Having Faith During Recession
Key Passage: 1 Kings 17:1
Date: June 7, 2024
Doing a series on the minor prophets, and it just felt like the Lord kind of changed that to talk about faith. Such a time, I think, would be detrimental if we lost our faith that God could work in 2022 and 2023 and on down the line. So, just for a little bit, this thing of faith.
We’re going to be over here in 1st Kings 17 in just a moment. Kind of wait for everybody to get in here. We’ll get going. Sometimes if you don’t get them here at the beginning, they miss the big part. But First Kings 17.
The title for the internet is “Having Faith During Recession.” Let me just talk to you for a second before we read. I’m not trying to predict. I’m for sure not one that has studied it out like Altun, not as smart as many others that have studied it out, but many, many think America is about to enter into recession.
Very common. I’ll just read for you some headlines to get our minds going that way a little bit, and then we’re going to get to the Word of God. Bloomberg says one in three chance of recession this year. Wall Street says recession is coming. Consumers say it’s already here. Ethan Harris [of the New York Times] expects global growth to slow to almost zero in the second half of next year. Fortune magazine says over two-thirds of economists believe recession is likely to hit in 2023. I’m just reading some headlines; I’m not trying to be an expert on that. I just want to get our minds going that way a little bit. Whether it happens or not, we want to live by faith, and we don’t want to live by fear.
Sometimes just reading or thinking of that brings fear without it even happening. The gas prices alone bring fear to many. The average gas price today, I checked this morning, is $4.78 across the nation. Someone will say, well, that’s down a little bit. Yeah, but it’s up over 50% in the last year. So a drop of a dime is no big deal. But what do you do? I want to talk for a little bit tonight about having faith during recession.
In First Kings 17, look at verse number one, if you would please. We’ll just use that to kickstart us a little bit tonight. Would you please stand as we read God’s word together? First Kings 17, verse number one. The Bible says, “Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab.”
Ahab was a very wicked king. I don’t think he was the worst guy in the world, but he wouldn’t stand up to anybody, specifically often to his wife, Jezebel. The Bible even talks about how she led him to do evil things. I read this morning that Ahab wanted that vineyard, Naboth’s vineyard, right beside him. Naboth said, “I’m not selling that.” Ahab went home, sucked his thumb, turned his face to the wall, and whined like a big baby. His wife came and said, “I’ll take care of you, big boy. You’re the king.” Sure enough, she had Naboth murdered. Ahab knew about it. She said, “He’s dead. Go get that garden.” Ahab didn’t do anything about it. And all those false prophets of Baal—Ahab was just a wicked, sinful guy.
The Bible doesn’t tell us much about Elijah. I love this: Elijah just pops on the scene with his long finger pointed right at the nose of the wicked king, giving it to him. This is the first sign of Elijah. He’s talking to Ahab in the palace. This is what he says: “As the Lord God of Israel liveth”—now, I like these next four words—“before whom I stand.” Elijah says that phrase twice. He’s standing before the president, if you will, with all his Secret Service around. Humanly speaking, they could have taken him out, but Elijah said, “I’m standing before Jehovah God.” His predecessor, Elisha, says the same statement twice. I love that: “Before whom I stand.” By the way, it’s so important who you hang around. I can pretty much tell what attitude you have by who you’ve been hanging around with. Elisha says the same thing later on.
He says, “There shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” There is boldness there. No dew, no rain. If you have no rain, you’re in trouble. If you have dew, at least the crops get a little watering. He says there will not be any dew nor rain. Friend, that equals recession—a real bad recession. Things are going down; that’s what they lived off of. It didn’t rain, no rain or dew, for three and a half years. That is a major recession. Now, let’s see how Elijah handled this and what God did during this recession. Having faith during recession…
Recession is coming; it’s there. By the way, it should not have been. God had told them very clearly: If you go against God, recession comes. No rain is coming. Let me read it for you from Deuteronomy chapter 11, verses 16 and 17: “Take heed to yourself that your heart be not deceived, and you turn aside and serve other gods and worship them. And then the Lord’s wrath be kindled against you, and he shut up the heaven, that there be no rain, that the land yield not her fruit, lest you perish quickly from off the good land which the Lord giveth you.” They shouldn’t have been surprised. They knew what would happen if they went against God.
