Dried Up Brook

"Now Elijah, who was from Tishbe in  Gilead, told King Ahab, "As surely as the Lord , the God of Israel, lives—the God I serve—there will be no dew or rain during the next few years until I give the word!" Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go to the east and hide by Kerith Brook, near where it enters the Jordan River. Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food." So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook, east of the Jordan. The ravens brought him bread and meat each morning and evening, and he drank from the brook. But after a while the brook dried up, for there was no rainfall anywhere in the land. Then the Lord said to Elijah, "Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you." I Kings 17:1-9 http://bible.us/1Kgs17.1.NLT

This is one of the passages Pastor Clay used during his sermon last night. I have to give you a little background information before I can go on. I've been driving a cab in Nashville for 20 years now. I make LESS money now than I did in 1992. I don't mean ratio-wise; I mean actual dollars. Back then, every Thurs, Fri, and Sat night we would run non-stop from 7pm-3am. It was difficult to find five minutes to use the restroom! Now, even on those nights, we may wait 30 minutes to an hour between runs. I made enough money in 3 nights to support myself and 3 children and go to college full-time. So, why is it so hard now? There are a number of reasons such as: too many cabs (legitimate and gypsy) on the road, Mayor Dean's eco-busses from the $250,000+ condos in the Gulch to 2nd Ave paid for by TAX DOLLARS!, sheriffs give free rides on major holidays, outrageous gas prices, drivers who are desperate for money so they take advantage of their customers, etc. Customers don't like being taken advantage of, so they don't call as often.

I was informed just before church last night that as the cost of everything else goes up, my income is about to go down even further! It's been 8 years since we've gotten a raise so they decided to raise the meter .10 per mile a few months ago and put the issue on the back burner to be readdressed. Now, they decided NO raise, but we're going to ADD cabs-88 of them to be exact! Now, I have to add this for fairness purposes, those cabs will only be added IF the city can find it in the budget to hire another cab inspector and office person. If those who want this can convince the cab board (which is appointed by the mayor), I don't think they'll have much of a problem achieving this. However, a friend of mine thinks this was the cab board's way of delaying the issue for a few more months. Bottom line, we have a major potential problem on our hands.

This is where my mind was when I walked into church last night. I was kind of half listening to the sermon and half thinking about, okay worrying about, my job, my future, my finances. I work the visuals at church, so I have to pay close attention when Pastor is reading Scripture. As he was reading the above passage, I began to realize some things. #1-God told Elijah when it was time to move. God told me a few years ago to concentrate on my novels. I have been "too busy" to work on them diligently and they have spent a lot of time on the back burner of life. #2-God provided for Elijah when he was where God commanded him to be (by the brook). The cab business has provided and paid the bills for a long time! #3-When it was time to move on the brook dried up. The cab business has gradually been drying up.

So, where is God commanding me to go? Novels. What am I afraid of? I Had Dreams (my first novel, self-published, released March 2007) hasn't generated any incom (certainly not enough to raise a teenager on) and I haven't had any success finding a traditional publisher for Alternate Choices (my second novel, in editorial stage). God then pointed out to me that He commanded Elijah to go to a WIDOW, the poorest of the poor, not to a gold mine! Then, when Elijah stepped out on faith and obeyed, God provided through her. Novels may look like a widow at this point, but God can and will provide through them.

Pastor Clay said "Stop trusting in the provision and start trusting the Provider!" It amazes me how I thought that is what I was doing...until last night!

Pastor Clay went on to preach from John 15:1-2 where the Bible talks about how God cuts off the branches that are no longer fruitful and prunes those that are so they may bear more fruit. I definitely see little, if any, spiritual fruit coming out of my hours in the cab, but the potential for many souls to be saved through my writing!