Charles Stanley Daily Devotional (August-29-2024) God’s Ways: Ordinary or Miraculous?
The Lord is always working for our good, but not always in ways we understand.
1 Kings 17:2-7 - The word of the LORD came to him, saying, ``Go away from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. ``It shall be that you will drink of the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to provide for you there." So he went and did according to the word of the LORD, for he went and lived by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he would drink from the brook. It happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land.
In Isaiah 55, God declares, “My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways” (Isaiah 55:8). In fact, that’s one of the biggest frustrations of the Christian life—a lack of understanding about God’s ways. There are times when we could really use a miracle, and He doesn’t come through for us, which can lead to confusion, disappointment, and anger. Why did God let me down?
God works in both supernatural and ordinary ways, and He determines the method. For example, in today’s passage, Elijah ate food miraculously delivered by ravens, but his water supply from a brook was completely natural. When it dried up, the Lord could have made more water spring from the ground, but He didn’t.
Sometimes God uses ordinary means to move us in a new direction. The curtailment of his water supply opened the door for Elijah’s next assignment. When the Lord withholds miraculous intervention and lets your brook dry up, then He has something else planned for you.
The work of God in the commonplace aspects of life is just as miraculous as His supernatural intervention. Look for His “fingerprint” in the day’s mundane activities. He is there, opening and closing doors, drying up one opportunity but initiating another.
