1 KINGS 17:8-16 | WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
Notes
Transcript
1 KINGS 17:8-16 | WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
1 KINGS 17:8-16 | WHAT TO DO WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW WHAT TO DO
READ V.8-12
READ V.8-12
ILLUSTRATION: I am a man… and I am therefore by nature, a fixer.
ILLUSTRATION: I am a man… and I am therefore by nature, a fixer.
When I was growing up, my dad seemed to always have the answers for what to do.
To this day, I regularly will call my dad and ask him, what should I do about this?
I have found between my dad and YouTube I can fix almost any problem on a car, build just about anything, and at least have an answer to most of life’s questions.
Now I’ve learned since becoming a dad that sometimes we just say things without actually knowing the answer, but that’s all part of being a Father.
Being a fixer and having an answer is a good thing in pretty much every area of life… except for one.
I have found that being a fixer and giving answers is not always the best thing in my marriage.
Here is how that works:
Tressa will bring to me a problem she is dealing with.
I will in turn offer a solution to the said problem.
Now in most situations that is the right answer.
I have discovered however, that giving a solution to fix things is not in fact always the right answer in my marriage.
Oftentimes, it is the wrong answer.
Not because the information isn’t accurate or correct, or that it wouldn’t solve the problem.
It’s wrong because that wasn’t what she was looking for.
She didn’t want an answer… she wanted me to listen.
She wasn’t looking for me to fix it… she wanted me to show sympathy toward the problem.
Maybe some of you guys have been in the place that I have with your spouse or maybe with your kids, and the truth is, you just didn’t know what to do.
There are times in life, where you go through something and you just don’t know what to do.
EXPLANATION: This morning, we are looking at a story of a mother who was in that very place.
EXPLANATION: This morning, we are looking at a story of a mother who was in that very place.
For weeks and maybe months she had rationed the little bit of food that she and her son had left just to try to survive.
We know at the beginning of the chapter, Elijah the prophet, through God’s power had prophesied that that the rain would be shut up because Israel had turned their back on God.
And now, months or possible a couple years in, everything had dried up and there was no more food
The problem that she found herself in wasn’t her fault.
There was nothing she personally had done to put herself in the situation she was in.
We don’t know the whole story, but the Bible tells us that she was a widow… so somewhere along the way she had lost her husband.
It would have been customary at this time for the nearest kinsman to step in and to take care of her and provide for her needs.
But based on what we are reading here in the Bible, it doesn’t seem like there was anyone stepping into that role.
It could have been because there wasn’t another living relative, or maybe she had been abandoned by her family, we don’t know.
All we know is that she had no one and she had no way to provide for she and her son.
And we find in that they had run out of everything.
She shares with Elijah the prophet in v.12,
And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
This was a woman in a place with no where to go.
Her back was against the wall
She had done all she could in her power.
She had reached the end of her rope
And following the meal she planned to make that day she and her son would be out of options and out of hope
And she and her son would die.
She was in a place where she truly didn’t know what to do.
APPLICATION: Sometimes in life, we will find ourselves in that place.
APPLICATION: Sometimes in life, we will find ourselves in that place.
Times where it feels like you are just trying to survive the day.
Times where you don’t know where to turn… when you don’t know what to do.
As a husband and father, there have been times in my life where I’ve reached a place where I didn’t know what to do.
I’m supposed to be the leader of my family… I’m supposed to have answers.
And yet here I am at the end of my rope just trying to figure out how to get through the day and then the week.
Finances can take us to that point
Conflict can bring us to that point
Loss can lead us to that point
Maybe the loss of a job
Maybe the loss of what we believed was our identity.
Maybe the loss of someone we love
Friend, this morning, if you have been in that place or maybe you are in that place right now, I want to turn our hearts this morning to a story of a little lady who was in that very place.
I want us to learn a little this morning about What to do, when you don’t know what to do.
V.10-14, SHE TRUSTED GOD’S WORD
V.10-14, SHE TRUSTED GOD’S WORD
So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
EXPLANATION: Can you imagine the scene?
EXPLANATION: Can you imagine the scene?
This lady is out gathering some sicks together and she’s gonna go in her house and make a final meal, when this stranger calls out to her.
