What do you do when the brook dries up?
I Kings 17:7, “And it happened after a while, that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.”
As human beings we all go through times when “the brook” dries up, and God seems to be hiding from us. Experiences like this occur throughout the Bible; in both the Old and New Testaments we see people that God has used seemingly left alone, abandoned by God. Think about the story of Job. God had seemingly abandoned Job to live a life of suffering after He had blessed Job with many riches.
Also, consider the Apostles who were called by Jesus. These men were handpicked by God to spread the Gospel Message, but when they thought their lives were about to get better Jesus was crucified; and it felt like God had abandoned them.
Whenever I go through a dry period in my own life I think about two things. First, I remember the words to the poem Footprints. A man was in heaven looking back over scenes from his life, and he noticed that at some points there was only one set of prints. He turned to God and asked Him, “Why did you leave me when I needed you?” God answered him, “My child I did not leave you, but during those difficult times I carried you.”
I also think about a card of encouragement that a friend gave to me in college with a poem titled, “Don’t Quit”. God may be about to give us the victory if we will continue to trust in Him.
When God seems far away from us there are three ways in which we can respond.
We can trust ourselves, and try to get what we want our way.
Matthew 26:14-16, “Then one of the twelve, named Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me to betray Him to you?” And they weighed out thirty pieces of silver to him. From then on he began looking for a good opportunity to betray Jesus.”
We can abandon the vision of God, and go back to our old lifestyle.
John 21:4-5, “ But when the day was now breaking, Jesus stood on the beach ; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. So Jesus said to them, “Children, you do not have any fish, do you?” They answered Him, “No.”
We can trust God even though we don’t understand.
John 16:33, “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage ; I have overcome the world.” John 21:6, ”And He said to them, “Cast the net on the right-hand side of the boat and you will find a catch.” So they cast, and then they were not able to haul it in because of the great number of fish.”
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Father, I thank You for reminding me that I can always trust You even though it may seem You are far away. You are the friend who stays closer than a brother. In Jesus’ name,Amen
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The image above can be found at: http://songwriterstipjar.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/dry-riverbed.jpg
Yes, You Can Ministry 
