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When you are walking through a dry season, it can feel like your prayers hit the ceiling and fall back to the floor. You know what God promised, yet nothing seems to move. In this message from The Jaime Luce Podcast, I share what the Lord showed me in 1 Kings 17 and 18 about staying faithful in the drought and why your obedience in dry places sets the stage for breakthrough.

What the Bible Teaches About Droughts and Waiting

In 1 Kings 17, Elijah declared a drought that would last for years. No rain, no dew, no moisture of any kind. Yet even in that drought, God provided for him at the brook Cherith. Ravens brought him food every day, and water flowed for a time. When the brook dried up, God sent Elijah to a widow in Zarephath, a woman with almost nothing left.

She had only a little flour and a little oil, but when she obeyed and gave to Elijah first, the miracle came. Her flour and oil never ran out. The lesson is simple: when you put God first, He provides even when it makes no sense.

When Faith Is All You Have Left

I know what it feels like to reach the end of your strength, your finances, or your hope. Faith becomes the only thing left to hold on to. That is not a place of defeat. It is the place where faith becomes real.

When Elijah told the widow to bake him a cake first, it sounded impossible. Yet faith often begins where logic ends. The miracle started not with what she lacked, but with what she was willing to give. God used her obedience to sustain her and her son through the entire famine.

The Importance of Keeping Your Altar Intact

If you are serious about ending your drought, you must stay connected to your altar—your place of prayer and worship. Every healthy relationship depends on communication. You cannot expect to have a thriving relationship with God without consistent time in His presence.

When we repair the altar of our hearts, we make room for His voice again. Elijah could hear God’s instructions because he stayed near the altar. In every season of drought, the answer begins with intimacy.

Grow Roots, Not Just Branches

When I studied how plants survive during droughts, I discovered something powerful. Instead of growing taller, plants send their roots deeper into the soil to find hidden moisture. The same is true for us spiritually.

When life feels dry and unproductive, God is calling us to grow deeper, not higher. This is the time to strengthen your foundation in the Word, prayer, and trust. The fruit will come later, but the roots you grow now will sustain you when the rain finally comes.

When in Drought, Go Again

In 1 Kings 18, Elijah prayed for rain after years of drought. Each time his servant went to look toward the sea, he came back saying, “There is nothing.” But Elijah told him to go again—seven times.

That seventh time, the servant saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand. That small cloud was enough for Elijah to know that God was moving. Faith sees the beginning of a miracle before it becomes visible to everyone else.

If you are praying for something and you still see nothing, I want to encourage you—go again. Pray again. Believe again. Look again. Your cloud is forming, and your rain is coming.

When God Sends the Rain

The moment Elijah saw the small cloud, he acted in faith. He told Ahab to prepare his chariot before the rain stopped him. Then the sky turned black, the wind rose, and a heavy rain began to fall.

That same God who sent rain over Israel will send refreshing to your life. Your drought is not permanent. It is preparation for abundance.

A Word of Encouragement

If you are in a drought in your faith, your finances, or your relationships, remember that God is not absent. He is at work beneath the surface, growing your roots deeper and preparing you for rain. Stay close to your altar. Stay faithful in obedience. Keep your eyes on the horizon.

I hear the sound of the abundance of rain, and I believe it is coming for you too.

Scripture References

1 Kings 17–18
James 5:17–18
Hebrews 11:1
Galatians 6:9

Where to Dive In

(00:08) Overcoming Spiritual Drought Through Faith
(10:51) Navigating Spiritual Drought Through Obedience
(22:58) Navigating Drought Through Faith and Obedience
(39:33) Deep Rooted Faith in Drought
(50:27) Faith and Obedience Bring Miracles
(01:00:59) Preparing for the Abundance of Rain

Full Transcript

This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.

00:08 – Jaime Luce (Host)
Welcome to the Jaime Luce Podcast. If you’re ready for another day of Bible study, I’m ready to go with you. We have been in the book of 1 Kings and primarily spending time in the 18th chapter and I want to basically finish that chapter up. But we’re gonna. We’re gonna go backward so that we can go forward, and I purposely had wanted to touch on the particular things we’re going to hit on today. But at the time when we were in and I’ll just tell you chapter 17, I just didn’t feel it was time to do it yet. And I’m so glad because when the Holy Spirit speaks, he does such a most marvelous job, way better than my brain could ever put together, and I just feel like he really has a word for us today. So here’s my little play on words, if you will, for a title but when in drought, go again. You know, instead of when in doubt, when in drought, haha. So when in drought, go again. And but this is serious, I’m, I’m light, feel his word and he wants it to go forth. He has a timing and a way and he does things so perfectly. Everything he does, he does well and we can trust when we are in his hand, and so I hope that you will get out something to write with, take some notes and get your Bibles out. Of course, you know the routine. If you’re driving you can’t do that. But that’s the beauty about these kind of recordings because you can go back and do it later and there probably will be transcripts on there that you could go back to if there’s particular places you want to go back to. But we’re going to be in 1 Kings. We’re starting in 1 Kings, 18. And verses 41 through 46, I’m going to go ahead and just read it and then I’m going to take us through a little background before we dive into some new material in 17. But it’ll all make sense as we do that. So, verse 41, we just finished the prophets of Baal being challenged. God wins, of course, and now we’re moving to the next verse 41.

02:40
Then Elijah said to Ahab go up, eat and drink, for there is the sound of the abundance of rain. Now, just in case you’re not familiar with this passage, if you haven’t been with us the last few weeks, israel is in a three and a half year drought, serious drought, serious drought. The scripture says no dew or rain, not even dew, not even the possibility of rain, no moisture for three and a half years. And Elijah is telling Ahab, I hear the sound of the abundance of rain. So Ahab went up to eat and drink and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees and he said to his servant go up now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and said there is nothing. And seven times he said go again. There is nothing, not a hint, not a whisper, not a hope, nothing, go again. Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said there is a cloud it’s as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea. So he said go up to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. I mean the faith to know that a tiny cloud is about to bring a downpour so suddenly, so quickly. If you need a suddenly in your life, if you need God to move quickly, it can happen quickly. Now it happened in the meantime that the sky became black and clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. He ran faster than a chariot. Guys, it’s a miracle all in itself. Anyway, that’s our passage. We’re going to go back for a while and we’re going to come back to that. I hope that that has wet your whistle, so to speak.

