I Kings 17:1 Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”

Before God can do something big THROUGH YOU, he often times needs to work ON YOU.

1. God will often humble you PRIVATELY before using you PUBLICLY.

Usually this happens during a painful season of WAITING.

I Kings 17:2-3 Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.”

KERITH: Hebrew—“Cut off” or “Cut down”

“It is doubtful whether God can bless a man greatly until he has hurt him deeply.”—A.W. Tozer

1. During your WAITING, God wants to develop your DEPENDENCE on Him.

I Kings 17:4-6 “You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” So he did what the Lord had told him. He went to the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan, and stayed there. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.

If DEPENDENCE is the goal, WEAKNESS is an advantage. 

2 Corinthians 12:9 Each time he (GOD) said, “My grace is all you need. My power works best in weakness.” So now I am glad to boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ can work through me.

Matthew 6:33 “But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” 

1. Finally, God will call you to radical OBEDIENCE.

I Kings 17:7-9 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

I Kings 17:9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.”

I Kings 17:10 So he went to Zarephath.

What has God been preparing you for that you need to STAND UP, MOVE and be RADICALLY OBEDIENT to?

Successful people do CONSISTENTLY what average people do OCCASIONALLY.