We apply this to America. I don’t know what’s going to happen; I’m not trying to make a prediction. But can I just say a couple things on that line? If recession were to happen, it may be the best thing that ever happened to America. It may be the closest or the best avenue God could take us to revival. If we get revival, friend, all that other stuff will take care of itself. Don’t be so fearful of it. It may be a great thing if God were to choose that. You’re thinking, “Wait a second, preacher. We don’t want to hear that tonight. That’s not good news.” Churches typically do fairly well during recession time. A strong, biblical church does fairly well. Why is that? Because people’s hearts are tender; they know they need God. When everything is going good on Sunday, they are traveling, they are at the lake, at the golf course, anywhere else. When things bottom out, people start looking up. God works in their hearts, and they start to tithe, give, and obey the Lord. While the church starts doing good and God’s people start getting revival, things happen. But what would it look like if God allowed that in America? I don’t know. But I would say this: In this situation, God was allowing it and causing it.
I would say this: No matter what is going on in your life, always realize God is allowing that, however big the recession or however little. God’s allowing that in your life for a reason; He has a plan for that. Look to God for everything—I mean everything. That’s what the Bible says: “Pray without ceasing in everything with everything, prayer and supplication.” God is working; God is in control of that. Pray about everything.
This is an interesting verse. If you look over it quickly in Ecclesiastes—keep your finger there because we’re about to go back to First Kings—look over to Ecclesiastes chapter nine. It talks about how God oversees everything. This major recession was happening in Israel, and it wasn’t happening without the hand of God. Those things that happen in your life, God is allowing or sometimes causing them for a reason. Always look to Him.
Look in Ecclesiastes chapter nine, verse number 11. Solomon, the wisest man, says, “I returned and saw under the sun that the race is not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favor to men of skill.” Here is the key phrase: “but time and chance happeneth to them all.”
Time and chance. You ever meet someone very wealthy, and you think there’s nothing better about them than many other people? Why? Time and chance have favored them all. You say that person is so talented, they have everything going their way. Some people work so hard at their career and do everything just right, but they are never successful as the world defines it. Why? Time and chance happeneth to them all. Now, help me out: Who is in charge of time and chance? God is. Friend, I’m saying it doesn’t matter what’s going on in your life; always look to the Lord. God is allowing that thing, and you ought to always look to the Lord. He’s in charge of time and chance. He’s in control of all that. We think the strongest will win and the fastest will win, and the wise ones—no, friend, time and chance happens to them all. God’s in control of that. Always seek Him; always look to Him.
Let’s get back to the original thing: living by faith during or even the talk of recession, whether it happens or not. How did God take care of Elijah during this recession? Did God take care of His people during tough times? Let’s look back over in 1st Kings 17. Look in verse number 2, please. We’re in verse number 2: “The word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Get thee away from hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the Brook Cherith that is before Jordan.” Isn’t that interesting? God says, “Elijah, they are going to be after you. Recession is coming. Go hide.” It reminds me that during tough times, a Christian ought to go get alone with God, go to the secret place and dwell there.
There is some debate about exactly where that brook is, but for the most part, it looks like the region Elijah is from. The Lord might be saying, “Elijah, tough times are coming. Ahab is going to be after you. Go back to the woods where you used to play and have a retreat on Me. Go out to the brook, take it easy.” God takes such good care of His people even during recession and tough times. Look at verse number four: “And it shall be that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee.” So he went and did according to the word of the Lord, for he went and dwelt by the Brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning.
Wouldn’t it be amazing? You wake up, you don’t have to worry about where your next meal is coming from. You have water right there, and the birds brought him bread and flesh. That could be sausage patties from Crockerboro. Tough to get any better than that. The rest of verse 6 says, “bread and flesh in the morning and bread and flesh in the evening.” Maybe Ahab was having a cookout and had the best steak. Maybe the ravens stole rolls from a wicked baker. But every morning, every night—all he had to do was kick back, relax, and spend time with God. He’s out there by the brook, drinking good water, and maybe fishing sometimes. God takes care of His people during recession and tough times. He commanded the ravens—God’s creation—and they took care of him.