05:02
We’ve seen in the last few weeks, over going through this, that God was course correcting Israel, so to speak. We’ve seen in the last few weeks, over going through this, that God was course-correcting Israel, so to speak, and by doing so he did it in great display. First, by not allowing it to rain, which was a challenge to the god, baal, because and we explained this last week but Baal was said to have spoken by lightning, which means that he navigates weather and that if he can speak by lightning, then he can bring rain. Well, if God says there’s no rain, then he’s challenging that and saying Baal doesn’t have any power over rain, wind, clouds, lightning, nothing. He doesn’t speak, he can’t speak. The lightning’s mine.

05:49
So, first, by not giving rain for three and a half years, which he used. Then, second, by having Elijah challenge the prophets of Baal to basically a fire duel, which Baal lost and God won. God proved that he and he alone is God. There’s not any that can stand beside him or challenge him, and in a great display. He did this by trying. The reason he was doing this is he’s wanting to woo back Israel.

06:19
Their hearts were divided. We read it last week that he said they were adulterers and adulteresses, that they had a divided heart and they weren’t serving God. Instead, they were serving the Baals, meaning Baal and Ashtara and all these other gods, and he was saying they don’t do anything. You’re trusting in them and they can’t give you anything. The rain being stopped was a form of showing you they have zero power and you are giving yourself to things you are sacrificing. You are go back and listen to last week, but they did all kinds of antics and they had to sacrifice so much of themselves, so much for nothing. For nothing. When we give ourselves to things that are not God, when we give our service, when we give our passion, when we give our sacrifice to anything else above God, it produces nothing. So God was trying to woo them back and up until this point, because they were divided in heart and serving these other Baals, god had to use dramatic measures, meaning a drought.

07:28
Now, now that God had displayed his power once again, the people had responded Okay. So at the end of last week, we talked about how, once God had answered by fire and he answered with just a prayer, just a prayer from Elijah, proving his closeness, his nearness, his desire to be with him, how quickly he wants to be their God, be for them, be their provision. And as soon as God did this, the people shouted and responded the Lord, he is God. The Lord, he is God. Their hearts immediately were turning back to him. That was the reason for all of this. And this didn’t take place until first. What happened? We talked about this last week too. As soon as the Lord’s altar was repaired. Then the sacrifice could be made. The people repented and the prophet Elijah said there is the sound of the abundance of rain. The rain to get rid of the drought did not come until first the altar had been repaired, the people had repented, they had understood what their part was, the sacrifices had been made and now they were in a position that God could say it’s time for rain.

09:07
Have you been in a drought? Maybe you’ve been in a drought in your spirit. Maybe you’re feeling dry that when you read the word, it just seems dry to you. Or you attend church and it just seems like you’re a wall and things can’t penetrate, that there’s a dry, hard ground in the way. Or maybe you think that you can’t hear the Lord, that you’re asking but you think you can’t hear him. Maybe he’s speaking to you, but you feel like that you’re confused, that you think you’re hearing him, and then you see something else and it confuses you.

09:51
Maybe you’re feeling that you’re in a drought in your marriage and that you and your husband are desperate. You’re just desperate. The ground is dry, the hearts are dry. Maybe it’s relationships, maybe it’s with children, maybe it’s friendships, maybe it’s crucial relationships at work, for business, and somehow they’re dry. There’s a drought. Maybe you yourself, you’re just feeling cut off and alone. Maybe you yourself, you’re just feeling cut off and alone, unable to connect somehow to the world around you. What if you’re in a drought in your finances? Maybe your business is struggling. Maybe things aren’t going the way you thought. Maybe there have been medical issues, drought in your body, and things are piling up and it’s overwhelming and you feel you’ve been stuck in a drought.

10:51
Where’s the rain? Where is the refreshing? Where’s the help? Where’s the provision? Let’s think about for a moment what is produced, what happens when there’s no rain?

11:22
Let’s look at chapter 17. This is where we go back, chapter 17. Having no rain it removes options and forces some action. And I want us to see when this drought first happened and how God responded to the man of God and how that affected people who didn’t hear, who didn’t know this was the word of God who maybe are just being those affected by the drought. In chapter 17, verse 1, it says and Elijah, the Tishbite of the inhabitants of Gilead, said to Ahab of the inhabitants of Gilead said to Ahab as the Lord, god of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, except at my word.

12:27
These years he’s letting him know. You’re about to enter a time that God has sent me to tell you. This season is going to last years. I don’t know if you identify with that or not, but I have many times in my life identified with this, that the season of drought lasted for years, years, and it’s scary to be in a drought for a long period of time. It really can rock you, it really can shake what you believe. Shake what you believe, and there’s a process we need to go through in a drought that makes sure that we are standing at the time that the abundance of rain hits. And I’m hoping today I can give you some of those tools and just the spiritual fortitude, the faith, to stand during this time.

13:30
It is so important to understand that the source, where and what is the source of the drought, where and from whom or what is causing the drought. There are droughts that God can send, and then there are droughts that and he’s sending them with purpose, not to be mean there’s great purpose in it. We’ll see that in a moment. But sometimes a drought, we can enter a drought season in our life because of choices we’ve made, that we are in a drought like Ahab.

