Prophet Elijah had declared that there was going to be drought in the land and this was exactly what happened for three years during the reign of King Ahab. When it was then time for the Lord to put an end to the drought, the same man who was used to declare the drought was the one sent by God to inform the king that rain was coming. This was a sure word from God.
The prophet went after the king to make known God’s will to him. Their meeting ended in war of words over the current state of the nation and who actually was the supreme God. Their discussion led to a display of power between the God of heaven and the priests of Baal. Immediately after Elijah had successfully proven to the prophets of Baal and the people that the God of heaven was the only living God after he called down fire from heaven, he told the king the message of God- it was time for rain to come.
Now, the prophet only declared that message because God had said it, not because there was sign of the rains coming in the cloud. After this declaration, he went to the place of prayer with his servant. He got on his knees, with his face between his knees, and said to his servant, “Go and look out toward the sea”. The servant returned telling the prophet he saw nothing because there was actually nothing. The prophet remained there and repeated the same process seven times. Then, to where I want you to see, at the seventh time, the servant returned from observing the cloud saying “I saw a little cloud about the size of a man’s hand rising from the sea”. At that moment Elijah sent a message to King Ahab to ensure he gets on his way quickly, if not, he would be drenched by the rain. It was just a cloud not more than the size of a man’s hand, but hearing of that, he knew it was a preparation for the expected.
It was just a small cloud that came up when the prophecy was finally at the point of entering fulfillment. The small cloud that was just the size of a man’s hand looks so insignificant in comparison to the grave condition of this nation that had suffered drought for good three years. That little sign was all Elijah needed. It was small, but it was the genesis of the fall. And eventually the rain came uncontrollably according to God’s word.
Many people are unhappy because they could not identify the small cloud that will eventually lead to the rain that is so desired. You prayed for something big but the signs you are seeing are too small to what you have asked for, so you give up or go on complaining why you never saw the rains but just a cloud as the size of a man’s hand.
Imagine a man like Joseph who God gave promises of becoming a leader to his brothers now finding himself being a leader as a slave in a foreign land. He was put in charge of all the activities in Potiphar’s house, his master. He could have said to himself “was this all that my life and prophecy entail?” It was all just a small cloud gathering together so that the rain can be heavy. And, eventually when the rain came, Joseph alone could not swim in the pool.
You have prayed for a well-paying job and suddenly you find a place that offers you just one percent of what you know you are worth and it becomes so tiring that you want to tell God if this was all the promise was all about in the year and He is just telling you, I am just sending the clouds before the rains, I am coming true for you.
What are you waiting on God for and it seem like you are having just almost nothing compared to what God had said concerning you? The period of the small cloud require you not slowing down in your faith, but remaining steadfast to the word. Are you in that state of wondering if this is all you can become? It is just the small cloud period, when the rain finally comes, you will need to build ships to keep you afloat. Don’t reject the small cloud, it ushers in the mighty rain.
Enjoy the new week.
Be Innovated
Olufemi Ibitoye
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