Lord, where's the rain? {What do you do when God gives you a specific word but it is not coming forth?}

Has God ever led you to something in the bible very specific to your need or showed you some details in a dream about a deep desire you have?  Are you walking through health issues and God led you to a healing scripture that you know is from Him but you are not seeing that healing in your own body? You know in your heart God did lead you to that specific scripture just for you. Or maybe He has given you a dream at night where you are pregnant or holding a baby but you have been on a journey of infertility for years.  But that dream!  It was so real.  What do you do after you believe God has spoken to you?  It’s so easy during these times to question God and question whether that healing scripture was for you personally or whether that dream was even a God dream when you are not seeing God’s word come forth. 

In 1 Kings 18:1, the Lord said to Elijah, “go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.”  If you look back to 1 Kings 17, you will see there had been no rain for several years. Three years to be exact.  No well watered garden in this area.  No rain to cool the day.  Not even a drop of dew in the morning or at night.  Life like they knew it was changing. Everything had dried up, even the brook.  I can hear the cries now, “Lord, where’s the rain?”  Plant life was withering away.  The children and animals would surely die with no water.  But here we are in 1 Kings 18:1 and the Lord is telling Elijah He will send rain on the land.  Three years of no rain but today the Lord said He will send rain.  But the rain didn’t come in verse 2 or 3 or 4.  The rain did not come until verse 45! 

What do you do when you receive a word from the Lord for yourself but you do not see it come forth immediately? 

Early in my marriage I walked through infertility…..  five years of infertility.  One night I dreamed I was 8 months pregnant. In my dream, I saw my 8-month pregnant belly as clear as day.  It was beautiful! I woke up wide-eyed.  The dream was so real!  I couldn’t shake it.  I knew it was a dream from God. I even told my husband I was about to get pregnant which would be a total miracle from God since I was in my fifth year of not getting pregnant.

Have you experienced something like this?  Maybe God has given you a dream about something you desire or has led you to a specific scripture for healing while you are battling a health issue but you are not seeing that scripture play out in your life.  You are not seeing healing come upon you.  You are not getting pregnant.  Nothing is happening that He said would happen.

What do you do when you know God has shown you something but you are just not seeing it yet?  I know for me, I fought with disappointment, confusion and hurt after not becoming pregnant soon after my dream. I wrestled with so many emotions but I knew God had given me that dream to show me I was going to become pregnant and give birth to a child.  Something that I deeply desired.  I kept going back to that dream and then I would go back to God. 

Elijah was told by the Lord that He was going to send rain.  It had not rained for three years. So how did Elijah react to what God said would happen?  This is where we can follow the example of Elijah after hearing something from God but not seeing it immediately come forth. 

 1. Elijah believed.  Elijah heard God and believed him. Elijah believed rain would surely come because God said it would.  Has God told you something or has shown you something and you know that you know it is from Him?  Then believe it!  Believe what God told you or showed you.

2. Elijah spoke it forth before seeing it happen.  In 1 Kings 18: 41, Elijah told the king to go eat and drink for a heavy rain is coming.  What boldness this took to declare!  There wasn’t even a cloud in the sky.  Everything was dried up but what Elijah saw around him did not stop him from announcing what the Lord had said to him. 

When I had that dream I was pregnant not only did I tell my husband I was about to get pregnant but I also told my Mom, my brother, my sister in law, my Dad and inlaws and anybody else I talked to.  I spoke that dream forth even though in the natural month after month was passing by and I was still not pregnant yet.

So you received a word from the Lord.  You truly believe what God said is going to happen.  You believe it so much you have no problem speaking it forth and telling your family and friends.  But as of yet, it has not happened.  Do you just wait and do nothing?  Elijah did something else besides just wait.

3. Elijah prayed.  Even though the Lord had told him rain was coming, Elijah found a place, got down on his knees, bowed his head and prayed.  Even though he believed what the Lord said and then declared it to the king, he still got on his knees and pressed in prayer for the rain.  Remember, there was not even a cloud in the sky when Elijah declared that rain was coming. 

Elijah didn’t just pray one simple prayer.  He pressed in prayer and sent his servant to run and look in the sky for any signs of rain.  His servant saw nothing.  Elijah went back into prayer and pressed in some more and sent his servant again to go look to see if there were any signs of rain.  Seven times Elijah sent his servant to look towards the sea for rain clouds.  AND ALL OF A SUDDEN!  Don’t you love an “all of a sudden?"  After the seventh time his servant went to see if there were any signs of rain, he came back and said in I Kings 18:44, “a cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.”  And then the bible says in verse 45, “the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling.”  The rain was here!  What God had said was going to happen was happening.

And like Elijah saw God’s word come forth, I too saw what God said would happen to me happen.  I did get pregnant and birthed a beautiful baby girl.

Maybe this post hits home with you.  Maybe there is nothing, not even a small something to show what God said is going to happen.  Let the example of Elijah encourage you to continue to believe and speak it forth but to also press in prayer about what the Lord is about to do.  I believe your rain is coming!

{Feel free to speak forth God’s promise to you in the comments and I will rejoice alongside of you now and when it comes forth.}

“Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 1 Kings 18:1

“The Lord will open the heavens, the storehouse of His bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands.” Deuteronomy 28:12