14:03
Ahab was being told you’re going to be in this drought season because you have been serving and causing my people to sin. And so there was lifestyle and there was idol worship and again, don’t get thrown off by the word idol worship. That is anything that is above God. That doesn’t have to be a carved idol, though it does happen. That is a real thing. But anything that we sacrifice to give ourselves our time to, that we almost you can sacrifice to the point of harm to yourself for something that brings you no benefit. It has no power to bless and enhance your life, and I mean you can give yourself to things that temporarily seem to do that, but in the long run they don’t. And anything that you create with your own hands you have to sustain. You have to sustain that. If God gives you something, god sustains it, but when you produce it, you have to sustain that. So that’s just kind of a tidbit, but you need to know the source and we’re told right off the bat.

15:15
Elijah is coming to Ahab from the position of understanding where this drought started, who this drought comes from. And it’s coming from the Lord. So his faith immediately is that if God has assigned this, I’m going to be okay. Now how do we know that? Because the next few verses say right after he says there shall be no dew, no rain these years, except at my word, verse two. Then the word of the Lord came to him saying get away from here. This is God speaking to Elijah. Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook Cherith. So right off the bat he knows he has to hide from Ahab, because this is really making Ahab mad, and he went on a hunt to find him, to kill him because of this, which is so interesting, because if you really believed that he had the power to do what he said, if he had that relationship with God, why wouldn’t you listen? And instead you just want to shut his mouth. You want to stop his mouth, when that’s the way to the answer.

16:29
It’s so contrary. It’s what is so confusing about the world we live in right now, because we live in a culture where the truth comes out and people try to say don’t listen to the truth, when we know truth is the only thing that brings freedom. Truth is the only thing that brings answers on any level, not just spiritual. If I’m sick, I need to know what I’m sick of and I need to know the true answer of what will fix me right, what brings healing. I want the truth. I don’t want to take stuff that doesn’t work. I don’t want to take stuff just because that’s what everybody does. I want to actually get well. Truth sets free. That’s just the truth, no matter if you serve God or not, and we have a society that wants to shut the mouths of the truth tellers.

17:17
Folks, you need to know the truth and if God is giving instruction, you want to be close enough to him. You want a repaired altar. You want a repaired altar so you can be going and getting instruction from God Even if we enter tough times. God has a path of provision during that season of drought, and this is what he’s given to Elijah. Get away from here and turn eastward and hide by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan.

17:48
In fact, when the I want to get this one right when the prophet went to the, which woman was she? She wasn’t the widow woman, anyway, she was the other woman and she had made a place for the prophet to stay in her home and when he went after, she had spent time with Elijah. She had made a place for him. She had altars that were taken care of and a way to always make sure she was hearing from God. And because of her preparation and her altar that was repaired, her prayer life that was intact, her knowing who to go to. Her heart was not divided in seeking after other idols. Her sacrifices were going to God.

18:32
Because of that, when famine was coming to her time, for seven years not three and a half years for seven years, the prophet came and told her go and find a different place to live. The word of the Lord came to make sure she would go and be in a place of provision. And then, when the drought was over and she came back, god provided through the king and said right then Gehazi is right there talking to the king telling him stories about the prophet. And he says there she is. She could tell you herself, and because of her faithfulness, that king gave her back all of her land and everything that she would have produced over the last seven years. An abundance of rain, so to speak, came of provision to her because of her position, because she had stayed close to the prophetic word, because she knew what God was saying and she listened to his instruction and followed it, obeyed it.

19:32
This is what Elijah is doing. So he goes to the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan, and it will be that you shall drink from the brook and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there. So God’s saying, I will make sure you are taken care of during this time. So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and stayed by the brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while, because there was famine, that the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.

20:13
Then we go to verse 8. Then the word of the Lord came to him saying so we take instruction by instruction. I do what he tells me to do until he tells me different. If God said this is the way to go, I don’t think I’ve come up with a better idea. I don’t think I don’t like what this is, what these ravens are bringing me. I’m not satisfied. I’m doing something else. This isn’t the way I expected God to care for me and get my own ideas. No, instead, we hear God’s instruction. We live by that instruction. During drought, it is so important that you live by his instruction. That’s where the provision is and it is by that listening to that instruction, I’ll know the next instruction. I keep my altars intact, okay, so let me see where I’m at in my notes, because I don’t want to get off. Let me see where I’m at in my notes because I don’t want to get off. Okay In, oh, I almost skipped way ahead. Okay, let me say this If you are serious about ending your drought, ending the drought coming out of this season, if you are serious, then you have to be serious I know I’ve said it already several times about the altars, about your altar, and I’m talking about your prayer life.

21:40
I’m talking about your commitment to the Lord. If you want to change the season you’re in, get serious about your altar. You cannot expect to be or to have a thriving relationship with anyone if there isn’t constant communication. A thriving relationship. You can have minor relationships, casual relationships. I don’t turn to casual friends when I have serious problems and I need a friend near right. You go to your closest, most important relationships. If you want a thriving relationship with anybody, you need to have constant communication. You know one another, you know what’s going on in each other’s lives. You care, you’re bearing one another’s burdens, you’re there for one another, you’re there to encourage, you’re there to sit, you’re there to cry, you’re there to help with strength, whatever those relationships are, because there was constant communication. So if you’re serious about this time ending, if you want this to change, you need to be serious about your altar. You just need to know that. So now hear me on this Just because you’re in a drought doesn’t mean that God isn’t in it with you.

22:58
It doesn’t mean you did something wrong. We need to know have I gone off course? Is God bringing me back? Is he wooing me like he did the children of Israel, or am I in a season? And God has ordained this season and he will protect me during this season? Elijah was the one that God used to declare the message, but that also meant that Elijah had to go through it right so we can be in a position where we’re hearing God, we’re doing what we know to do. We’re frustrated that we have to go through this drought, but we can know with confidence. If God has said, yes, you need to go this way, then I’m safe doing that. I am safe in his hand. I’m not safe if I step out. I am safe in the path that he has for me.

