Elijah the Tishbite from Gilead is first mentioned in 1 Kings Chapter 17 without any background information of him. When the people of Israel gave the glory  to Baal (the god of rain) for the fertility of the land, his zeal for Yahweh made him challenge King Ahab, that there would be no rain in Israel till he brings the word again(1 kings 17:1).

 After this, Elijah was instructed to hide beside brook Cherith, for God had commanded the ravens to supply bread and meat to him every day. When the brook dried up, the Lord directed Elijah to seek a poor widow in Zarephath and ask her for some bread and water (1 Kgs 17:7,8).

Well known by this time as the ‘trouble maker of Israel’ and the ‘great rain stopper’, Elijah had lived thus far under nobody’s obligation but under God’s direct oversight. Having received such supernatural providence, Elijah could have felt a tad belittling to beg from a poor widow but implicitly obeyed the Lord. Consequently, God used him to do a greater miracle on the meal in a jar and a little oil in a cruse to ensure divine sustenance for the widow’s household and him, till the rain came again (1 kgs 17:16).

Elijah’s obedience resulted from his continued humility before God, that the Lord even used him to raise the dead in the widow’s house (1 kgs 17:22).

On observing the great servants of God in the bible, we can conclude that before their gradual elevation to heaven’s hall of fame, they passed the test of God’s humility check at every stage in their lives. Even Jesus, the Son of God willingly subjected Himself to the lowest level in the pecking order, by washing the feet of His disciples before going to the cross.

Jesus declared in Luke 14:11 that, “whoever exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted”.

Thought for the day: ‘The way up in the Kingdom of God is the way down’.