“Ma’am, go grab me a little drink of water.”
She turns to go and grab it, and he speaks up again, “And grab me a little bread to eat too.”
In this culture it would have been considered a great disrespect not to care for the needs of a stranger who came into town.
So she is stuck between a rock and a hard place.
If she feeds this man, she and her son aren’t going to eat a last meal.
If she rejects his request, it would have been incredibly disrespectful and counter cultural.
So she tries to reason with him by sharing her predicament.
V.12
The man’s response in v.13-14 to her situation seems impossible and unbelievable.
But there is something that catches her attention… “For thus saith the LORD God of Israel.”
It was one thing to do something based on the request of a stranger… it was something totally different to act upon the promises of God’s Words.
In a moment when she didn’t know what to do, she trusted God’s Word.
APPLICATION: There are times in life that things aren’t going to make sense.
APPLICATION: There are times in life that things aren’t going to make sense.
Times when your feelings are going to try to lead your heart astray.
In those moments when you don’t know what to do… trust God’s Word
Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; And lean not unto thine own understanding.
In all thy ways acknowledge him, And he shall direct thy paths.
Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on thee: Because he trusteth in thee.
Trust ye in the Lord for ever: For in the Lord JEHOVAH is everlasting strength:
This life can become so dark with uncertainty and in those times we have the promise of Scripture
NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.
We know that God didn’t inspire the verse numbers, they were added far later to help with reading intelligibility.
But I don’t think it is any accident that God allowed the middle verse of the entire Bible to have a simple reminder:
It is better to trust in the Lord Than to put confidence in man.
Friend, when you don’t know what to do, and life doesn’t make sense, hold firm to the Words of God!
Trust His Word!
ILLUSTRATION: When my mom was only a child her families house burned down.
ILLUSTRATION: When my mom was only a child her families house burned down.
When they went back into the house and began to work their way through the rubble, they found that nearly everything had been destroyed.
But sitting in the living room on the coffee table beneath some other items that had been on top of it, was the family Bible.
And while everything else in the house had been destroyed, the Word of God still remained.
APPLICATION: Friend, in the times when it feels like the flames of life have been kindled around you and there is nothing but rubble left in your life, remember that God’s Word still remains!
APPLICATION: Friend, in the times when it feels like the flames of life have been kindled around you and there is nothing but rubble left in your life, remember that God’s Word still remains!
So dad’s let’s be faithful to teach this Book to our children.
Let’s strive to live our lives in a way that is true to the Words of this Book.
Because when life comes crashing down on your family, you want them to know there is a place they can run to that will remain when they don’t know what to do.
ILLUSTRATION: Over in Matthew 7, Jesus is wrapping up His sermon on the mount, and He gives one final illustration to conclude His message.
ILLUSTRATION: Over in Matthew 7, Jesus is wrapping up His sermon on the mount, and He gives one final illustration to conclude His message.
It’s one that you are undoubtedly familiar with, Matthew 7:24-27
Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
We all want the life built on the rock that will stand when life is crashing down around us and the rain is pouring in.
Well Jesus tells us what exactly that rock is we must remain firm on: Matthew 7:28
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
Do you know where we find doctrine?… In God’s Word!
APPLICATION: Friend, the first place to turn when you don’t know what to do, is to the Word of God!
APPLICATION: Friend, the first place to turn when you don’t know what to do, is to the Word of God!
Even when your feelings don’t line up, God’s Word is still true… and you can find comfort there.
And that’s exactly where this widow woman found hope… she found it when she trusted God’s Word.
What should you do when you don’t know what to do?
Trust God’s Word.
V.15, SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD
V.15, SHE DID WHAT SHE COULD
And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
EXPLANATION: This widow woman had something figured out that most Christians don’t.
EXPLANATION: This widow woman had something figured out that most Christians don’t.
You see if she had been the average Christian in the 21st century, she would have said, “Ok, I will trust God’s Word…” and then she would have just sat around waiting for God to take care of things.
But that isn’t what she did.
No, she did what she could do.
She couldn’t perform a miracle.
She couldn’t work everything out on her own
She could solve the problems she found herself in.