23:50
If Elijah would have said, no, lord, I’m not going to that brook, he wouldn’t have water, he wouldn’t have had bread and he wouldn’t have had meat. But because he obeyed the provision was where God said it was. You need to follow God’s commands. That’s the beauty of an altar, even in a season of drought, even in a long season that lasts for years. Having an intact altar will take you through the drought with God’s direction on how to navigate through it, and his provision will be there to see you through it.

24:25
Verse eight. Let’s go to verse eight. We already have seen how God has been providing for Elijah. God has been providing for Elijah, the one that God spoke the drought through. He knows he has to go through it, but the Lord is providing for him.

24:43
But now let’s look at this widow who has to go through this drought and doesn’t know that God’s the one that has commanded this drought. She doesn’t know why she’s going through this. She is desperate. Okay, let’s look at her situation, because the widow was in drought. How do you survive a drought season? I’m talking about every kind of drought, not just a no rain drought. I’m talking about in your life, a drought, a wilderness experience. How do you survive drought with no resources? Because I’ve been in a season like that before and it was God’s provision, it was his hand, it was God provided. I had no resources of my own and a widow in those days had no husband to care for and meet her needs. They were the providers and her son. What seems to be the issue? Because normally if you had a son, if he was grown, he would care for you. But in this we see she’s caring for her son, which means he must be younger, so she must be a younger widow and she doesn’t have enough to take care of her and her son. Right, she was desperate, folks. She was desperate.

25:59
We need to see and follow her example that we get in relationship with faith. We need to get in relationship with faith. And I’m not talking about faith and faith. I am talking about what real faith is Me believing in the God who died, saved me from my sin, promised me a future and a hope in this life and the life to come, eternal life. That that God who says I have a way for you, I have made a way for you, I know the plans I have for you. I need to be in relationship with him to the point, to the point that when he speaks, I not only hear him, I believe him, I believe him. Get in relationship with faith and get in relationship with those who have faith. Lock arms with those who have faith. Exercise your faith. This is time to work this faith, muscle out.

27:00
Let’s read it when the word of the Lord came to him saying arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. So God is saying I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. So God is saying I’ve already made plans for you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed, a widow was there gathering sticks and he called to her and said please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink. And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. I mean, he’s just been on a journey. He left the brook at Cherith and now he’s gone to Zarephath. He’s hungry and he’s thirsty. So she said, as the Lord, your God, lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar. And see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son that we may eat and die. I have just enough. This is all I have. I have already prepared. My son and I understand After this we starve, after this we die.

28:33
There’s nothing left left. Have you ever lost it all? You ever lost it all? You ever been on the brink? On the brink holding on by a thread? You’ve got some sticks, you’ve got some oil and you got a little flower that’s all you’ve got. You got some pennies, you got some nickels maybe a couple dollars that’s all you’ve got. And you got some pennies, you got some nickels Maybe a couple dollars. That’s all you’ve got. And when this is gone, it’s gone. When it’s gone, it’s gone. If you’ve ever been there, then you understand a drought, you understand that this woman is desperate. She’s desperate. Woman is desperate, she’s desperate.

29:22
The only time that faith is necessary think about this the only time that faith is necessary is when faith is your only substance it’s all you’ve got left. When faith is your only currency left in hand, that’s the only time you need it. You don’t need faith when all is going well. You need it in your spirit. But so many times people wait until they are desperate, in their natural means. They wait until they’re at the very end of whatever it is, whether it be finances, whether it be relationships, whether it be you know how they’re doing in life, whatever it in their health. Some we we tend to leave it off. You need faith always, but we don’t tend to realize that you your only currency. When faith is all that’s left, that’s when you really need faith.

30:20
This is where, if you’re doing what you need to do to keep your altar intact, then faith is present. It’s like a bank account You’re constantly putting in, you’re constantly putting in. You’re constantly putting in And’re constantly putting in. You’re constantly putting in, and then, all of a sudden, something comes. Well, there’s something to draw out of it. Now, if you’re in a drought, I want to encourage you because we’re almost there. A drought is a good place to be. It’s okay. If you’re in a drought, you’re not as desperate as you think you are. I want to put hope in your hearts today. But faith, when it’s the only thing that’s left, it can feel like it is the hardest thing to do, hardest thing to do when faith is all that’s left. You need to know faith is all you need. That’s when faith works. That’s when faith works.

31:26
Let’s read verse 10 through 12 again. I want you to hear this. Hear this. So he arose. He listened to the word of the Lord. He arose to go to Zarephath when am I at? Went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, indeed, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called her and said Please bring me a little water in a cup that I may drink. And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said Please, bring me a morsel of bread in your hand that I may eat, hand that I may eat. So she said, as the Lord, your God, lives, I do not have only a handful of flour in a bin, a little oil in a jar. And see, I am gathering a couple sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die. All right, I’m going to take us on a side note here.

32:42
Have you ever noticed that when you’re in drought and when you’re in need, you you’re in need. You’re in drought, you’re in need? Doesn’t it always seem like God presents to you an opportunity, where someone else who’s in need is presented before you and the Lord is asking you to meet their need when you’re the one in need? This has happened to me many times. Many times it’s happened to my husband and I. Many times We’d be in need and yet we knew there were others in need. And the Lord would ask I want you to meet that need. And boy your gut, your natural man, your carnal man wants to say but God, if I give that, I won’t have what I need for my need, I won’t have what I need.

34:00
All along the way, during the drought process, god will pose a proposition to you to exercise your faith, to trust him, to acknowledge that he knows better and that if you obey him, if you believe him, then your actions will show that you believe him. It’s a good barometer to see where we are in our faith when we are desperate and someone else comes and says I know you’re desperate, but can you take care of me? Can you put yourself second me? Can you put yourself second? Could it be that the Lord is giving you the opportunity to see a miracle? To see a miracle Now, listen, I’m not saying that every time that you’re in need and every you know Joe Schmo comes along and wants you to take care of their needs.

