Just A Little Water

By Jackie Wahl (November 2004)

It was a dry, dusty day when Elijah looked at the parched bed of the brook Cherith which had sustained him for many a day. He was, what we would call, a fugitive from the law. He was the one who called on the Lord for the drought that would cover the land for three years. Of course, the king would seek to kill the man that was the cause. God has told Elijah to hide from the godless King Ahab. Ravens brought him bread, and the brook had given him water. Now what?

It was then that the Word of the Lord came with further direction, not ahead of time, but at the crucial moment, the moment of dire need. Elijah had been reduced to the simplest of needs, bread and water, and now the water is gone. In our century of "more than enough of everything" we can hardly imagine such a circumstance being ours.

We plan weeks ahead for the needs of our pantries. We don't give a thought of thankfulness for the water that pours from our faucets at our touch. Most of us have never lived in an arid land. In Elijah's day in the Middle East water dictated where villages would have their beginnings. If a journey were anticipated, water would be of utmost concern.

When the word of the Lord came to Elijah, beside that dried-up brook, he was told to go to Zarephath. As he approached the city gate he came upon a woman gathering sticks and he asked for "a little water." He had had none for his journey. He was thirsty; yet he asked only for a "little."

Sometimes the Lord allows us to be reduced in our circumstances to bare needs in order for us to be strengthened in our trust of Him. Before Elijah pronounced the drought to King Ahab, he did not ask the Lord what would become of him. He simply trusted his life to Him, and step by step for three years God was his care-giver.

Many a missionary in a foreign land has been ministered to by a basket of eggs left at the door, or a stray chicken crossing the yard -- just such simple ways of meeting a need. There was an orphanage that ran out of soap. We would call that an emergency for those caring for a bunch of homeless children. As they sat at breakfast there was a knock at the door. A salesman passing by saw a place where he might unload a surplus of his commodity, soap! A dire need met in a simple and unexpected way produces not only trust but a quality of thankfulness that nourishes the soul.

May we not fear the days of need, but wait in trust for just "a little water." (1 Kings 17:10)