Everybody at some point in time will experience a crisis. It’s inevitable!

• A sudden emergency
• An unexpected predicament
• A condition of instability or calamity whether it be social, economic, medical, or emotional
• A decisive moment or point of decision which, if not handled in an appropriate and timely manner (or if not handled at all), may turn into a disaster or catastrophe

The bible does not predict or promise that you will live a crisis free life. Jesus Himself said, “In this world you will have tribulation…”

But the bible does promise that as a believer you will be able to face any crisis with a supernatural power that is sufficient to deliver.

Since the beginning of time, God has been caring for and delivering his people from every kind of crisis known to man.

For example:

• In Gen 7 & 8 – God delivered Noah and his family from the flood

• In Gen 19 – God delivered Lot and his family from the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah

• In Ex 14 – God delivered Israel from Egypt through the Red Sea and led them to the Promised Land

• In 1 Sam 17 – God delivered David from the lion and the bear as well as gave him victory over Goliath

• In Dan 3 – God delivered the three Hebrew’s from the fiery furnace

• In Dan 6 – God delivered Daniel from the mouth of the lion

• In Acts 5 – God delivered the Apostles from prison, by sending an angel who opened the prison doors

• In Acts 12 – God delivered Peter from prison by sending another angel

• In Acts 27 – God delivered and protected the Apostle Paul and all the passengers of the ship they were on, which was destroyed by a hurricane

You get the point …

God knows how to deliver His people!

If you remember when we studied Ps 34, we learned it was written to remind the people of God to join together and praise God for His acts of deliverance and be encouraged to experience the goodness of God personally.

The overarching theme is this …

The troubles of life should not overwhelm the people of God, but through prayer they will be delivered out of them, and through praise they will instruct others to live by faith and experience the goodness of God.

Why is he blessing the Lord?

And so, for those of us who may be going through a crisis right now, I want to remind us all, regardless of what you may be going through, you are not going through it alone.

The scripture says, God changes not and Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever! He will never leave you nor forsake you, especially when you are in the middle of a crisis.

Last week I preached a message on Real Faith.

We looked at a story in 1 Sam 13 & 14 about Jonathan, the son of King Saul and found out:

• Real Faith is Active
• Real Faith is not Afraid of the Unknown
• Real Faith is willing to take a Risk
• Real Faith doesn’t sit in the Shade
• Real Faith Steps out and Finds God
• Real Faith Motivates Others to Act

Today I want to talk to you about Sustaining Faith!

How to Trust God in a crisis that may linger and what God will do to sustain you!

We are going to look at a familiar story found in 1 Kings 17.

Here’s the backstory.

Both the prophet Elijah and the widow woman in Zarephath are caught in the middle of a severe crisis to no fault of their own, but God sustains them both supernaturally. Elijah the prophet is called to confront Ahab the King and announce that a severe drought is coming.

This terrible three-year famine was basically a God induced sanction against this evil King which the scripture says that, “Ahab did more evil and more to provoke the Lord God of Israel to anger, than all the Kings of Israel who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30, 33)

Take a look at 1 Kings 17:1-4

I want us to see something right away.

Notice this phrase in 1 Kings 17:1 – “…Before whom I stand”

Elijah was called by God to tackle the problem of Baal Worship that Ahab introduced to Israel.

He was to be the mouthpiece of God and stand for truth and declare to Ahab that his evil behavior will no longer be tolerated.

Be aware, whenever you make a decision to stand for truth:

• In Your Home
• In Your Business
• With Your Family
• With Other People

And you demand that circumstances line up with the Word of God – like Elijah, you too will be faced with resistance.

What gave Elijah courage? Notice before he voiced God’s decree – He declared his resolve!

“Before whom I stand”

What that phrase means is this:

Regardless of what happens as a result of this decree, my God will make me stand! I WILL NOT BE INTIMIDATED AND I WILL NOT BACK DOWN!

Having done all to stand … stand therefore!

Many times when a crisis hits it may affect,

• The unjust as well as the just
• The sinner and saint alike
• The unrighteous as well as the righteous

But here in lies the difference.

The just and the righteous have a promise from God which says, “I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their seed begging bread,” that others do not have!

The great preacher F.B. Meyer gave some sound advice on what to do in a crisis. He wrote, “Never act in panic, nor allow man to dictate to you; calm yourself and be still; Force yourself into the quiet of your closet until the pulse beats normally and the ‘scare’ has ceased to disturb … Then wait upon God until He makes known His way.”

That’s great advice!

I want you to notice something. As a result of Elijah’s obedience in declaring judgment against King Ahab, He now finds himself displaced, without shelter and without food.

Maybe something like this has happened to you. You did your best to do everything right.

You prayed, fasted, tithed, studied the Word; you came to work early and you left late. You did your job well and did your best to obey God.

But you didn’t get the promotion. They passed over you and gave it to someone else.

If something like that has happened to you, don’t let that be an opportunity where you become

• Self-absorbed
• Angry
• Frustrated

Instead, have Sustaining Faith! Faith that will see you through to the end.

Concentrate on how big your God is!

Remember Psalm 34:1, “I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.”

Base your attitude and prayer on the Word of God.

“Lord, I may have been passed over, but I know You have plans to for my welfare to give me a future and a hope.”

