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ing problems of th e Christian life? (1 Pet. 4:12-14). (6) Whose hand guided th is man of God? (1 Ki. 18 :40 ). The story of E lijah is one of th rill ing interest. There is a h in t of mys te ry and a h alo .o f majesty about him. Unless we were assured th a t he was a man of like passions DEVOTIONAL w ith us, we m ight be COMMENT tem pted to call him a By F . W. F a r r super-man. By merely reading th e simple n arrative, we may feel the throb of his g rea t h ea rt and catch th e inspiration of his holy life. He bu rsts into the presence of Ahab and Jezebel sittin g in th e ir ivory palace a t Jezreel, like a blaz ing m eteor from a m idnight sky. One m ight suppose th a t he had ju st alighted from th e chariot of fire which tarry ing in th e heavens was finally to carry him from the earth. The secret of his pa tience by th e drying brook is in the fact th a t he was drinking of another stream th a t never runs dry because it flows from beneath the throne of God. I t is th e riv er of the w ater of life. When the brook dried up God sent E li jah to th e widow’s house as much for h er sake as for; th e p rophet’s. Doth God tak e care for widows? Ex. 22:22, 23. Of all th e bereaved ones about him th e Saviour chose to raise to life th e son of th e widow of Nain. God has a special tenderness to these lonely, sorrowing, bereft ones. “Let th y widows tru s t in me.” The widow of Zarephath was p re p aring her last meal when E lijah came. He was an apparen t burden b u t a real helper. When things are a t th e worst they begin to mend. It was in the fo u rth watch of th e night when th e disciples were worn out w ith rowing against a head wind th a t Jesus came to th eir assistance w alking u p o n .the waves. It was afte r Lazarus had been buried th a t
th e Lord came to Bethany. We should never lose h ea rt however d ark th e out look. "In th e m ount th e Lord will provide.” At th e moment of sacrifice a ram will be sub stitu ted for Isaac. We need not pity a believer who has God to fall back upon in tria l bu t th e case of an unbeliever is pitiable indeed who has only earth ly things to sustain him. The day will come for him when the brook will fail and the b arrel become empty. W hat shall he do then w ithout God? A fter E lijah had stayed w ith the widow for perhaps two years, th e household being sus tained by a perpetual m iracle, h er only son sickened and died. Bereavement is sad enough under any circumstances. Even when one is taken ou t of a large family, th e re is a void which nothing can fill. This widow had no o th er child and th is sorrow would open th e old wound’ of her husband’s death and make it bleed afresh. A g reat and wonderful though t to o k ' possession of th e p rophet’s soul. A lready by his prayers he had shu t up th e heavens so th a t they gave n eith er dew nor rain. Why could he not raise th e dead by prayer? To be sure it never had been done, but was anything too hard for th e Lord? He took th e cold dead form into his chamber and stretched himself th ree times upon it, tak ing hold of Jehovah’s strength. He cried aloud, “ O Jehovah, my God, let th is child’s soul come into him again.” His prayer was answered. The child revived, and E lijah, tak ing him down stairs, placed him in his m other’s arm s. Who can describe th e ecstasy of th a t m other’s joy? This m iracle is a prediction pf the tim e when th e dead in Christ shall rise. The resurrection of our own
loved ones has been long deferred but it will tak e place a t the coming of the Lord. The reunion will be th e sweeter because of th e bitterness of the separa tion th a t has gone before. “Wherefore com fort one another w ith these words.” INVESTIGATION INVITES INVESTMENT of
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