God sent Elijah to the brook, and it dried up. It did not prove equal to the need of the prophet. It failed; God knew it would; He made it to fail. “The brook dried up.” This is an aspect of the Divine providence that sorely perplexes our minds and tries our faith. God knows that there are heavenly whispers that men cannot hear till the drought of trouble and perhaps weariness has silenced the babbling brooks of joy. And He is not satisfied until we have learned to depend not upon His gifts, but upon Himself.

His camp was pitched where Cherith’s stream was flowing— The man of God! ’T was God’s appointed spot! When it might fail, he knew not; only knowing That God cared for his lot. Full many days on Cherith’s bank he camped him, And from its cool refreshing, drew his share; And foolish fears of failing streams ne’er damped him; Was he not God’s own care? Yet, lo, at length, the prospect strangely altered; The drought e’en Cherith’s fountain had assailed; Slowly but sure, the flowing waters faltered Until, at last, they failed! Then came the word from One whose eye beholding Saw that the stream, the living stream had dried, Sending him forth, to find by new unfolding, None of his needs denied.

Perchance thou, too, hath camped by such sweet waters. And quenched with joy thy weary, parched soul’s thirst; To find, as time goes on, thy streamlet alters From what it was at first. Hearts that have cheered, or soothed, or blest, or strengthened, Loves that have lavished so unstintedly, Joys, treasured joys—have passed, as time hath lengthened, into obscurity. If thus, ah soul, the brook thy heart hath cherished Doth fail thee now—no more thy thirst assuage— If its once glad, refreshing streams have perished, Let Him thy heart engage. He will not fail, nor mock, nor disappoint thee; His consolations change not with the years; With oil of joy He surely will anoint thee, And wipe away thy tears.

Week after week, with an unwavering and steadfast spirit, Elijah watched the brook dwindle and finally dry up. Often tempted to stumble in unbelief, he nevertheless refused to allow his circumstances to come between himself and God. Unbelief looks at God through the circumstances, just as we often see the sun dimmed by clouds or smoke. But faith puts God between itself and its circumstances, and looks at them through Him.

Elijah’s brook dwindled to only a silver thread, which formed pools at the base of the largest rocks. Then the pools evaporated, the birds flew away, and the wild animals of the fields and forests no longer came to drink, for the brook became completely dry. And only then, to Elijah’s patient and faithful spirit, did the word of the Lord come and say, “Go at once to Zarephath” (v. 9).

Most of us would have become anxious and tired, and would have made other plans long before God spoke. Our singing would have stopped as soon as the stream flowed less musically over its rocky bed. We would have hung our harps on the willows nearby and begun pacing back and forth on the withering grass, worrying about our predicament. And probably, long before the brook actually dried up, we would have devised some plan, asked God to bless it, and headed elsewhere.

God will often extricate us from the mess we have made, because “his love endures forever” (1 Chronicles 16:34). Yet if we had only been patient and waited to see the unfolding of His plan, we would never have found ourselves in such an impossible maze, seeing no way out. We would also never have had to turn back and retrace our way, with wasted steps and so many tears of shame.

“Wait for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14). Patiently wait! F. B. MEYER

The education of our faith is incomplete if we have yet to learn that God’s providence works through loss, that there is a ministry to us through failure and the fading of things, and that He gives the gift of emptiness.

It is, in fact, the material insecurities of life that cause our lives to be spiritually established.

The dwindling brook at the Kerith Ravine, where Elijah sat deep in thought, is a true picture of each of our lives.

“Some time later the brook dried up”—this is the history of our yesterdays, and a prophecy of our tomorrows.

One way or the other, we must all learn the difference between trusting in the gift and trusting in the Giver.

The gift may last for a season, but the Giver is the only eternal love.

The Kerith Ravine was a difficult problem for Elijah until he arrived at Zarephath, and suddenly everything became as clear as daylight to him.

God’s hard instructions are never His last words to us, for the woe, the waste, and the tears of life belong to its interlude, not its finale.

If the Lord had led Elijah directly to Zarephath, he would have missed something that helped to make him a wiser prophet and a better man—living by faith at Kerith.

And whenever our earthly stream or any other outer resource has dried up, it has been allowed so we may learn that our hope and help are in God, who made heaven and earth. F. B. MEYER

Perhaps you, too, have camped by such sweet waters, And quenched with joy your weary, parched soul’s thirst; To find, as time goes on, your streamlet alters From what it was at first.

Hearts that have cheered, or soothed, or blest, or strengthened; Loves that have lavished unreservedly; Joys, treasured joys—have passed, as time has lengthened, Into obscurity.

If then, O soul, the brook your heart has cherished Does fail you now—no more your thirst assuage— If its once glad refreshing streams have perished, Let Him your heart engage.

He will not fail, nor mock, nor disappoint you; His comfort and care change not with the years; With oil of joy He surely will anoint you, And wipe away your tears. J. DANSON SMITH