Such a small thing

The first part of this week was really tough, as God allowed me to have an opportunity to trust Him more. I left the keys to the building in my uniform pocket, and each time I felt the pockets, I could not feel the keys.
I searched everywhere, and was thinking that tomorrow I would have to offer my resignation due to having lost the master keys to the building. (The cost to re-key a building is probably about $40K or so - if you lose a key, you might as well just say you quit.)
But I was my typical worrying self and God was His typical faithful self. (I still think that God worked a miracle - I am almost certain that they were not there earlier.) It is also interesting who you trust in these situations versus who you do not trust - I think it says something about who you are.
Hannah was in tears this evening when we prayed because of her concern for her Chinese grandma and grandpa who are not Christian. She was worried about them going to hell. I wonder if these things are signs from God that he wants me to pursue a different course.

From I Kings 15-18:

1. It is interesting that Asa is depicted here as a good king and one who did what the Lord was pleased with. In II Chronicles the bible tells us that until later in life, Asa was a very devout king. However, later in life he turned against some of the prophets who prophesied that he had not trusted God (which was true) by making a treaty with another nation. I guess this illustrates that God wants our entire lives to be devoted to him. The accumulation of faithfulness is a very good thing; though being faithful daily is also very important.

2. Hiel is an interesting person of mention in the passage. He was one who rebuilt Jericho. At the time that Jericho was destroyed, Joshua pronounced a curse upon the site, saying that it would cost someone their firstborn to lay the foundations of the city again and it would cost their youngest to set up the gates (Joshua 6:26). Sure enough, someone was dumb enough to test the curse, and it was true. This man's name was Hiel. (I imagine that at the time, what they said to him was "Hiel, No!" But would he listen? "Hiel no!")

3. It is interesting that there is no introduction to Elijah. He is just brought into the story. But no word is mentioned of his background, other than the fact that he is a Tishbite. I wonder...

4. I am wondering how the ravens brought him food. Was it cooked meat? Where (other than the obvious miracle) could the ravens have been getting this stuff from? I mean, picture in your mind a guy just on the other side of the hill who loves to grill out, but every day has trouble with pesky ravens taking half of what he puts out. Or another possibility is that just on the other side of the hill is a shrine to worship winged creatures, where people of a neighboring town offer foods up. The ravens have always come to this little ravine to enjoy their meals, and now someone is there who scares them away when they get over there to enjoy a snack. (It is fun to think of the possibilities...)

5. It is interesting that only after Elijah had brought the widow's son back to life did she believe that Elijah was a man of God who spoke the word of God. I guess the providing a virtually everlasting supply of food was not enough.

6. The story of the showdown between Elijah and the prophets of Baal is one of my favorite stories in the bible. I see there that it appears that just after this incident, Elijah had to entreat God to allow rain upon the land. I am guessing that he was impatient too, since he sent his servant to check seven times. The bible records that he went up to the top of mount Carmel and put his face between his knees before he sent his servant to check. I am guessing that he was asking / begging God to work this miracle. But after having spent all this time in prayer (assumption), he had enough energy that he was able to (through God's spirit) outrun the horses of Ahab as they went back to Jezreel.