A Change of Direction

(Taken from a daily Devotion)

After Elijah had delivered his powerful message to Ahab and Jezebel, the Lord told Elijah to go into obscurity--disappear for a while--and God would provide for him there.

Does Elijah's sudden turnaround sound a little familiar? Maybe things were going reasonably well in your own life, and God redirected you. It didn't necessarily make sense at the moment.

Maybe that's happened to you too. Things were humming along, then one day your spouse said, "I'm leaving. I don't want to be married to you." He's gone.

Maybe you got a call from the place you've worked for twenty years: "Sorry. We have to downsize." Your world ended. Or so it
seemed.

Actually, it might be a whole new beginning. When God closes one door, He opens another. Elijah was about to discover this. In fact, God was preparing him.

God was getting him ready, step by step, challenge by challenge. Big things were coming. The next phase was about to start. It's the same with you. If you've been told to head for the hills and be fed by birds, so to speak, if your brook has dried up, if a door has closed in your life, don't think God is done
with you. You need to just trust Him. He may be getting you ready for phase two. He may be whipping you into shape for something beyond your wildest dreams.

--Greg Laurie, Losers and Winners, Saints and Sinners