Have you ever fed the birds, breaking off bits of bread and throwing them to the ducks or geese by a lake? Maybe you remember that time when the birds fed a human.
Elijah was in dire straits, arranged against all the followers of Baal and people loyal to King Ahab. He had prayed, and famine and want had settled on the land. So God sent him into the wilderness to live by a brook, where the ravens brought him food every day. There he lived, sustained by the creek and a few birds. It was a situation entirely beyond the prophet’s control, but not beyond God’s power.
I was reminded this week of the saying, “God won’t give us more than we can handle.” Unfortunately, that isn’t true. God has often given people more than they could handle alone. Elijah could in no way manage the forces of the wicked king, nor could he stave off starvation better than any other man. But he could—and did—rely on God.
God did say that we wouldn’t be tempted beyond what we could bear (1 Cor. 10:13), but he never promised that we wouldn’t be pushed past our limits. After all, when human ability ends, God’s glorious work shines.
That’s something to think about.
Westside Church of Christ 