Based on 1 Kings 17:1-6 (New King James Version)
“And Elijah the Tishbite, of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab, ‘As the Lord God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.’ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ‘Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.’ So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening; and he drank from the brook.”
There are many theories on why things are so difficult today. There are people that blame politicians and that the reason for why we are where we are is because they have not done things well. Others might say that we are living through this pandemic because something happened somewhere, either by accident or on purpose. There are people that would also say that our economies are troubled or unstable because of the effects of the pandemic, or because there are people that are taking advantage, or because there are problems with foreign commercial trade. There are people that would say that environmental problems are a product of human abuse upon the earth and industrial carelessness in everything we do. And there is also a group of people that would say that the health problems we have today are a product of chemicals and bad substances that are used in and on everything we eat. And well, there is a very long list of other things that could be brought into the conversation that are not well and talk about the reasons of why they are bad, and I am very sure that there would be certain human explanations and that there would be some truth in them, but not a complete account. They would be partial and/or incomplete truths. What is finally causing this bad wave of things we have today?
One explanation based on the Word of God and on man’s actions is that the bad we are living through today is not exactly the fault of the things that we would think as humans, but it goes even deeper than that. The problem is that God is allowing for these things to happen, but not because God is evil and He likes for people to suffer, but rather, it is a product of the sin that is exceeding the limits of what is bearable by God (because God many times stops the evil that should come), especially considering that a great majority of people know Who God is, and what Jesus Christ has done for us, but the great majority of people that know this truth prefer to rather do things that finally glorify sin and promote death than accepting the truth and deciding to follow Him for their own good, for it is written: “For the wages of sin is death…” Romans 6:23a. So then, it is God the One that is allowing for these things to happen, but because of man’s rebellion, because of them knowing the truth but despising the truth for things that only bring about death and destruction. God allows for things to happen, but they also happen because they are simple consequences of sin. God does not have to put forth much effort in bringing about judgment. He only has to let things take their own course, the way that people themselves desire. Everything falls by its own weight. There may be many believers that might say, “But I am under God’s grace, because I believe in Him.” But evil progresses if sin is practiced. What good is it to get the cure if you keep drinking the poison?
God allowed for the drought and many other things to happen to Israel because of Israel’s sin. Remember that Israel was (and still is) God’s people. So then, God brought into account Israel’s sins, their idolatry, their sexual disorder, their abuse of the weak and defenseless, their rebellions, etc. And if God did that with Israel, will He not do that with those that were supposedly added by grace (not by right) to that people, to us the gentiles that have believed in Christ? Be careful because God’s grace is not a license to sin, to do things that glorify evil! This is what the Scriptures say: “Thus says the Lord of hosts: ‘They shall thoroughly glean as a vine the remnant of Israel; as a grape-gatherer, put your hand back into the branches.’ To whom shall I speak and give warning, that they may hear? Indeed their ear is uncircumcised, and they cannot give heed. Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them; they have no delight in it. Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord. I am weary of holding it in. ‘I will pour it out on the children outside, and on the assembly of young men together; for even the husband shall be taken with the wife, the aged with him who is full of days. And their houses shall be turned over to others, fields and wives together; for I will stretch out My hand against the inhabitants of the land,’ says the Lord. ‘Because from the least of them even to the greatest of them, everyone is given to covetousness; and from the prophet even to the priest, everyone deals falsely. They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, saying, ‘Peace, peace!’ when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they had committed abomination? No! They were not at all ashamed; nor did they know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time I punish them, they shall be cast down,’ says the Lord. Thus says the Lord: ‘Stand in the ways and see, and ask for the old paths, where the good way is, and walk in it; then you will find rest for your souls. But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.’ Also, I set watchmen over you, saying, ‘Listen to the sound of the trumpet!’ But they said, ‘We will not listen.’ Therefore hear, you nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them. Hear, O earth! Behold, I will certainly bring calamity on this people—the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not heeded My words nor My law, but rejected it. For what purpose to Me comes frankincense from Sheba, and sweet cane from a far country? Your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet to Me.’ Therefore thus says the Lord: ‘Behold, I will lay stumbling blocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall on them. The neighbor and his friend shall perish.’” Jeremiah 6:9-21.
This is also written: “The word of the Lord came again to me, saying: ‘Son of man, when a land sins against Me by persistent unfaithfulness, I will stretch out My hand against it; I will cut off its supply of bread, send famine on it, and cut off man and beast from it. Even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver only themselves by their righteousness,’ says the Lord God.” Ezekiel 14:12-14. What did these men have in common? Noah faced the entire world for his faith and love for God, and his faith condemned the world. Daniel faced an empire and did not consider his wellbeing, but rather, preferred to honor God over his own life. Job, despite everything that happened to him, did not blaspheme against God, but quite the contrary, his faith and knowledge grew in all of that, drawing closer to see God more clearly. And Elijah also found grace before God because he served Him despite the circumstances, despite Israel coming to hate God. These men loved God above all things. How can we find such grace before God if we have not loved God like these men loved Him? “Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.” Acts 3:19. God is a God of grace and forgiveness, but only when there is true repentance and conversion from sin, as a start. So then, will you love Christ or run the risk of suffering permanent affliction, where all of those that do not love God will spend eternity, as a consequence for their own evil actions? Lord bless! John