But she decided to do what she could!
APPLICATION: Friend, God doesn’t expect you to solve all of the problems
APPLICATION: Friend, God doesn’t expect you to solve all of the problems
He doesn’t need you to work everything out.
But He does want you to do what you can do.
ILLUSTRATION: Over in John 11, Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died.
ILLUSTRATION: Over in John 11, Jesus’ friend Lazarus had died.
When He makes His way to the town of Bethany where Lazarus had been laid in a tomb, He is greeted by Lazarus’s sisters.
Martha came running out to Jesus and in brokenness she cried out to Jesus
Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
A few verses later Mary and Martha switch places and this time a broken Mary cries to Jesus:
Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
It’s obvious what the subject of conversation had been back in their house.
Jesus makes His way to the tomb of Lazarus and when He arrives He gives a strange command:
Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days.
This is interesting because Jesus didn’t need someone else to remove the stone.
It wasn’t that Jesus didn’t have the power to move the stone away.
And when they removed the stone, Jesus didn’t tell them to bring Lazarus back to life.
No, what Jesus wanted from them was for them to do what they could do.
Why?
Because action proves our faith!
APPLICATION: Friend, when you don’t know what to do, it is in those moments that the small steps of obedience are sometimes the greatest acts of faith!
APPLICATION: Friend, when you don’t know what to do, it is in those moments that the small steps of obedience are sometimes the greatest acts of faith!
When you are broken beyond what seems possible to repair… and yet you still pick up your Bible and read it.
When all hope seems lost… and yet you still turn to God in prayer.
When you don’t know that your heart is fully convinced, but you still utter the words with your lips, “God is still good.”
Friend, it’s in those times that our simple responses demonstrate that greatest faith!
EXPLANATION: All the widow woman did was fetch Elijah some water and make him a little cake first… But it was a simple act of faith that would ultimately lead to the saving of her family!
EXPLANATION: All the widow woman did was fetch Elijah some water and make him a little cake first… But it was a simple act of faith that would ultimately lead to the saving of her family!
APPLICATION: And when you don’t know what to do, do the things you know you can do and should do.
APPLICATION: And when you don’t know what to do, do the things you know you can do and should do.
Dad’s you don’t have to fake it until you make it.
Just do the things you know you can do.
God didn’t call you to be a super Christian… He just wants you to be faithful even when it doesn’t make sense.
ILLUSTRATION: Just think about the great acts of faith by some of the great Christians in the Bible.
ILLUSTRATION: Just think about the great acts of faith by some of the great Christians in the Bible.
Like Moses… when he stretched a rod over the Red Sea
Like Joshua… when he commanded the people to march silently around a wall 13 times over 7 days.
Like a little boy… who handed Jesus his lunch
Like a widow lady… just fetching some water and making a little cake for someone else first
There is no question there are extra-ordinary steps of faith that we find in the Bible…
But far more often in life, it is the small steps of faith in the midst of difficult situations that God can work through.
APPLICATION: When you don’t know what to do:
APPLICATION: When you don’t know what to do:
Trust God’s Word, Do What You Can Do
V.8-9, SHE DIDN’T KNOW GOD WAS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES
V.8-9, SHE DIDN’T KNOW GOD WAS WORKING BEHIND THE SCENES
And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying,
Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
EXPLANATION: We have the luxury of reading this story from hind-site.
EXPLANATION: We have the luxury of reading this story from hind-site.
We get to see what was going on in the background.
We have v.8-9 that tell us all about the conversation between God and Elijah about this widow woman.
But she didn’t know.
She didn’t have the verses.
She couldn’t read the story like we get to.
There was no way for her to know, that the whole time God was working behind the scenes.
When she woke up that morning to her stomach rumbling in hunger pains, she had no idea that God was working.
When she rubbed her son’s head before walking out that door to grab a couple of sticks, she didn’t know God was working.
When her such was interrupted but some stranger requesting a drink, she had no idea that God was working!
But the truth is, so often that’s exactly where God loves to work.
He loves to work behind the scenes.
When that little widow woman reached a day that she didn’t know what to do… she had no idea that God was working behind the scenes all along.