34:58
I’m not telling you that every time that happens you’re supposed to do that. I’m not telling you that every time that God’s sending them, I’m not telling you that every time, that’s an act of faith that you have to take. This is why it is so essential to have a vibrant prayer life, because you need to know where you’re sent and who is sent to you. You need to understand, lord, what are you asking of me? What do you want from me? This precious widow. She didn’t have the luxury. She didn’t have the luxury. We are post-Jesus appearance, you know, on the scene and death and resurrection. We have the Holy Spirit living within us. She was banking on believing and having faith in the prophet’s word. She was really. This was a huge step of faith for her Huge, and Elijah was told by God to go to this particular widow.

35:58
Letting the Lord lead and direct is essential Essential, no matter what you’re facing today. Don’t go running around getting everybody else’s opinion. It’s one thing if you get all their opinions and then you take them all to the Lord and say, okay, lord, this is what everybody’s saying, but I need to hear from you. What was so like the heart of God that David always did was that he would go to God and say Lord, should I go up? Should I do this. We need to be taking every decision, every, even when it sounds crazy. Take it to the Lord, get on your knees, get on your face, ask him. Ask him If you’re in drought, get to the altar. I’m telling you, it’s the answer. It’s the answer Many times.

36:59
I think that God allows many of our droughts, in the same way that he did with the children of Israel. He uses this as a time to draw us much deeper and into a much richer life with him. And you can think how in the world is that possible? Or I don’t like this method, but I’m telling you, it’s the truth, it works. I have never been more close to God than in the worst times of my life. You need him so badly and he’s waiting right there that you sacrifice and let other things fall to the wayside, because you can’t survive without being with him. You need him and he uses these seasons, and maybe he’s using one in your life right now. He’s saying I want to be close to you, I have so much more for you, but you’ve got to come, you’ve got to be with me, you’ve got to hear me, you have to be close enough and in close enough relationship with me that you know my voice when I’m talking to you.

38:03
A drought can draw us into a much deeper and richer life with him. When we can learn his voice so well that even if he just whispers, you hear him, that even he just can you know by in your heart that he’s just looking your way, something happens and he just gives you that look and you know it and you know what to do. You know him so closely. He can just nudge, just that slightest little nudge, and you know the Lord wants me to do this. He wants me to go here. He’s saying yes to this, he’s saying no to that, he’s leading me, he’s protecting me, he’s taking care of me, he’s showing me the way I should go. A drought can produce that.

38:56
During a drought, let me explain naturally what happens with plants. This is fascinating and you will see the total correlation to the work of faith in our lives going through a drought. During a drought, plants will gain a growth strategy. They use a drought to gain a growth strategy. You can look this up. Their roots will grow deeper into the soil so that they can find moisture in deeper layers. To me that’s.

39:33
It’s like the example my mom used to always say she’s not a guppy, she’s a whale. She doesn’t like to. You know, you can go to the water and you can see where where fish are plentiful. You can see in the shallow water like literally where you go to step, a bunch of little guppies just all over the place and there are a bunch of them all over. There’s a bunch of guppies in the shallow water, but you won’t find a whale in shallow water. If a whale is in shallow water, it’s dying. It’s dying. A whale needs to be in the deep.

40:03
That’s why the scripture tells us deep calls unto deep. The Spirit knows the deep things of God is what the word says. That when I’m in a drought, I have to dive deep and I have to find where’s the water. What is God saying? What are the deep things that nourish, where’s the refreshing that I? It’s deep, it’s found in the deep things and they look for moisture.

40:32
These plants look for moisture. Like, intelligently, the plants are made to, they look for moisture. These plants look for moisture, like, intelligently, the plants are made to. They look it’s a strategy and they go deeper, finding where the moisture is. Their roots go down deeper. They slow, listen to this. They slow their shoot growth. So what you see on the surface of the ground, how quickly and how high they shoot up. They slow their shoot growth, their upward height, while instead lengthening their root system in an effort to reach more water. So they understand in order to survive, you don’t need to see a bunch of growth out here on the outside. I don’t have to be producing a bunch of fruit on the outside. All my works for everybody to see and all the things that the people look at that give us applause.

41:28
No, I’m going deep. I’m letting my roots grow and go deep into the soil. I’m going deep into God. I’m in my word for long periods of time. I am waiting on him, my prayer time. I get lost in him. I just pray until I know we are walking together, we are communicating. I’m not just doing all the talking, I’m listening, I’m hearing him. I’m gaining in wisdom and instruction from God. I pray over myself all the time. Lord, let this mind, which was in Christ Jesus, be also in me, that my roots are going deep and I am getting his word in me. I am being fed by the deep things.

42:08
They go through a structural change. The plants do structural change. The plants do, they literally go. There’s part of the strategy is a structural change. They actually have their architecture. The architecture of their root system will change to improve water and nutrient uptake. So they have changed their way of being so that they can receive more. They’re getting to church more. They’re getting around godly people more. They’re turning off the distractions of the social media and the nonsense of Netflix and all the garbage they’re getting. They’re changing their structure so that they can more easily receive the nutrients and the moisture that they need to, so that it will often be the thing that causes the increase in their root to shoot ratio that the deeper those roots go all of a sudden, there’s going to be that same ratio and length of power in the shoot that you see on the outside, that God does the work inside so that the outside is affected and you might be having drought all over on the outside and he’s saying I’m doing a work during this drought on the inside so we can support that growth on the outside. I mentioned this in the story last week of the bamboo Chinese bamboo tree, and it’s the same premise that for five years the roots go down deep. You don’t see anything on the outside. But boy, those roots are going down way deep and getting real strong because they’re about to shoot a hundred feet in a you know, in a day. So in a day, I’m not, I’m not exaggerating that suddenly. So we need to get this.

