Insight for Today
A Daily Devotional by Pastor Chuck Swindoll

One morning Elijah noticed that the brook wasn't gushing over the rocks or running as freely as it had in days past. Since that single stream of water was his lifeline, he checked it carefully. Over the next few days he watched it dwindle and shrink, until it was only a trickle.

The ravens were God's catering service, delivering provisions to His prophet. "The ravens will bring in your food, Elijah." Isn't that incredible? God makes provision for Elijah's physical welfare during this time of seclusion. But He also provides for his spiritual welfare.

God's direction includes God's provision. God says, "Go to the brook. I will provide." Vance Havner, in his book, It Is Toward Evening, tells the story of a group of farmers who were raising cotton in the Deep South when the devastating boll weevil invaded the crops.

Any recruit who has been through boot camp can tell you that every hour of the day someone is ordering you where to go, when to be there, what to do, and how to survive. That's a vital part of basic training. And God did the same for His prophet.

As we read those words and try to imagine the original setting, we begin to see the surprising nature of God's plan. The most logical arrangement, seemingly, would be to keep Elijah in the king's face--to use the prophet as a persistent goad.

'I am going to cut you down to size!' If I heard that once during the ten weeks I spent in a U.S. Marine Corps boot camp more than forty-five years ago, I must have heard it a dozen times. As I recall, those words formed the theme of the opening speech.

God keeps His promises. It's a major part of His immutable nature. He doesn't hold out hope with nice-sounding words, then renege on what He said He would do. God is neither fickle nor moody. And He never lies.

God's methods are often surprising. God did not raise up an army to destroy Ahab and Jezebel. Neither did He send some scintillating prince to argue His case or try to impress their royal majesties. Instead, God did the unimaginable—He chose somebody like . . . well, like Elijah.

God looks for special people at difficult times. God needed a special man to shine the light in the blackness of those days. But God didn't find him in the palace or the court. He didn't find him walking around with his head down in the school of the prophets.

We're first introduced to him as 'Elijah the Tishbite' (1 Kings 17:1). Talk about stepping out of nowhere! Elijah came out of this insignificant place--out of nowhere--to make such a significant contribution to God's plan for His people that he became one of Israel's most famous heroes.

Finally, and naturally, David falls on his knees and utters a beautiful prayer, an extemporaneous expression of his worship of the Lord God. The first verses are expressions of praise. Praise leaves humanity out of the picture and focuses fully on the exaltation of the living God.

David was saying, "God did not give me a yes answer. When it came to my own dream, He gave me a no answer. But He did give me other things in place of that dream, and I'm making the very most I can of those other things." We can all glean much from David's mature response.

Are times hard? Are days of trouble upon you? When times are tough, the Lord is our only security. David assures us in his song that the Lord delights in us; He sees and cares about what is happening in our lives, this very moment.

Tracing the downward steps in David's eroding family relationships, we now have Absalom murdering Amnon, a brother murdering a brother. 'The sword will never depart out of your household, David.' Here he is groaning under the ache of that prediction.

The poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge once described friendship as "a sheltering tree." What a beautiful description of that special relationship. As I read those words, I think of my friends as great, leafy trees, who spread themselves over me, providing shade from the sun.

David refused to give up. When suffering the backwash of sin, our tendency is to say, "I am through. I am finished with living. Life isn't worth it any longer." But look at what David did: he "comforted his wife Bathsheba." It's easy to forget that she was also grieving.

Nathan didn't come on his own; he was sent by God: "Then the LORD sent Nathan to David." I think the most important word in that sentence is the first one, "then." God's timing is absolutely incredible. When was he sent? Right after the act of adultery? No.

What a father! He may have been weak at other times, but at this moment, David stands tall. "Lord, I know You don't want me to fulfill the dream, but, Lord, I'm going to set apart as much as I can to support my son as he fulfills the dream that was on my heart."

God does not call everybody to build temples. He calls some people to be soldiers. He calls some people to do the gutsy work in the trenches. He calls some people to compose and conduct music. God has all kinds of creative ways to use us.

"David, you will know the delight of having a son by whom this temple will be built. Not through your efforts, but through your son the dream will be fulfilled." It is not a question of sin here. It is not God's judgment that is coming upon David as a consequence of wrong.