Beyond the Brook: Trusting God in Times of Transition

Foreign. Friends, I am so happy you are here for the Crazy Bless Show. So whether you're tuning in live or you're watching this later on, I believe this is the perfect time for you because I got a message today, and I know it's going to bless you. And I want you to buckle up, tie your shoes, put on your backpack. We're going to make a journey today. And I believe that you, God has you positioned today for something extraordinary, but if you don't see it, you won't walk into it. So if you feel a bit of restlessness, if you feel like things are shifting in your life, if you feel like God is maybe calling you to something different, that's why you're watching this right now or maybe listening to this right now, because I want to give you a message today about transition, about moving on, about God calling you to something that feels bigger than you, it feels unfamiliar to you, and you wonder what's on the other side. And the message today is it's better by the brook. It was better by the brook. I want to share the story I came across when I was doing my devotion the other day, just reading through. I read Old Testament, New Testament, some Proverbs, and I have been camping out in Kings, First Kings, and I came across this passage right here in First Kings, chapter 17, starting at verse 2, tiny little passage, but I think this may be where some of you are today, and that's why God has given this to me to give to you. So this is about Elijah, and this is when he was just starting out his ministry as a prophet. And verse two, it says, the word of the Lord came to him, saying, go from here and turn east and hide yourself by the brook, Cherith, east of the Jordan, you shall drink of the brook, and I've commanded the ravens to feed you there. So he did, according to the word of the Lord, he went and dwelt by the brook, Cherith, east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening, and he drank by the brook. Now, this may be where some of you are today, but I believe it's where some of you are. And all of a sudden things are drying up because God is calling you to move past the brook, to move on into unfamiliar territory. Now, this was a beautiful time for Elijah. I believe it was hard initially because he was learning to trust God, just beginning his ministry. And we know that as we're beginning a new thing, God needs to download a lot of stuff in Us, right? If we're going to succeed, like, if we're going to succeed in this long journey where he has us, if we're going to, like, really be able to accomplish the purpose that he's placed in us, then there comes a time in the beginning of the journey where God just needs you to sit with him, learn from him, sit at his feet and receive. And sometimes that's hard because when we see a goal in front of us, we want to go for it. We want to accomplish it. We want to, like, get on that path and just start running. And I get it. I'm like that. Like, just. Just point and I'll run, right? And that's where a lot of us are. A lot of times that's how we operate. And that's okay. But God said, you know what? I need some time with you. I need you to learn from me. And right now, I'm telling you, go by the brook. I want you to camp out there. I'm going to feed you. I'm going to nourish you, and we're just going to abide. And initially, for a lot of us, that time is hard because we want to work, we want to strive, we want to see evidence that we're actually growing and accomplishing and pursuing something, that our work is paying off. But there's a time when God calls us to silence, to be still and know that he is God. And it's that brook time. And it can be hard because we're so used to working for what we get, that to sit and receive from God can be a really big challenge. But this is what he was teaching him. He was teaching him to trust. He was teaching him that, you know what? In the morning, when you cast your eyes to the horizon, you're going to see the ravens come. And in the evening when your stomach starts rumbling, you can look up to the sky again and you will see the ravens come. The brook is always there. It's not going anywhere. You have plenty to drink. You'll have plenty to eat. And then you and I are just going to hang out together. But that period is not the culmination of your faith. It is the preparation of your faith. And sometimes we confuse the two of them. We get in this place where God is teaching us to trust him. God is teaching us to abide. And it starts to feel okay, and then it starts to feel good. We're just abiding. We're being fed. We have all we need to drink. We have all we need to eat. We Got the presence of God. Like, what more could we ask, right? And we learn to feel comfortable in that place. I am depending on God. I'm learning to trust God at a new level. I'm learning his character in a new way. I'm learning to abide and calm this restless spirit so that I can hear a word from him and I can just be obedient. Because Jesus even said, I don't do anything unless I see my Heavenly Father do it. I don't say anything unless I hear my Heavenly Father say it. So we're learning to listen, to hearken our ears, and to incline into his word so that we can understand him better. And it's a beautiful time. It's. It really is. And maybe initially it started out hard, but we learned that God is faithful. We learn a deeper level of that relationship, maybe our, even our own theology starts to shift, and we learn his character and we can trust him and we can know what it means to live by faith. Because it took faith. It took faith for