Morning Moments

The Lord Giveth and the Lord Taketh Away…And Giveth again.

1 Kings 17:17-24
[1Ki 17:17] And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. [18] And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? [19] And he said unto her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. [20] And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? [21] And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. [22] And the LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. [23] And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. [24] And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.

Today is recognized the world over as the day of the crucifixion of our Savior, Jesus Christ. The true and only Jewish Messiah, the Passover Lamb was slain. I see that in the above story of a mother whose only possession was her son. She had taken care of the prophet. She had given all she had in terms of sustenance, and she received more in return than she ever needed.

But what of her son, her only son, how willing is she to give him up to God? It is easy to give money, things, even thoughts, but it is tough to give our children to God. We have four precious children and six dear grandsons. I would say we have given them to God, but what if He takes one? What if it happened to us as it happened to Job, who lost all of his children? God is most satisfied with that which is closest to our heart.

What is in your heart of hearts? What is this thing that you have clung to all these years that you have never been willing to give to the Lord? Maybe it is your need for affection. Maybe it is your pride. Maybe it is our spouse. I don’t know, but you do and God does. What, by giving up to God, would leave you with nothing and no one but HIM. Is He enough?

Last night I visited the hospital where a friend is dying of cancer. The doctor told her she might have three weeks. She and her husband have been married almost 62 years and they married when he was 16 and she was 12. Now he is losing her. He has resigned himself to it and she has too. They both confess their faith in Christ and live for Him, but 62 years is a long time to live with someone you must say goodbye to. Oh, we say, they will be together again, but it doesn’t lessen the hurt.

I think it was that way with the Father as He had to face giving up His only Son simply because He loved us. We love Him because He first loved us and gave Himself for us. The lady of Zarephath got her son back but somewhere down the road she had to give him up again. The husband of the dying wife will indeed be with her again in heaven, but no death ever hurt so much as the death of the sinless, blameless Son of God, but He agreed to do it in order to share the very life of God with us who spend so much time hurting Him by our rebellion and disobedience, our indifference and apathy, our desire to take and unwillingness to give.

Remember, J. Sidlow Baxter said, “What we give He takes, what He takes He cleanses, what he cleanses He fills, and what He fills He uses.

BLESSINGS!