44:05
The root cells listen, the root cell, the actual cells of a plant, the root cells change their properties. They make the changes all the way to a cellular level to allow for continued expansion, even when their tissue is dehydrated. Lord, let it be so. Let it be so of me. I pray this is for you.

44:41
I want my root system, my cellular structure, to be so changed by my time, with God doing the deep inner work, that my outside is still expanding, that I am still expanding even in a dehydrated state, even with nothing coming in, even with no encouragement, even when I don’t see anything changing in the world around me, even when my finances still look the same. What is that a picture of? I walk by faith and not by sight, that I don’t care what I see. I know God is present and he is moving on my behalf. I am exercising my faith that, even in a drought, this will not stop growth, this will not stunt me, this will not change and alter my future. I will not lose hope. My God is working on my behalf and it will not always look like this. I can’t think after reading that I couldn’t think of a better illustration of how we can change and still expand and grow stronger, even in a season of drought.

46:05
You can, yes, you can, yes, you can. I don’t care what your circumstance is yelling at you, I don’t care what the devil’s saying to you, I don’t care what people around you are saying to you. If you have an altar that is intact and you have an obedient spirit, you are on the road to blessing. You are on the road to the abundance of rain. Every bit of this process every bit of it happens because we stay close to the altar, obedience to God’s directions can seem crazy, crazy, opposite, crazy, opposite of logic, especially when you’re in a drought. Especially when you’re in a drought.

46:53
I mean this widow, this sweet little widow woman who doesn’t have enough for herself or her son, is being asked to do an extreme opposite of logic thing. Give some to this man first. Give what little you have of your water and your oil and your flour to him. Bake him some food first before taking care of yourself. That’s an extreme opposite, but that’s why it takes faith. That’s why it looks like God, because you do something that should not produce the outcome you need, but by faith it produces an abundance.

47:43
And this is exactly what we see with this poor little widow woman. She gave what she had left. This is it. I mean, her mindset is this is it. We’re going to die. I’m giving away my last meal and you know, there’s some freedom in coming to the end of that. If you look at your circumstance and say, okay, what’s the worst that can happen? I’m going to die. So I die, you know, a day earlier. Well, you know we’re going to die anyway. If you’re truly at the end, maybe the mindset you need to take is you know what, if I can, if God doesn’t intervene, I’m going to die anyway. So just obey God, just do what he asked you to do. If you haven’t been able to change your circumstance, holding on to it’s not going to change it. It’s doing what God says. What does he say? Change it. It’s doing what God says. What does he say? Cast your bread on the water and in many days, all of a sudden, it’s going to be coming back to you in waves. Don’t be afraid to do what God’s asking you to do in this drought season. He’s not leading you astray. He loves you. He loves you.

48:59
But Elijah, who was continuing regularly at the altar, trusted he trusted God that if I go to this widow, that God’s going to provide for me through this widow. He trusted God to do that. He went to this widow. She says I have nothing. And Elijah had the boldness to ask her feed me first. That’s not easy. It’s not easy for him to go to someone who has nothing left and say give to me what you have left. He was doing so out of obedience. He was doing what God told him to do, which was a clue to him. Lord, you would never be so cruel as to take away from this widow woman who you’ve chosen to provide for me and not provide for her. His faith was in the asking. His faith was in the asking. Her faith was in the obedience of giving Both commands to both of them seemed crazy, but they both then were able to see the hand of God move.

50:27
Faith is the root system and we need to see that system grow, and I want to share it with you because it solves the problem we are all facing right now. The economy is going crazy, gas prices are soaring, there’s wars and rumors of wars. We’ve got everything hitting us all at once, with interest rates rising. You need to know what to do, and so many times we think we need the money, but you don’t need money. I’m telling you, the answer is you need God, and that’s exactly what we want to teach you through this book. We’ll give you practical ways to know what to do and how to do it, so that you get answers. Now you can find my book on Amazon. You can also go to jaimelucecom. You can also find this book at youdon’tneedmoneyyoujustneedgodcom. This book is available today, justneedgodcom. This book is available today.

51:16
Verses 17 through 24 tell us that this same woman, after God provides for her and takes care of her, her son dies and Elijah comes to raise her son. And we’re not going to spend time doing that. Let me do this. Let me read you the answer to their faith. I’ll touch on this and then we’re going to jump back to chapter 18. Because it took great faith to exercise their faith.

51:45
Let’s look at what God does, how God answers. We read it earlier, let’s, or we read almost to it. Let’s finish it up. So let’s go to verse 13. And Elijah said to her and maybe you need to hear this today, maybe you need to hear that there is a I hear you, god, I’m doing what you said and I’m trusting you. I’m doing, I’m saying yes to you, god, I’m believing you, I’m going to do it. I know this sounds crazy, but I’m going to obey, okay.

52:18
And Elijah said to her do not fear, I know, I know it’s our tendency, it is, it’s all of our tendency to be afraid. Do not fear. Can you hear how he’s wanting to speak calm and peace to her spirit? Do not fear. Can you hear how he’s wanting to speak calm and peace to her spirit? Do not fear. Even in this moment, as I’m saying this to you, can you receive that? Do not fear.

52:53
He said go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first and bring it to me, and afterward make some for yourself and your son. So he’s already speaking faith to her. There’s going to be enough for you and your son. Make me some first. There’s going to be enough. You and your son make me some first. There’s going to be enough, for thus says the Lord, god of Israel, the bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth. So he’s saying you’re going to have enough until the rain comes. You’re going to be okay the entire time. I’m not giving you just an extra day. You’re going to be okay until this whole thing is over. I will provide for you, I will meet your needs. I am taking care of you. I will make a way, do not fear.

