Elijah was called "the chief of the prophets."
Ahab called him the "the troubler of Israel."
Elijah's appearance came to Ahab with the suddenness of lightning, and his prophetic utterances
boomed with the frightening precision of tumultuous thunder.
After this warning Elijah gave to Ahab, God spoke to Elijah:

But one day Elijah noticed something disturbing.
He discovered that the water in the creek was diminishing.
It had been a deep flowing stream.
Now, it had slowed to a trickle.
Then, one morning he went to the water, but all the water was gone!

That brings us to the question of this message: " What do you do when the creek runs dry?"

I know that the Bible calls Elijah's stream a "brook," but where I came from,
it was called a "creek."
I also knew people who called it a "crick."
But, whatever you call it, we understand why there was no water in the land.

We understand the reason for the drought, but why would Elijah experience the drought?
Elijah had said what God had told him to say.
He was where God had told him to be.
Don't you think it strange that he who proclaimed the drought would become a victim of the drought?
Since God had sent Elijah to the creek, why does Elijah's creek run dry?
You can ask that question another way.

Why does the creek run dry for those who are on the Lord's side?
The creek was God's idea in the first place, so why does the creek run dry?

• Whenever you lose that which gives meaning and importance to your life; your creek has run dry!
• Whenever that on which you were relying no longer satisfies; your creek has run dry!
• Whenever that which previously put a smile on your face and joy in your soul,
  no longer does the trick; your creek has run dry!
• Whenever that in which you have invested your life no longer gives you the return you expected;
  your creek has run dry.
• Whenever your bank account no longer provides the interest you expected; your creek has run dry!
• Whenever all your assets turn into liabilities; your creek has run dry!
• Whenever you come to church Sunday after Sunday and sing the songs but have
  no song in your soul; your creek has run dry!
• When your prayers have become repetitous and you come away empty; your creek has run dry!
• When you can go for days and never look at the Word of God; your creek has run dry!
• When you can go for weeks and never pray or witness to an unsaved soul; your creek has run dry!

When we do God's will, God will provide for us a hiding place.

God's Word tells us:

• Moses fled to Midian from the wrath of the Egyptians and hid there for 40 years.
• David had a hiding place at Engedi from the murderous intent of Saul.
• John, the beloved, escaped martyrndom by being exiled to the Isle of Patmos.
• Martin Luther took refuge in the castle of Wartburg to hide from his enemies.
• Tyndale, who translated the first Bible into English, found hiding places in Marburg,
  Antwerp, Worms, and Cologne.

When God gives you a hiding place, you can be sure it will be safe and peaceful.
If you don't believe that, ask David.
David answers: "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most high shall abide
under the shadow of the Almighty...He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings
shalt thou trust."
The creek that God provides is a hiding place.

But, I still want to know, what do you do when your creek runs dry?
When your creek runs dry, it will force you to acknowledge Who provided the creek in the first place.

Don't you imagine that Elijah had become rather comfortable with the room service
that God was providing for him each day.
He probably thought to himself, " This is really living. This is the life."
He enjoyed that flowing creek so much that he expected that it would always be there.
It is so dangerous to take the blessings of God's creek for granted.
Just because you have a deep, babbling brook of self-contentment today
doesn't mean that your brook will be flowing tomorrow.

• God doesn't have to send the sun every day, but He does.
• God doesn't have to send us fresh air to breathe every day, but He does.
• God doesn't have to keep our hearts beating every day, but He does.
• God doesn't have to give fertility to the soil for seed in the springtime in order to yield
  its fruitful harvest in the fall, but He does.
• God doesn't have to send the water of friends, family, health, and wholeness into our lives, but He does.

The lesson is: you don't miss that water until the creek runs dry!

Whatever the creek is in your life, you had better thank God for it.
The Lord giveth and the Lord can take away.
We brought nothing into this world, and it is certain that we will take nothing out of it.
Thank God for your creek!

He who made the creek can dry it up.

Now, after you acknowledge Who made your creek, what do you do when your creek runs dry?

I would recommend to you that when your creek runs dry, don't panic!

• Many, who have seen their creek run dry, panic in the process.
• The economy takes a downturn and their financial future looks bleak, so they panic.
• Some may have lost their job, and they panic.
• Some have suffered devastating personal problems, and they panic.

• You can't drown your troubles in a bottle.
• Pills cannot pick up the pieces.
• You can't chase away your sorrows by singing the blues.
  
  
• If Joshua had panicked, the walls of Jericho would never have fallen.
• If Caleb had panicked, he would never have said, "Let's go up at once and possess it."
• If David had panicked, he would never have fought Goliath, and defeated the Philistines.
• If Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego had panicked, they would never have survived the fiery furnace.
• If Paul and Silas had panicked, they would never have had a prayer meeting in a Philippian jail at midnight.
• If Jesus had panicked, He would never have said, " Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit."
• If Jesus had panicked, you and I would still be lost and without hope.

Sometimes our creek runs dry to remind us that God is still in charge of the water.
If you don't believe He is in charge of the water:

The message is not over yet!
The question still has to be answered:
What do you do when your creek runs dry?

When Elijah's creek ran dry, God was still going to provide for him.
"Elijah, pack your bags! It's moving time!
Go to the village of Zarephath.
You will find a widow there.