Sustained Miracles
By: Fleming James Ivory
First things First! you were born a winner, sustained to survive and actualize your purpose on this planet, Earth. Millions of sperms raced you to an opportunity of becoming a live homo sapience and did not make it to the finish line. You made it. you won and if you are reading this Moment of Power today, YOU ARE STILL WINNING!. You are a sustained Miracle. Praise God!
I John 4:4 (as quoted from last MOP)
“Ye are of God, little children,
and have overcome them; because, greater is he that is in you,
than he that is in the world.”
Sustain means to endure, be consoled, be encouraged and (may I add), empowered to persevere. The Hebrew derivative of the Greek origin of miracle are mopet, dunamis (power), teras (signs and wonders, which means a miracle is when something of wonder happens so powerfully that it leaves the witness in awe, in wonder, due to its usual unlikeliness to have occurred. Basically, God allows possibilities in the face of impossibilities.
…..With men this is impossible; but, with God
all things are possible (Matthew 19:26).”
The indices of the scriptures I just quoted reminds us (God’s people) that there are times he (God) wants humans to fathom that he’s God and can/will prove he’s God, even when he allows the unusual to happen to sustain our faith and yes, our hope.
when Israel became impatient with God )again) during the rule of King Ahab (See I King Chapter 17 for references), who married Jezebel, the daughter of Ethbaal, they conformed to practices of the Canaanites and worshipped other gods, one in particular Baal (the god of rain, fertility and vegetations. As much as God had already done for them, they believed Baal provided rain for them. Elijah’s mission then became to return their hearts back to the God that brought them out of Egypt and gave them the victory over so many enemies.
Elijah first spoke to them prophetically telling them that it will not rain for three years. God honored his word and would not allow rain as prophesied by the prophet. The Lord told Elijah to hide himself by the Brook Cherith. Such a famine came that even Elijah needed a miracle to survive himself. To sustain him, the Lord allowed a raven (a vulture=birds that collect the flesh of the dead) to bring him flesh and bread. The also drank water from the brook (creek, bayou, watercourse), not a clean desirable, sanitized way to quench the human’s thirst; nevertheless, it was his first test to be sustained and endure.
Next, God sent him to a widow in Zarephath;
….I have commanded a widow there to sustain you (I king 17:9).
When he arrived, the first things he asked for was a little water and a morsel of bread, “in thine hand (in your hand)”. ex exclaimed. I believe he wanted her to personally reach out and participate in her own miracle. You see if what we have is not enough to meet the need, then what we really have is a seed. The woman, who had a son, tells the prophet she really only have enough for her and her son and that after she prepares it for them that she expects it won’t be enough (paraphrasing), causing the inevitable, death.When she invests faith into the situation and obey the man of God, she has enough to sustain her, Elijah, the son and more than enough. It did not run out and it ran over, as Elijah promised her. Part of us being sustained even in tremendously difficult time, is for us to depend on God, our faith in him and his promises:
After that, here son fell sick and died. Elijah asked God if he brought him to the woman’s house to cause such bad thing, the death of her son. God worked another miracle to sustain all of them. Elijah asked the woman to bring hi her dead son, and as the story goes, the son’s soul returned to his body. This is the testimony that came out of Elijah visit to the woman’s house:
” 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 true (I king 17:24).”
Three years of drought finally ended. Now, it was time for what I call the “main event,” the main reason, at that time, God sustained Elijah, to prove God is God, causing his people to return to him (See I King 18: 17- 39 for reference).
Ahab went to meet Elijah. When he saw Elijah, Ahab accused Elijah of causing trouble for Israel (remember the water drought?). Elijah reminded him that he caused the people to turn against God and to worship other gods (), mainly to follow Baal. Elijah by this time seemed to be done with Ahab’s foolishness (in my southern accent, lol). So, he invited Ahab to bring his prophets of Baal (450) and 450 prophets who were flunkies of Jezebel to Mt. Carmel for a show down. He told the people to stop being indecisive as it relate to whether or not they will worship God or other gods. He said, “Let the God that answers by fire be God.” After giving Ahab and his 900 prophets a bullock to dress and he (just one man with God) a bullock to dress, I can hear Elijah saying as Arsenio Hall used to say, “Let’s get busy!”
Ahab’s team of baal worshippers called on their gods, crying, screaming, dancing, shouting and even cutting themselves. They continued day and night, to no avail. Elijah asked mocked them, “perhaps your god is sleep, maybe he’s on a vacation
or can’t hear you. They continued the show, until Elijah got tired and decided to put a stop to the weak god games. At any case, no fire came down after the circus show of Ahab. Mind you the dressed their altar and sacrifice without placing water on it.
Elijah dressed his bullocks, placing twelve stones (representing the tribes of Israel) around it on the altar after he repaired it from the damages caused by his opponents desperate attempts. He then drenched the altar with four barrels of water. He repeated the drenching three times. There was no earthly way of igniting a fire on a flooded altar. Elijah asked God to show up and show out as we used to say. his desire for God to prove he’s God wasn’t for some mystical show of muscles; but, so that the people who had lost their way, falling false gods will see that God is real and sustains his people. He prayed and asked God to hear him, not for his sake but basically for those who were listening and watching. God showed up and consume the altar, the sacrifice and all around it, with fire. The fire even licked up the water in the trenches (See Acts Chapter 2, for later reading). When the people witnessed what God had done they shouted…
“The Lord, he is the God (I Kings 18: 39).”
Notice how throughout I Kings 17 and 18, Elijah was sustained beyond terrestrial norms:
1. He survived three years of no rain, and was hidden in a brook, drinking out of it.
2. A Raven (birds of prey, largest in the crow family) brought him flesh and bread. Such birds are known for collecting dead flesh.
3. The widow’s last crumbs and water was amazingly increased when she believed the word of God via The Man of God.
4. The widow’s son died; but, was another opportunity for God to prove that even at the worse situation , God can deliver and he raised the son from death.
5. Elijah’s God (our God) answered by fire even after Elijah drenched the alter and sacrifice with water (3 times).
God allows challenges to strengthen our faith. Trust in and courage in the peace, power, protection and prosperity he promises us (his people) can and will sustain us even against earthly odds.
Me surviving losing everything, becoming suicidal for an entire year, facing 30 years to life, flat lining from COVID19 to now making a positive difference in other’s lives is a testament of God’s sustaining power. I want you to know readers, your worse is not the end it’s a launching pad for a new beginning. Incarceration pushed me (in a positive way) to completing four books and prepared to pastor Redeemed Citizens very soon, as well as starting a performing arts company for Redeemed Citizens. You remember the old saying, “If the world gives you lemons, make lemonade.” Well, I have a lot of lemonade to sell and share.
Miracles are necessary to show that the limitations of normality does not end it all:
“God also bearing them witnesses, both
with signs and wonders, and with
divers miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost,
according to his will (Hebrews 2:4).”
Hold on. Be Encouraged! You are a sustained miracle.
