Thank God for the Dried Brook
Verse:1 Kings 17:7
"And after a while the brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.".
The brook Cherith, once a life-giving stream, had dried to dust. For Elijah, this was no accident. The drought was the fulfillment of his own bold proclamation: "There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word"(1 Kings 17:1). The barren riverbed was not a crisis born of failure, but a sign of God’s faithfulness. The very dryness of the brook testified that Elijah’s ministry was advancing. What seemed like disaster was, in fact, divine affirmation. When the water vanished, it was not because God had abandoned His prophet—it was because He was leading him forward.
This crisis was God’s doing. He sent Elijah to Cherith, commanded ravens to feed him there, and then allowed the brook to wither. The drought was not a punishment but a pivot. The dried brook was a doorway to Zarephath, where a widow’s faith would be ignited, a miracle of flour and oil would unfold, and a pagan nation would witness Yahweh’s power. The barrenness at Cherith was not the end of Elijah’s story—it was the setup for God’s greater glory. How often do we misinterpret God’s interruptions as failures? How quickly we mourn the loss of comfort, not realizing it is the prelude to His provision.
Elijah’s heart, far from crumbling in despair, must have stirred with holy awe as the brook faded. His prayer for drought had been answered. The success of his ministry was so undeniable that it created a crisis. The same pattern echoes in the life of Jesus. His healing, preaching, and love were so transformative that they provoked the cross. Yet the cross, though a symbol of agony, was His supreme triumph. It was not His failure that hung Him there, but His radical obedience. The world saw a broken man; heaven saw a victorious King. Opposition, persecution, and even death are not signs of God’s absence—they are often the fingerprints of His purpose.
Beware the lie that ministry success is measured by material abundance. Elijah left Cherith with no bread, no water, and no security. Jesus died stripped of everything but love. Yet both were abundantly fruitful. To equate blessings with wealth or comfort is to misunderstand the economy of God. His kingdom advances through surrendered hearts, not stocked barns. The widow’s jar of flour outlasted Ahab’s palace stores.
Before you curse the crisis, ask: Is this drought a sign of God’s favor?Has your faithfulness provoked spiritual resistance? Do not cling to brooks He has closed, nor force earthly solutions onto eternal callings. Trust Him. The same God who dried Cherith’s stream led Elijah to a widow’s table. The One who permitted the cross opened the tomb. Our trials are not dead ends—they are divine detours.
Today, thank God for the dried brooks. Praise Him for the closed doors, the exhausted resources, the unanswered prayers that force you to lean into His faithfulness. Rejoice that He is more committed to your eternal impact than your temporary ease. The drought is not your defeat—it is His invitation to see His glory in deeper ways.
Prayer:
Father, forgive me for fearing the dried brooks in my life. Teach me to recognize Your hand in every crisis, to trust that what feels like loss is often the path to greater fruitfulness. When my resources fail, remind me that Your purposes never will. When opposition rises, let it deepen my faith, not my doubt. Thank You for being a God who uses deserts to display Your power and crosses to crown Your victory. Keep my heart anchored in gratitude, even when the brook runs dry. Amen.