Things change. Look in verse number seven: “And it came to pass after a while”—maybe a year, maybe three and a half years—“that the brook dried up… because there had been no rain in the land.” Has it ever occurred to you that nothing is ever a surprise to God? He knew this was going to happen, and He has it under control. I’ve heard different people talk about famine coming because of wheat from Russia, Ukraine, and America, but I’m just saying if that were to happen, God has you. He knew this was happening.
Look in verse number eight: “And the word of the Lord came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon.” That is not in Israel; it’s a little bit north, and it is Gentile territory. “Behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” Commanded her. So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering sticks. He called to her and said, “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel that I may drink.” That shows he’s a country boy; he says, “Fetch me.”
I wonder how scarce water was up there, as there had been no dew or rain for three and a half years eventually. But he asks for a little water. Maybe it was precious stuff. The Lord had already commanded her, so she was ready to comply.
Verse 11: “And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.” Wait a second, things are about to get serious now. You want a little water? Okay. But you want some bread? Many say the crops were grown more down around Israel, which was in famine big time. There was a shortage here.
Verse 12: She said, “As the Lord, thy God, liveth”—that is Jehovah—“I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse. And, behold, I am gathering two sticks.” Commentaries often try to explain away the Bible, saying it doesn’t mean two sticks, but a few. I’ll just take the Bible: it says two sticks. “Then I may go in and dress it for me and for my son, that we may eat it and die.” That’s all she had. Her credit cards were maxed out. This was their last meal.
Verse 13: Elijah said unto her, “Fear not.” I like that. When God, through His Spirit, whispers, “Fear not.” It doesn’t matter what tomorrow brings; fear not. There are 63 times the Bible says, “Fear not.” Don’t get worried when you read all the headlines. Fear not. What am I going to do tomorrow? Fear not. What am I going to do if I lose my job? Fear not. Elijah says, “Fear not.” It’s a wonderful thing.
Elijah said unto her, “Fear not. Go and do as thou hast said. But make me thereof a little cake first.” Can we pause just a second on that first? I have that underlined in my Bible. When it talks about giving to the Lord, God is always about first fruits giving. Check Proverbs 3 and other places. It is always first fruits. Why? Because it is a matter of faith. It’s not a matter of God wanting your money; God has cattle on a thousand hills. But it is a matter of faith; it is impossible to please God without it. If I say, “Well, I have enough left over to tithe this week,” that’s not faith. It doesn’t take any faith when you have everything taken care of. But when I give my first fruits out of faith and say, “Lord, I’m going to live trusting in You to take care of the rest,” that is faith. God responds to that. That is why Malachi 3 says, “Go ahead and tithe your biblical tithe of your first fruits.” He said, “I’ll take care of you. I’ve got you. I’ll rebuke the devourer. I’ll give you a blessing.” It is a matter of faith. Elijah was simply practicing the principle of first fruits. When the children of Israel went into the Promised Land, the first city, Jericho—don’t touch it, it’s cursed. The first one, after that, you can have it. God’s first fruits giving—that is the principle right here.
Verse 13 continues: “But make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me: and afterward make for thee and for thy son. 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, Jehovah, sendeth rain upon the earth.”
God can make the little last. He can make whatever little bit you have sufficient. I wonder how many other widows and people died from starvation during those three years. But with that little bit they had, God said it would be sufficient.
Verse 15: “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house did eat many days.” She learned to obey. It is a great thing when God’s people just learn to obey and follow God’s plan. Later in this chapter, her son died. Praise the Lord, because of Elijah’s trial, she knew where to go: to Elijah, the man of God. Elijah raised the boy back to life. Look what she says in the last verse of chapter 17, verse 24: “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord Jehovah in thy mouth is true.” Her faith grew. She learned: Don’t live in fear. God has it. There are so many lessons in first fruits giving. When you go through your trial, God is trying to grow someone else through it by watching you.