53:59
So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Elijah. Folks, you’ve got this word right here, the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah, written for you so you can see it, you can have it. This word belongs to you. This word belongs to you. It belongs to you. Eat it. His word is our bread. Jesus is the bread of life. Eat it, be nourished, drink from him. He’s a fountain, a fountain flowing from deep within us. We have a place to drink from deep waters. We have food to eat. We can be nourished by this manna. You will get what you need. If you are in your word, if you are at the altar, if you are with the Lord, if you are eating what he’s giving you, you will be sustained. All will go well with you.

55:10
So then, that’s why we would see her become confused. Because they’re eating well, they’re being cared for, all of them are doing well, god’s providing and all of a sudden, her son dies. I mean shock of all shocks. Her son dies. I’m not going to read all the verses, but he dies and she goes to the man of God. She goes to Elijah and says what have I to do with you? I didn’t ask you to come here. I didn’t ask you to do this. What has I didn’t ask you to do this? Well, what has happened? Are you trying to come to, to um, make me be punished for my sins? That you would take my son, you’d give me food, and now I have to lose my son. She’s already lost her husband Like, and now you’re taking my son from me. What judgment has come upon me? And we tend to do this when something bad happens, we immediately say why am I being punished, what you know? And we immediately go there and we have to just say this is where we it. You have to understand this rocked Elijah too. He went before God and he’s like God. Why would you send me to her and allow such a terrible thing to happen to her? And he gave her instructions and he put him up in his room. He carried him up to the upper room.

56:17
I love this story. He stretches out on the boy and he prays over the boy and he’s crying out to God and he gets on and he stretches over him again. I don’t care what has died, that you need that thing to come back to life. You need resurrection power in your household, into your relationships. Maybe it’s your marriage, maybe it’s your business, maybe it’s your relationships, maybe it’s your marriage, maybe it’s your business, maybe it’s your health. You need resurrection power. And we just keep crying out to God. We say, lord, we don’t understand this, but we’re just coming to you. And he stretched out over that boy and he put his nose on his nose and his hands on his hands, his feet on his feet and he’s just breathing on him, he’s just praying over him, he’s just covering him with prayer. This is an altar, folks. This is an intact altar. Keep coming before the Lord in prayer. You’re going to see the same type of thing happen again.

57:07
We tend to think that the real man of God can pray once and get an answer. All of us, all of us, have to continue in prayer. You ask and you keep on asking. You knock and you keep on knocking. We keep asking, we keep crying out. We don’t stop. We say God, we need you to move, I need you to move on my behalf. I need you to answer my prayers. I’m coming to you, god and all. While we’re doing that, if we continue in that way, not just asking every day for the thing we want over and over again, asking every day for the thing we want over and over again the scripture talks about not just giving a repetitious prayer sorry, but we are to come before him, seeking him, yes but also knowing I am in a relationship with you and you answer, you give me instructions, I follow those instructions. This is a relationship with great reciprocity. We are both in this, a covenant relationship, we are both a part of this, and so when we have a healthy, intact altar, we have a relationship with God, we still have to go before him multiple times.

58:10
I don’t know how long the drought will last. I don’t know how long the thing has been dead. Keep praying, keep praying, keep praying, keep praying, keep praying, keep praying. One miracle will beget another. You have a miracle of Elijah being fed by the birds and drinking by the brook, and then he goes to the widow and he gets a miracle meal. He’s hungry and he gets the last meal and in turn, she gets fed, their house gets fed, they’re all fed, and the guarantee is they get fed until this is all over with, when it’s no longer a problem and you’ll have plenty. You don’t have to worry, god’s taking care of it.

58:54
One act of obedience and one miracle begets another. If you need God to be moving in your life, let’s go from faith to faith. Let’s have miracle after miracle. Let’s let God move in our life, direct our life, answer our prayers. We bring them to him, but we wait on him. We wait on him. We follow his instructions.

59:16
Right, okay, now let’s let’s go to chapter 18, because you can never get, you never get so close to god that faith isn’t necessary. You never get so close to god that faith isn’t necessary. And even elijah Would have to sit still and cry out to god for answers. Which god did? He raised that boy back to life. Just sit still and cry out to God for answers. Which God did? He raised that boy back to life. He completely did. In fact, it says let me read you the last verse.

59:43
And the woman said to Elijah now by this I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is the truth. In your mouth is the truth he’s saying. She said I know you’re a man of God. Interesting how important that was for Elijah. What insecurity he must have been dealing with. Because when he prayed in chapter 18 before God in front of the prophets of Baal, he said in his prayer that he wanted them to know that God had sent him. Let me find that for you real quick so you can see it, because this was one of his prayers, his continual prayers about himself and his walk with the Lord. You can see the insecurity there. And he says let it be known this day that you are God in Israel and I am your servant, and that I have done all these things at your word. He wanted them to know God really did speak. This really is from God and I really am doing what God wants me to do. He wanted them to know this. That was in chapter 18, verse 36. Okay, now let’s drop down, let’s go to verse, let’s read 40, but then we’re going to take us into the last little bit, chapter verse 40.

01:00:59
And Elijah said to them seize the prophets of Baal, do not let one of them escape. So they seized them and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon and executed them there. He got rid of any possibility of these people being drawn away by these false prophets and all this nonsense that they were involved in and serving false idols. Ok, he dealt, he got done away with it and you might need to do that in your life. You might need to when God is proving who he is in your life. You mean, you may need to cut some things off. You may, you may need to execute some things. Get rid of some things. Get rid of some people, get rid of some practices, some habits. Get rid of some people. Get rid of some practices, some habits. Get rid of them, do away with them so they don’t draw you away again. All right. Verse 41.

