Obedience to God is coming to terms with “how” and accepting that it is His way. It sounds more unholy and more ill begotten than it really is; but, sometimes following God’s call on your life means being sustained by scavengers. And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. 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. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan. And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. (1 Kings 17:2-7 ESV) The first thing I wonder about this passage is: how did the word of God come to Elijah? I mean, Elijah just told the king of Israel that it would no longer rain. Then suddenly, we find that the “Word of the Lord” coming to him. More important than “how did the word come,” is how did Elijah know it was God who was speaking? Most of us who grew up in church will walk away saying that Elijah knew because he was Elijah. I’m going to table that discussion for now and allow you to imagine how God speaks to you in your life. The take away is that Elijah “went and did according to the word of the Lord.” This means that regardless of how he knew, he trusted God to provide. I know there are some skeptics out there or some fanatics that will take this word out of context, so let me lay it out there. For you skeptics, if you think this is not a true story, then take it as allegory for: if you do what you believe, things will work out. If you need a concrete example, just think about the last time you saw a homeless person or an artist or musician on the street get his or her needs taken care of by passer-bys. They were just doing what they found in their heart being called to do. Now for the fanatics: this does not mean you give up the ways and means God has given you to take care of yourself, like that job of yours, to pursue a life of “ministry” as you slowly default on your credits because of unpaid bills, that will not end well with you or anybody else. You see, in that situation God’s provision was that job that you have which is done alongside your ministry. Notice the directions God gave Elijah: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. You shall drink from the brook…” There was nothing more that he had to do– just go there. He didn’t have to worry about food or shelter. We spend so much time asking God for answers and when He answers, we spend even more time asking God for “how” and “why.” God gives us answers, it just seems as if we don’t want those answers or don’t want to believe in them. In fact, we should just be going and doing what God instructs, so long as we know it is from God, and trust that God provides. If Elijah was fed by ravens, then you should expect to provide for you (probably in an unlikely way) when you go and do what He says. Try it today.