Elisha to say, you know what? I'm going to go to sleep tonight because I know when I wake up, the ravens are going to show up. I know when I get hungry during the day, they're going to show up in the evening. I can hear the sound of the brook right beside where I sleep, and I know my water is there. So his eyes could tell him he was going to be okay. His ears could tell him he was going to be okay. But God is not going to let you stay in that place, because it's just a period before Jesus started his ministry. He had to go to the wilderness. He had to learn to listen to his Heavenly Father at a new level, to learn to trust him, to learn to abide, so that then beginning his journey, he could have the assurance that what he started, he would finish. And I'm telling you right now, wherever you are in this journey, he who began a good work in you, we'll see it through. But we have to be willing to understand the phases of the journey. And there came a time when Elijah is hanging out by the brook. He's enjoying the food in the morning, he's enjoying the food in the evening. He's learning to abide and listen to his Heavenly Father. But then the birds quit coming and the brook dried up. His eyes would look to the horizon and no ravens were coming. His ear would listen to the sound of the brook. And every day it would get more and more shallow. And sometimes we enter that period where God, I'm not seeing your providence. I'm not seeing you supply. I'm not seeing the evidence that I. That you still love me and you're still faithful. And Elijah could imagine if he's calling me to another place. I just got used to being here and it was better by the brook. And I want to show you what happened here. I'm going to keep on reading. This is verse seven. After a while, the brook dried up because there was no rain in the land. And the word of the Lord came to him. Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. Now, I don't know if you know about widows in the Bible, but widows in the Bible were poverty stricken. They were usually the ones that had that needed charity supplied to them in order to just live. So here's God saying, you know what? This was a precious time, but it's reached this expiration date. I've taught you everything you need to know. You've learned to trust me, and now I need that trust to go to the next level. So I'm going to lead you to another place. Now, Elijah wanted to stay there. I'm sure we all want to stay in that place where, where we feel it's better, but we just don't know what that next place looks like. And when we look at that next place, it looks so scary. It looks so intimidating. So here's God telling Elijah, I have commanded a widow to take care of you. So here he is, hungry. The ravens quit bringing food. Thirsty, the brook is dried up. And he's like, you know what? I'm going to lead you to someone who is as hungry as and thirsty and poverty stricken as you to take care of you. Does that look impossible? 100% impossible. But God is known for that. God is known for impossible situations so that he can show up as God. And what he was telling him was, I'm leading you to something miraculous. Now, of course, I can imagine this is terrifying. And I feel like a lot of people who might be listening to this today or watching this today, God is leading you to something you are unfamiliar with. You haven't walked that terrain yet. You don't have the experience there yet. He's leading you and he's not even telling you where it's going to come from. A widow, someone who has no money, someone who has no food, just someone who has no resources. You're going to leave me there to take care of me? God, that looks terrifying. And I'M telling you, God will always lead you to the impossible. And if you never walked out the impossible, you would never know what is possible. God is known for accomplishing miracles in impossible places. As a matter of fact, God only accomplishes miracles in impossible places. So until you're willing to walk into the impossible, you will never see the wonders of what God wants to do in your life and through your life. You know, this morning I was actually late. I usually go live every Wednesday at noon. I was late because I went on a new trail. So I hike almost every morning, about three miles. I was like, you know what, it's a beautiful day. I'm gonna go on a new trail. And sure enough, I started on a new trail and I got lost. My daughter called me and she's like, hey, are you walking? I was like, yeah, I'm on a new trail and I have no idea where I am. I, I've never walked this trail at before. I'm not seeing where it goes. This could be a 15 mile trail, it could be a two mile trail, I don't know. And I was getting nervous, starting to get nervous. Nothing looked familiar to me. I didn't know where I was. And if you know anything about state parks, like things, these trails can go miles and miles and miles. So I was just walking. I was scared. And she's like, okay, hold on a second. And she pulled up her locator. You know, we all have each other on our little locator so we know we can be in each other's business all the time. We know where each other is at all times. And she said, oh, okay. So I see where you are. That trail is going to spill out into this road and in just a little bit. Keep walking it out. I was like, oh, what a relief. Okay, so I'm not in the middle of a 15 mile trail. I actually that there's a finishing place. She's like, in just a little bit. Keep walking, you're gonna merge onto there. There's this road here and then the trail goes off this. I was like, okay, thank you. I know where