01:01:42
Then Elijah said to Ahab go up, eat and drink, for there is a sound of abundance of rain. Now look what happens. So Ahab went up to eat and drink and Elijah went up to the top of Carmel. Then he bowed down on the ground and put his face between his knees. I mean, he is down. I don’t know if you’ve ever done that. Gotten down and put your head between your knees and just rocked and prayed and cried out to God. And you’re just desperate. I mean he’s. I’ve heard it said that. They said he put his head between his knees so he could block out the sound of everything else he may have. He may have, but I could just see the posture. I could just see the heart posture. Oh God, okay, you said it’s time to rain and I’ve got to be obedient. Now. He didn’t say he could have said God told me he was going to send rain and just never prayed, just walked away and never prayed.

01:02:34
Look at what a man of God does. He doesn’t just talk and then walk away from the relationship. He doesn’t arrogantly pronounce and walk away and act like okay, there, I said it, I did it and be done. He gets into a heart posture of staying in a needy place. God, I don’t see clouds in the sky. You just told me to tell him the abundance of rain is coming. I need you to act on my behalf. I need you to back me up. I need you to back me up.

01:03:05
And he gets down on his sits down, puts his head between his knees and he’s crying out to God. And he says to the servant go now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and he said go now, look toward the sea. So he went up and looked and he said there’s nothing. Can you imagine being the servant to come say it hasn’t worked? Yet you’ve seen another doctor, another bad report, no help. Yet it’s not working. Yet the relationship it’s not mending. Yet I don’t even see. I don’t even see. I don’t even see a smile, I don’t even see the hint of a change. Nothing’s changed, which makes it only feel worse. There is nothing.

01:03:48
And seven times he said go again when in drought, go again, go again, pray again, ask again, seek again. Don’t give up. Keep praying, ask again and, in faith, go, look again, keep looking, keep your eyes in expectation to see God answer that prayer to bring your suddenly moment, to bring a downpour where there was once great famine and drought, go again. Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said there is a cloud as small as a man’s hand. I mean it’s not much. When I made that phone call, they responded they didn’t. They didn’t seem as cut off as before, they smiled, or you know, there was change, there was a little something. There was just a little something. I just saw a little something. I had a phone call. I’m not sure if it’s a good report yet, but something feels different. Something seems different.

01:05:17
Then it came to pass the seventh time that he said there is a cloud as small as a man’s hand rising out of the sea. Those roots went down. It’s rising up. I’m seeing a little bit of growth. I’m seeing a. It’s rising up. I’m seeing a little bit of growth. I’m seeing a little bit come up. So this is what Elijah said Go up. I mean this is important. Go up.

01:05:54
Say to Ahab, prepare your chariot and go down before the rain stops you. I don’t know if you’ve ever been a rainstorm where you’ve had to pull over and stop. We were, we have been. It’s not To drive in. It is insanity. You can’t do it. You’re going to harm yourself. So much rain is coming that you better go now. You better prepare now. You better believe me now and God might be telling you in your spirit you better start preparing now. I’ve got a great downpour, it’s coming. Get yourself ready. This was faith talking At this point, there was only a cloud the size of a man’s hand.

01:06:39
How you can even see a cloud that size is beyond me. But that he saw it. He saw it and it was by faith. By faith, elijah says go, tell him he better hurry or it’s going to stop him. Now it happened and in the meantime that the sky became black, with clouds and wind and there was a heavy rain. So Ahab rode away and went to Jezreel. Then the hand of the Lord came upon Elijah. It was going to be so wet and Elijah didn’t have a chariot that God provided again, and he girded up his loins and ran ahead of Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel. He believed it so much that supernaturally, god empowered him to run faster than a chariot to make sure he’d make it before the rain came, that he could get home and he could get into a safe place to be prepared for the downpour.

01:07:33
Praise God. God has a word for you today. When, in drought, go again, because I hear the sound of the abundance of rain. Can you hear it? Can you hear it? Go again, go again, look again, look again, expect again, look again, expect again, expect again.

01:08:01
God will be faithful. You stay faithful to the altar. You stay faithful to the altar. Grow your root system. I don’t care how dry it is. Grow your root system. Care how dry it is. Grow your root system. Go deep, change your cellular structure. Get a strategy. Get a strategy for growth. God will provide and the drought will end.

01:08:37
Let me pray for you, father.

01:08:38
I hear you.

01:08:39
I hear the sound of the abundance of rain. You are so faithful, father. I pray over every hearer right now, that they are encouraged in their spirit, that they’re ready to dive deep, that they’re getting in your presence. They are hearing you, they are being encouraged by you. Their root system is growing. They’re receiving moisture and health to their bones.

01:09:13
Father, prepare for them. Father, prepare for them wherever their widow is, wherever their provision is, wherever the substance is. God, give them clear instructions, show them the way, and may they have the strength and obedience and faith to believe you that you will take care of them. This is just for a season. It will end.

01:09:41
This drought will not remain that. You have an abundance of rain, ready, ready. They won’t run out. There will be enough oil, there will be enough flour, there will be enough water. You are their sustainer. You are their sustainer. May they receive what they need from you today, god. Let them be removed from every hindering spirit, everything that comes to cloud their vision, to cause them to fear. We speak peace to their spirits today, father. Speak peace, do not be afraid. Fear not. Fear not, for your God is faithful. Your God is faithful. Lord, we thank you for your precious word. May it nourish our souls, may we feed on the manna you have provided today. Do a miracle, god, and may we hear the testimonies, and it’s in Jesus name that we pray. Amen. Thank you so much for taking time in the word with me today. I pray this was an encouragement to your spirit. Share this with someone who needs to hear it. Click the bell, you know. Click the like, subscribe. Do all the things If you want to know when another episode is coming out.

01:11:05
We do one once a week, but you’ll get a notification. If you’ve subscribed, you can get a hold of my blogs. You can get my book. You Don’t Need Money, you Just Need God. Any previous episodes? You can go to my website, jaimelucecom, or you can send me an email at mail at jaimelucecom. I’d love to hear from you, I’d love to pray for you and it’s been my pleasure to spend time with you today. Thank you, god bless you. We’ll see you next time.