ILLUSTRATION: When Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael woke up that morning, there was no way they could have known what the day would hold in store.
ILLUSTRATION: When Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael woke up that morning, there was no way they could have known what the day would hold in store.
They had seen the statue being built off in the distance but always tried to keep their distance from it.
They had gotten used to being in this knew land of Babylon since they had been captured from their home in Jerusalem.
But they would never get used to their new names they had been given that pointed to the pagan gods of Babylon: Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.
So when the guards weren’t around they would call themselves by their Hebrew names, Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael.
As they were going throughout their day, one of the Babylonian leaders approached them with some unsettling news.
“Today when the music plays, everyone is to bow down before the idol that’s been created. And whoever doesn’t bow is being thrown into a fiery furnace.”
When the messenger left that three young men look at each other in silence for a moment.
Finally one of them speaks up, “No matter what, I’m not going to bow down to that idol”
The other two young men nod in agreement… “No matter what”
It’s only a few hours later when suddenly a sound reaches their ears… the sound of music
All around them, everyone begins to fall down in reverence to this giant statue that can be seen for miles… everyone except Azariah, Hananiah, and Mishael.
It doesn’t take long for word to reach the ears of the king who in anger calls these 3 young men to be brought before them.
“Maybe you missed the memo… when the music plays you guys are to fall down and worship the image I created… if you don’t you will burn in the furnace.”
They’ve been put in a no-win situation.
Forsake their God and bow… or refuse and burn.
At this point the three young men look at each other, and each nod in agreement.
Finally one steps forward and speaks, Daniel 3:16-18
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar, we are not careful to answer thee in this matter.
If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king.
But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up.
In a moment when most wouldn’t know what to do, they had determined to trust God and to do what they knew they could do!
King Nebuchadnezzar in his anger command that the furnace be heated 7 times hotter than it was supposed to be.
Then he has the 3 Hebrews young men bound and marched toward that fiery furnace.
As they are thrown into the fire, the men who cast them in perish from the heat.
The king feels confident his point has been made and no one will dare to stand against him again
And then all of the sudden, he looks at the furnace and then does a double take.
He calls to his servants, Daniel 3:24-26
Then Nebuchadnezzar the king was astonied, and rose up in haste, and spake, and said unto his counsellers, Did not we cast three men bound into the midst of the fire? They answered and said unto the king, True, O king.
He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, ye servants of the most high God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, came forth of the midst of the fire.
Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent his angel, and delivered his servants that trusted in him, and have changed the king’s word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God.
Therefore I make a decree, That every people, nation, and language, which speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, shall be cut in pieces, and their houses shall be made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort.
Those three Hebrews young men had no way of knowing what was going to happen on that day.
They didn’t have the verses about being delivered from the furnace.
They just trusted God and did what they could
What they didn’t know was the whole time, God was working behind the scenes.
And it wasn’t until they were in the midst of the fire, that everyone could see that God was with them!
APPLICATION: Friend, when you don’t know what to do… can I encourage you… God is at work behind the scenes.
APPLICATION: Friend, when you don’t know what to do… can I encourage you… God is at work behind the scenes.
It may not make sense.
You may not understand why or how… but God is at work!
When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; And through the rivers, they shall not overflow thee: When thou walkest through the fire, thou shalt not be burned; Neither shall the flame kindle upon thee.
You may not be able to see Him with your physical eyes, but you can mark it down, He is walking through your trial with you.
He promises in Deuteronomy 31:6
Be strong and of a good courage, fear not, nor be afraid of them: for the Lord thy God, he it is that doth go with thee; he will not fail thee, nor forsake thee.
It just may be that it takes the fire before everyone else will see that He is walking with you through it!
CONCLUSION
CONCLUSION
What do you do when you don’t know what to do?
Take a lesson from this little widow woman:
Trust God’s Word
Do What You Can Do
Know that God is Working in the background
Dad sometimes it may feel like it is just too much, and you don’t know what to do!
Trust God’s Word
Do What you Can
Know that God is working in the background
Friend when we choose this path it is amazing what God will reveal on the other side of the famine or the fire.
I hope today you can determine to have a plan when you face those times when you don’t know what to do!
