The Sound of Rain

1 Kings 16-18, Luke 22:47-71

"And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; for there is a sound of abundance of rain." 1 Kings 18:41

For 3 years, there was no rain or dew upon the ground in Israel. The Word of The Lord had spoken this to king Ahab through the prophet Elijah in order to judge Israel for Ahab's wickedness in causing Israel to sin & serve Baal as his wife Jezebel did. In not allowing there to be rain, would the people thirst for God?

With no rain for that long, it would be a miracle of great magnitude to pray & see rain again...but that's what Elijah saw constantly! When God restrained the rain, He provided for Elijah by a brook with ravens bringing him food in the morning & evening! When that dried up, God pointed him to a widow woman...not only to help himself, but to help her & her son as well!

"For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth."

1 Kings 17:14

The barrels continued to overflow! They were originally empty...and not only the barrels were empty, but the people too...empty & void of God! But again, through Elijah's faith & the widow's obedience, they saw the power of God! When there wasn't, GOD WAS ENOUGH! He always is enough! He causes things to come to pass when we see no sign or chance of them happening!

"And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word."

1 Kings 18:21

This was an easy question for Elijah to ask, because he clearly knew the answer! He saw the times that God made something out of nothing. And it wasn't because Elijah was perfect, but it was because he chose God!! And God continued to bless him! So, are we thirsting for God, or something else to satisfy? Do we trust God & hear the sound of rain, even when the rain hasn't come yet?

"Hear me, O LORD , hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, and the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. And when all the people saw it , they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD , he is the God; the LORD, he is the God."

1 Kings 18:37‭-‬39

...And The Lord did it again! He provided for Elijah, the widow, and now showed forth His power to all Israel AND the prophets of the false god Baal! From food to fire, God provides! And the sound of rain was still ringing in Elijah's ears...he knew that wasn't far behind now that many hearts were thirsting for God again!

"And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud out of the sea, like a man's hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot , and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not." 1 Kings 18:44

Finally, after 7 times of looking out, Elijah's servant saw the cloud! But remember, before he saw it, Elijah heard it! He saw it in faith! He knew it was coming because he knew his GOD! Peter also knew his God, Jesus, and walked with Him & talked with Him and saw miracles firsthand...but unlike Elijah, he had trouble admitting it sometimes...

"And the Lord turned, and looked upon Peter. And Peter remembered the word of the Lord, how he had said unto him, Before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice. And Peter went out, and wept bitterly." Luke 22:61‭-‬62

Elijah didn't have Jesus with him as Peter did, but he was able to have incredible faith! Peter knew what he had done, and it convicted his heart immensely. He knew Who Jesus was...and after this, he gained boldness & faith as he had never had before! Sometimes, we have to be still & listen. We will hear the sound of rain. We will hear Jesus speaking to our hearts if we don't let it get drowned out by other negative influences. We will build faith getting to know Jesus, because we will then know a miracle is on its way! Most of the time, we are like Peter. We let fear paralyze our faith. But let's strive to be more like Elijah (which Peter did over time), and call things not as though they were:

"(as it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were." Romans 4:17