1 Kings 17:3 (NIV) “Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan.”

After God had Elijah proclaim to King Ahab that there would be a famine in the land for a few years, the Lord instructed him to hide. God was proclaiming judgement on Israel and King Ahab for their wickedness and rebellion. But if this was God who was calling the shots, why did He instruct Elijah to hide himself? Couldn't He have kept Elijah safe from the hand of King Ahab? The answer is that the Lord wanted to prepare him for how He intended to use him to fulfill His will.

God has a purpose and plan for all of His children. But in order to fulfill that purpose, He needs to work on us and in us so that we will be ready. He wants to prepare us and that cannot happen if we are out and about, busy with other things. He many times hides us so that He can do a new work in us that will draw us closer to Him. Think of how He worked in Elijah’s case. First, the Lord had Elijah camping out and hidden by a brook that would serve as his water supply. Then He had the most unlikely species of birds provide him with food. The Lord used ravens to do it. Ravens are notorious for stealing food. They are voracious eaters and are known to be very greedy. This is where we get the word “ravenous,” which means extremely hungry. Elijah experienced being fed by ravens that are birds that are only out to feed themselves. They would feed him twice a day. After a while, the brook dried up and the Lord directed him to go to a widow’s house. She lived alone with her son and was preparing to eat a last meal of bread and water and then wait for death because of the famine. But the Lord had other plans and used this widow to feed Elijah by causing her supply of food to not diminish all the time that Elijah was there. It was at this widow’s house that God used Elijah to raise the widow’s son, who had died, from the dead. These things all were experienced by Elijah while he was hidden.

The Lord does His best work in us in private. He does it when it is just you and Him. That’s why Jesus instructed us to get away from people and to get into a private place to seek Him there (Matthew 6:6). It is there that you won’t be distracted by how you look to others or by how they look at you when you pray or do anything else. God wants to do a deep work in each of us and it takes us being hidden for Him to have our full attention so that this deep work will take hold and transform our lives. Then when what God wants to teach and show us is accomplished, we are ready for Him to use us for His glory. Don’t fret when it’s time to hide. Don’t be concerned when the Lord keeps you hidden for a while, away from crowds, friends and even family and away from their attention. He is doing a new work in you that will result in transformation that will make you ready for whatever He calls you to do.

Pastor Joey Vazquez