Waiting for the Miracle

 1 Kings 18:41-44 ESV
“And Elijah said to Ahab, “Go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of the rushing of rain.” So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Mount Carmel. And he bowed himself down on the earth and put his face between his knees. 

And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”

It had not rained for 3-1/2 years at this point in this story. Then, Elijah prayed, and he expected the rain to come. He sent his servant to look for the rain seven times, but six of those times there was no sign of rain. But Elijah never gave up. He had heard from God that it was going to rain, and he would persist on looking for the rain because he believed God. His servant didn’t see anything the first six times and I’m sure he was not utterly convinced when he saw a very small cloud in the distance.

Sometimes we are like Elijah, and we know God is sending a miracle, and we can feel it with every fiber of our being.  Then, sometimes we are doubting Thomas’, we have to see to believe. When we cannot see a way through a situation in our life, we go to God and pray. When we have prayed, we make two choices, trust God and wait, or we take matters in our own hands.

Trust is not easy in the world view; we find people who are not worthy of our trust at every juncture of our lives. But God is trustworthy, and He is worthy of our trust. He may not move when we think He should move, but He is never late, and He is always on time. He sees the big picture, and He knows when the miracle needs to take place for maximum impact on our lives and those lives that will witness the miracle.

Prayer:
Father, sometimes we get impatient. We pray and we do not see things moving, like in this story of Elijah. Teach us to be expectant, to know Your timing is perfect, and you are not just working a miracle for us to see, but You work miracles to have witnesses of Your goodness. In Your mighty, matchless name Father we ask, Amen!