Ravens

Having grown up in Richmond, Virginia, Edgar Allen Poe’s hometown, when I think of ravens, Poe’s brilliant, dark poem “The Raven” and its repeated word “Nevermore” come immediately to mind.

This morning in my devotions, I came across some more ravens, this time in the story of Elijah and how God took care of his daily needs during the drought. God told him to go and live by the brook Cherith. He told Elijah to drink water from the brook and that ravens would feed him twice a day. They would bring him flesh and bread.

Now, ravens are naturally scavengers and hunters, meat eaters. Doesn’t it hit you as strange that these birds would bring meat and bread to Elijah, twice a day, for quite a long period of time?

I think there are several lessons for us here:

            God can do anything.

            God can use anything in order to accomplish His will.

            God will meet the physical needs of His servants.

            God might not do things the way we would.

I love it that God used big, black birds to do His bidding. His will shall be done “evermore.” Amen!

(The raven story is found in 1 Kings 17:3-6.)