Remind yourself of:

If you keep your focus on God and His promises, your faith in God will sustain you through the crisis.

How do we know Elijah was trusting God?

In the middle of a crisis – He hears God’s instruction!

Here’s a principle:

A faith that sustains is always listening for the voice of God!

During times of a lingering crisis as you continue to trust God, He will do several things.

The text tells us that while Elijah was by the brook under God’s direction, God fed and replenished his energy and strength every day.

Remember this:

Where God leads … He feeds!
Where God guides … He provides!

Notice, while Elijah is trusting, God is sustaining him from the most unlikely sources… dirty birds!

God can use any resource of His choosing to sustain you during a crisis.

• From people you don’t like
• From a job you think is beneath you
• From an opportunity you would have otherwise allowed to pass you by

The key is this, do not allow the threat of pressure or inconvenience or pride cause you to disobey the Lord’s direction for your life. Otherwise you may miss the sustenance of God and thereby deepen the crisis.

Back in the day, during a season when money was tight, I trusted God to meet my needs and was offered a job from someone whom I didn’t like at the time. It was a dirty bird situation.

I could have refused but instead I saw it as an answer to prayer. I thanked God, adjusted my feelings, and God met my needs.

Realize that Elijah was not only displaced from his home and had no way to get food, but he was under a death threat from King Ahab. He was being hunted down. That’s why God told him to hide by the brook. Do you know how long the crisis at the brook lasted? Over One Year!

Elijah had to have Sustaining Faith! A faith that saw him through to the end.

Like Abraham who hoped against all odds, and was strong in faith for 25 years giving glory to God while waiting for Isaac to be born.

God supernaturally intervened every day to protect, sustain, and refresh Elijah.

When you have Sustaining Faith and trust God in the crisis … He Will Refresh You!

When you are trusting God in a lingering crisis…

We can see that Elijah is still trusting because the word of the Lord comes to him again.

I want you to notice something.

• For one year Elijah is by the brook being sustained by God.
• God told him to go to the brook – he obeyed and went
• As far as God is concerned, Elijah is in the center of God’s will
• As a result, God is obligated to sustain him by the brook
• So God protects him from Ahab who is looking for him every day
• He’s got ravens flying in twice a day bringing him Happy Meals

Another thing – for one year God says nothing to Elijah.

• He doesn’t tell him he is about to be displaced again
• He doesn’t tell him that the brook is about to dry up
• He doesn’t tell him what the next step in life will be

He doesn’t have to … Why?
Because Elijah has Sustaining Faith – He is simply trusting God for every move in the crisis!

When you’ve learned to trust in God with all of your heart, life can suddenly turn on a dime, but it won’t shake your faith.

Life is funny sometimes – things could be going along great and “after a while” something happens.

Isn’t that the way life is sometimes?

• It appears as though everything is going fine in your career but, after a while, something happens and you get laid off.

• The marriage was going great but, after a while, something happens and it feels like you’re sleeping with the enemy.

• You’re in the middle of raising your kids and things seem fine but after a while, they become teenagers and something happens … things get weird and it drives you into a crisis of faith

You see life is:

• Oftentimes great
• Sometimes weird
• Occasionally unpredictable
• Regretfully chaotic

But no matter what life dishes out at you, if you have Sustaining Faith and are trusting God in the crisis, you may get struck down to the ground, but you will never be struck out and destroyed.

After the brook dries up, God speaks to Elijah again in V9 and says,

These words serve as a reassurance to Elijah as well as us that during times of crisis,

• God is always with us
• He will never leave us or forsake us
• We don’t have to be afraid

Because, God will not only provide a way for us, He will provide a Word for us that will lead us out!

The great missionary to China, Hudson Taylor said, “God’s work, done in God’s way will never lack God’s supply.”

So Elijah is now on his way to Zarephath to be fed and sustained by a widow woman.

Little does he know that,

• This woman is completely destitute
• She has next to nothing
• All she sees is death in her future

And this is the woman God commanded to sustain the prophet.

Fascinating story. What can we learn?

V9 – “I have commanded a widow to feed you”

Command – Prescriptions or directions of God which when followed become the rule of life.

God is saying this to Elijah and the widow:

“I have directions for you to follow that will bring life in the midst of this crisis.

Here’s the principle:

For every crisis, God has a command. For every command followed, God has provision.

What was the command God gave to the woman?

When you are in need of God’s provision, healing, deliverance or freedom from bondage, don’t see God’s intervention as something done to you; see God’s intervention as something done with you.

God’s prescription to the woman was this: “I want you to be a part of your own miracle and give me what little you have and watch me multiply it.”

When trusting God in the crisis with Sustaining Faith:

1. God Refreshes You
2. God Reassures You
3. God Requires You to Respond

Notice the provision after the widow obeyed God’s prescription:

God sustains this women and her household by her own hands.

This miracle of provision does not come from the outside in … it comes from the inside out.

This is the season of opportunities where God will bless the work of your hands.

Often times we give into fear and discouragement in times of crisis because we do not know or see that we are already safe in God’s hands.

If you are in a crisis, trust Him with Sustaining Faith …

• God Refreshes You
• God Reassures You
• God Requires You to Respond

Here’s something God will never do – He will never leave you or forsake, But will be your refuge and strength – a very present help in trouble. (Ps 46:1)