Provision: Fed By Ravens
Yesterday we looked at the birds on the wire. Today, let’s look at a man who was fed by them.
Elijah had just told King Ahab there would be no rain. Years of drought. Nothing growing. A nation on its knees. And then God said this.
Read the verse.
“Leave here, turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. You will drink from the brook, and I have directed the ravens to supply you with food there.” - 1 Kings 17:3-4
So Elijah went. And the ravens came. Morning and evening. Bread and meat. Every day.
Just sit with that for a second.
Ravens. Not pigeons. Not doves. Ravens.
In the Old Testament, ravens were classed as unclean birds. The kind of bird a faithful Jew wouldn’t touch. The kind you’d shoo away if you found one near your food. And yet God sent them. Twice a day. With bread and meat in their beaks. To keep his prophet alive through a famine.
If I’m honest, I think I’d have been looking for a bakery.
That’s often how we approach provision. We decide what it should look like. We picture the method. The timing. The source. We ask God for bread and quietly expect it to come through the right channels. The job. The promotion. The family member. The unexpected cheque in the post.
But God doesn’t always use the channels we would pick.
Sometimes he uses the unlikely person. The random conversation. The job you didn’t want but needed. The friend you’d lost touch with. The opportunity you nearly turned down because it looked too much like a raven.
The lesson from Elijah isn’t just that God provides. We already know that. The lesson is that God provides on his terms, through his methods, in his timing.
Our job isn’t to script how it looks. Our job is to go where he says, stay where he’s put us, and keep our eyes open for the birds.
Because the provision is coming.
It might just not look like you expected.
YOUR ONE THING FOR TODAY
Look back at the last twelve months. Think of one time God provided for you through a channel you did not expect. The person, the opportunity, the moment you didn’t see coming. Say thank you for it specifically. Then ask God to help you spot the raven he might be sending today.
A PRAYER FOR TODAY
Father, forgive me for the times I’ve narrowed down how your provision must look. Open my eyes to the ravens, the unlikely and unexpected ways you are already providing. Help me to trust not just that you will provide, but that you know best how to provide. In Jesus’ name, amen.
God bless you, my friend.