God often provides in the most unlikely ways—ways you never dream of. Elijah went to the Brook Cherith, provided for by ravens. Ravens, according to the Old Testament, are unclean birds. God said, “I want to work in unlikely ways.” He commanded the unclean birds to provide for him. Then He sent him to Zarephath, to the Gentiles. Not only that, but it was a widow woman. They didn’t have welfare or Social Security back then. A widow woman is usually very poor, and she had to provide for herself and her son. Later, her son dies, and she says something about a skeleton coming back to haunt her. She was probably the most unlikely person you would ever think God would use to provide for a prophet of Israel.
My old preacher used to say, “Don’t build your church on the riches of the rich; build it off the piety of the poor,” just the common people obeying God.
How many have ever been in a car accident, and somehow through that accident—maybe through insurance—you paid some bills while in a tight spot? Raise your hand. That’s often just in unlikely ways. Thirteen and a half years ago, my wife wanted a Yorkie, and they cost a lot of money. We hadn’t been in this location too long, and I said, “You’re married to a preacher; we don’t have that kind of money.” She prayed for a Yorkie, and within 24 hours, God gave her one for free. These dogs are worth hundreds of bucks, she tells me. Bell, our dog, is now 14 and a half years old. For years, I don’t know how many litters Bell had. She loved having babies; she’s a great mother. We paid a ton of bills off of Bell because she paid a lot of bills back in the day. God so often provides in ways you never dream of. It was a Gentile widow woman.
I recall years ago going to a church auction. We had reserved $1,500 to buy a tent we often set up. I was bidding, and it went up to $1,500—that’s all we had—and someone else was bidding higher. A widow lady, Miss Darlene, who is in heaven today, tapped me on the shoulder. She said, “Pastor, I’ll give you $500. Keep bidding.” It took exactly $2,000 to buy that tent. We have used that tent so many times; people have been saved under that tent. Miss Darlene, a little lady, helped provide through unlikely means. God has a thousand ways to make a way for you. Stop living in fear. God had already commanded that widow lady and the ravens; He had all that planned.
Your trials, whether it be a recession or whatever, are not just about you; they are for others also. Look at what happened to this widow lady. It wasn’t just about Elijah. God was working on this widow lady’s heart. Because of Elijah’s trial and trouble, God had spoken to that widow lady. I don’t know if she was saved at this point or not. She had some kind of connection with God; God was speaking to her. God was dealing with this lady because Elijah was troubled. When you go through troubles, I guarantee you God is trying to use it to work in somebody else’s life.
Look at verse 12 again: “And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth…” She knew He was Jehovah, but she said, “thy God.” Maybe she wasn’t saved, or maybe she was just a weak Christian. Look in verse 13: Elijah said, “Fear not.” She was learning: Trust God; don’t live in fear. God was teaching this widow lady to live by faith and to practice first fruits giving. God was growing this widow lady through Elijah’s trial. It’s not just about us; God is trying to grow someone else through it by watching us.
Verse 15: “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah; and she, and he, and her house did eat many days.” She learned to obey. It is a great thing when God’s people just learn to obey and follow God’s plan. Later in this chapter, her son died. Praise the Lord, because of Elijah’s trial, she knew where to go: to Elijah, the man of God. Elijah raised the boy back to life. Look what she says in the last verse of chapter 17, verse 24: “Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord Jehovah in thy mouth is true.” Her faith grew. She learned: Don’t live in fear. God has it. There are so many lessons in first fruits giving. When you go through your trial, God is trying to grow someone else through it by watching you.
God often uses us when we are weak. Elijah was weak. His nation was in famine—weak. Elijah had no food, no water. He was a refugee, running from the king. He was weak; perhaps heartbroken that he had to flee his home country. God often uses you when you are down at the bottom, barely making it, when it is all you can do to put one foot in front of the other. That is when God uses you. God used Elijah in this lady’s life in a great way. It may be that recession needs to come so we get weak, and God can work in a great way. It may be that when we get low, God does His greatest work. He takes care of His people.
Original File: Having Faith During Recession - Pastor Paul Chisgar - Wednesday PM 06062022