I am now. And in that place I was scared when I was, when I started to see nothing familiar and I didn't know how long it was going to be and, and I like all I had was, was a phone and some dog treats and my dogs. And I'm like, I don't know where I am. And I started to get nervous. And a lot of us find ourselves in that place right now. We're nervous. I Don't know where this is going. I don't know what this looks like. It was better on the trail that I knew. Yes. I'd walked that trail probably four times or five times a week the past three years of my life. I know that trail. I don't know this trail. And when God is leading you from that place where he's pulled you away and nourished you, and he said, it's time to move on. It's time to discover more of this journey. It's time to fulfill your purpose, and you've got to walk in unfamiliar territory. It can feel scary. It can feel like the churning in your stomach where, I don't know where this is going to lead. My eyes don't see any evidence. My ears don't hear any evidence. I don't know where I'm going. This is terrifying. But then it was so reassuring for me to just hear a familiar voice and to get a lay of the land. And I'm telling you right now, I'm going to be that familiar voice to you today, and I'm giving you a lay of the land today, no matter where you are. I know it was better by the brook. I know it was better. You had evidence that everything was okay. You had a steady paycheck. It's scary to go into. I'm gonna. I'm gonna be an entrepreneur. I'm gonna start my own business. It was better when I just had a paycheck. Yeah, it wasn't great. I mean, I didn't have a ton of money, but it was better because I had evidence that I was okay. It was better by the brook. Okay. God is leading me to leave this person and to pursue this. But it was better when my husband lived here in the home with me before he left. Sure, he wasn't kind. Sure, he was verbally abusive, but it was better because I had evidence that I was okay. God is. Maybe he's leading you to start a ministry, and it's terrifying. But it was better when I knew what I was doing. I don't know what I'm doing. Sure, I didn't feel encouraged in that place. I didn't have a voice for the gospel. But it was better because it was more familiar and I had that security. Maybe God is telling you, you know what? You've got to break off this relationship. Maybe there's a relationship in your life, and that's hard. Hard conversations. I'm not willing to let this person go. I'm not willing to separate myself. Sure, they were not always supportive. And maybe their habits dragged my habits down. Maybe they were a bad influence on me. But we've been friends for so long, and. And it was better by the brook. And God's like, no, I'm leading you to the next place. But, God, I'm scared. Maybe he's leading you to make a move. Maybe change careers, maybe change locations. God, you're leading me to move all the way to this state that I've never lived in, and it's unfamiliar, and I don't know anyone there. It was better by the brook. It was better in my town. I knew people. I was connected. I was established. It was better. No, it was just familiar. Don't confuse better with familiar. Because when we think it was better by the brook, we're actually having to ask ourselves, who was it better for? Was it better for the future version of me or the past version of me? Was it better for the supernatural version of me or the natural version of me? Sure, it was better. I had evidence that I was okay. I was. I was secure. I had certainty. It wasn't ideal, but I had certainty. So no matter what the situation, maybe someone that you thought you were going to be with forever has left you. Maybe there's a relationship he's calling you out of. Maybe there's a new location he is calling you to. Maybe he's telling you to change your job. Maybe he's telling you to change your focus. Maybe he's telling you, behold, I'm doing a new thing, and I don't have to tell you what it is right now. Just like Abraham, where are we? Where are we going? Lord? I'll tell you. He. Then you had to disclose what the newness is, but you feel the turning, and you know he's doing something new. I'm giving you a lay of the land right now. He who began a good work in you will see it through. He is faithful in order to establish your purpose. This is by design. It's not by. By neglect. It's not by accident. It's not that you did something wrong. This is by design to move you from one level of faith to the next level of faith. Because he says that he blesses you. Gift upon gift, blessing upon blessing, but faith upon faith. If we're not willing to go from faith to faith, then we'll never go from blessing to blessing. If we're not willing to walk out unfamiliar territory, we will never discover the strength, the capacity, the talent, the capability, the purpose and the design that we were created for. Your Design reveals your destiny. And the destiny will always be unfamiliar. So until you're willing to leave the certainty of the brook, even though it's not ideal, I was certain in that place, if you're not willing to leave it, you'll never discover what you're made for. You were not made for the brook. The brook was a chapter. It was not a culmination. It was preparation and the lay of the land. You can just go to the character of God. He is your alpha and your omega. He's the beginning and the end. He will never leave you nor forsake you. And he's there when you hear the silence. The brook dried up. When you see nothing there for you. The ravens aren't coming anymore. It doesn't mean God is