bishop James R. Chambers)
You must have faith! You must SEE beyond what you SEE! You must look for the LITTLE sign, before you see the BIG showing! Which means you will have to look past the bank accounts, bills, tuition, mortgage, loans, car insurance, debt, health crisis, marriage, and parental crisis, struggling church, loneliness, hurt, despair, rejection, abandonment…you cannot focus on that stuff because if you do, you will miss seeing your LITTLE sign of something BIG! So, you will also have to get out of your own feelings. Do not allow your emotions to cause you to have a distorted view of the great things God is about to make happen just for you! Shift your focus from anger, depression, rage, resentment, bitterness, unforgiveness, and the need to seek revenge. All those things act as a cataract and glaucoma, blocking and blinding you from seeing the LITTLE signs of something BIG!
So often, we are so focused on the BIG “elephant” we are praying for, that we miss the LITTLE branch in the road signaling us that it is about to appear! We want that BIG thing from God – sometimes so much, that we miss the LITTLE things He is doing on the way to the BIG thing. Great faith includes the ability to look for and recognize the trail of God in your life; to be able to track the signs of what God is doing.
Isaiah 43:16-21, “Forget about what’s happened; don’t keep going over old history. Be alert, be present. I am about to do something brand-new. It is bursting out! DON’T YOU SEE IT?” (MSG) Saints, If You Do Not See It Yet, KEEPING LOOKING UNTIL YOU SEE IT!
Habakkuk 2:2-3, “And then God answered: “Write this. Write what you see. Write it out in big block letters so that it can be read on the run. This vision-message is a witness pointing to what is coming. It aches for the coming – it can hardly wait! And it does not lie. If it seems slow in coming, wait. It is on its way. It will come right on time.” (MSG)
That is your encouragement for today, Walk by Faith, Wait and Watch! It will happen, right on time! The problem for us though occurs when we have been walking by faith so long the soles of our faith feet are worn; we have waited so long, we are trying to hold on to that last grain of sand in the hourglass; and we have watched so long, that our eyes need a 3-month supply of Visine, they are so tired! And still I say, Walk, Wait and Watch!
2 Corinthians 4:16-18, “So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are SMALL POTATOES compared to the coming good times; the LAVISH CELEBRATION prepared for us. THERE’S FAR MORE HERE THAN MEETS THE EYE. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.” (MSG)
You Are Not Giving Up! Keep Your Vision in View in the Spirit, No Matter What You See in the Natural That is Attempting to Block You! What is coming is so much BIGGER and BETTER than what has been!
Which is why I encourage you to open your eyes today for the wonderful things God is already doing around you – the little cloud that will enlarge your faith to expect the big rain, the little buds that will fuel your faith to expect the glory of spring after the winter has ended…even if the weather remains cold. You see, no matter what the weather forecast predicts, it cannot change the fact that a season has changed! Look at it like this: one year, we had snow in March and snow in April, and still that could not change the fact that the season had changed! Winter’s attempts to hold on can only hold on but so long, like it or not, the season has changed! You see, March 20th, was officially Spring. But if you had looked at the weather reports, there was still more snow to come in that Spring. But did that stop Spring from appearing on the calendar as the New Season? Absolutely Not! And there is nothing going on in your life that can hinder the change of season in your life either! God can move in your life even with the eviction or foreclosure notice and layoff looming overhead! He can never be hindered by the elements He created and controls.
“So, even when it looks like nothing is happening, remember, God is Still at Work!” (Bishop James R. Chambers).
He is orchestrating things in your favor, so you have nothing to fear! Your Season of LITTLE Has Passed, you are Now in the Season of BIG!
A lot of times we are unnecessarily discouraged and disheartened because we do not see the tracks of God that are all over our day. A good friend of mine likes to call them “God sightings “. It may not be very large or not very dramatic, but there’s God again, working in your life. Your marriage isn’t perfect, but you’re still married; your children have gone astray, but they were trained in the ways of God, and will find their way back; your job hasn’t granted you the promotion and increase yet, but you’re still employed; your car isn’t brand new, but it gets you from A-Z and back, and during a cold season like this, there are quite a bit of people jealous of your little hunk-a-junk; you may not be healed yet, but neither are you dead yet! These are “God sightings”, you just must look for them, and you will see them! In fact, the more you look for them, the more you see of them!
Do not be discouraged while you walk by faith, wait, and watch, God will not disappoint you!
In Psalm 5:3, David says, “In the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” The test of whether you have really trusted God in your prayer is whether you are expectant after you say “amen”. Always keep your anticipation and expectation high!
Right now, right where you are, there are little signs of God at work; the “little branch” that says the “BIG ELEPHANT” is ahead. Before God shows you the big things up ahead, He wants you to see Him in the little things that are right in front of you! You did not come this far, to only come this far. So even when you do not see the blessing…YET…KEEP LOOKING! Do not lose your focus or your faith! God is about to do something BIG on your behalf, you just must wait a LITTLE while longer for it!
In the Meantime, KEEP LOOKING UNTIL YOU SEE IT!
Romans 4:17, “As it is written, I have made you the father of many nations. [He was appointed our father] in the sight of God in Whom he believed, WHO GIVES LIFE TO THE DEAD AND SPEAKS OF THE NONEXISTENT THINGS THAT [HE HAS FORETOLD AND PROMISED] AS IF THEY [ALREADY] EXISTED.” (AMPC)
Hebrews 10:38, “But My righteous one [the one justified by faith] shall live by faith…” (AMP)
Romans 1:17, “For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed, both springing from faith and leading to faith [disclosed in a way that awakens more faith]. As it is written and forever remains written, “The just and upright shall live by faith.” (AMP)
Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to [walk with God and] please Him, for whoever comes [near] to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He rewards those who [earnestly and diligently] seek Him.” (AMP)
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.org
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