silent. It doesn't mean he has removed Himself. It means he is moving you to a new place. And now it's time to harken your ear. Now it's time to open your eyes and see where God's leading you. Yeah, it was better by the brook, but it was not better for the future version of you that God has designed you to become. You'll never know it. You'll never know it by the brook. I know we've heard it so many times that a ship in the harbor is safe, but that's not what a ship is built for. And I'm telling you, when you're willing to leave the brook and go to something so uncertain that it terrifies you, only then will you really know what you're made for. Only then will you discover a nature and a perspective of God that you don't even have access to right now because you've never walked this way. And today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your heart. Say yes, say amen. Say, I'm leaving the brook behind. It was a beautiful period. I learned a dimension of God that taught me he's faithful, that taught me I could trust Him. And now I'm going to take this trust that I've built by the brook to lead me beyond the brook. Maybe it wasn't better. Maybe it was just certain. And I will never know better until I move out of that certainty and into the place where God is calling me exceedingly, abundantly, beyond anything right now I could hope or imagine or even pray for. You don't even know it by the brook. You don't have the capacity to understand it. By the brook. Your needs are met. Not ideal, but it's okay. And it was better there. God, it was better there. Not Ideal. But I had a paycheck. I had someone who was in. In a relationship with me. I. I had. I had enough. He didn't call you for enough. He called you for abundance. And there is a precious time. You know that. That brook. The name of that brook is Cherith. And I looked that up in Hebrew, and it means canyon, ravine, or cutting off. So there is a time in everyone's life before you fulfill your purpose. You have to be called to apart, cut off. He has to work with your character before he can work to establish your domain. And we all have those times by the brook. It's difficult sometimes. We have to learn to operate by faith. And it's precious. And you'll always have that brook. You'll always have Cherith. You'll always have Paris. You'll always have Cherith. You'll always have that. But it's not to stay there. He camped out. He didn't build a house. Elijah camped out. You're not designed to live in a tent. You're designed to establish his kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven. And you'll never know until you know. So maybe it feels like he was better by the brook, but that's not what you were made for. You were a ship designed for rough water, designed for storms, designed to walk on water. And you'll never know. You will never have the sheer bliss and the adrenaline rush of walking on water if you stay in the boat. Sure, the boat is safe in the physical realm, but God's not saying stay in the boat. He's saying, find out what you're made of. Find out what you're made for. Step out of the boat and. And walk on the storms. You are designed to be storm proof. You are designed to be fireproof. You're designed to be bulletproof. But you'll never know till you get beyond the brook. And maybe God's calling you there. If he is, I'm telling you this one thing. He is faithful. If he was faithful to feed you there, he'll be faithful to feed you when you go beyond it. Sure, it may look like impossible. I'm going to provide for you through a widow who is even more impoverished than you. But guess what happened. He went there. He met the widow. He's like, can you make me a cake of food? And the widow said, I am telling you the truth. I am just getting a few sticks right now, and I'm gonna. I have enough flour and enough oil to make a little bitty cake for me and my son. And I'm gonna use these little sticks to make a fire and bake this cake. And we're gonna eat it and we're going to die. This. That's how desperate the situation is. And Elijah had the audacity, which he would have never established if he had not spent that time at the brook. He had the audacity to say, make the cake for me first. What? You would think that is so selfish. Oh, my gosh. But he had a word from God, and he knew enough with his time camping out by the brook, that God is faithful, he said. He told me that I would be provided for here. So I'm going to ask as much from this person as I'm asking from me. Faith. Trust in God's word. Sure enough, she made him a cake. And the flour and the oil replenished itself. And the next day and the next day and the next day, she had enough flour and oil to eat all she wanted, her and her son, because of her obedience. So I'm telling you, what God is designing in you is not just for you. It's for your mission. It's for your mission field. It's for the people that you were designed to take out of ruin, to take out of destruction, to take out of overwhelm and lead them into a place, maybe to lead them into their brook so they can now be established. But God can't do it in this place of certainty. He has to do it when you're willing to leave the brook behind. So I'm telling you, I gave you a lay of the land. He's faithful. You can trust him. If he fed you there, he'll feed you beyond. He's faithful to do it. I love you, my friend. I love this time with you. And let me know how I can serve you better. Let me know what you're going through so I can walk with you through this. Because I know you are designed to live a life that's blessed like crazy. I'll see you later. Bye. Bye.