It Might Be Small; But It Signifies Abundance
And Elijah said to Ahab, "Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain." So Ahab went off to eat and drink, but Elijah climbed to the top of Carmel, bent down to the ground and put his face between his knees.
"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said. Seven times, Elijah said, "Go back."
The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' "
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the LORD came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. I Kings 18:41-46.
"Go and look toward the sea," he told his servant. And he went up and looked.
"There is nothing there," he said. Seven times, Elijah said, "Go back."
The seventh time the servant reported, "A cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea."
So Elijah said, "Go and tell Ahab, 'Hitch up your chariot and go down before the rain stops you.' "
Meanwhile, the sky grew black with clouds, the wind rose, a heavy rain started falling and Ahab rode off to Jezreel. The power of the LORD came on Elijah and, tucking his cloak into his belt, he ran ahead of Ahab all the way to Jezreel. I Kings 18:41-46.
Elijah was confident that the rains would come because he had heard expressly from God to that effect. At the word of God, he had commanded the drought to come and at the word of God, he expected the rains to return and the drought to end. Confidently, Elijah asked the king to go home to eat and drink, "for there is a sound of a heavy rain."
Elijah "saw" the rain even before it came! But he still did something interesting: He went to the top of the mountain and prayed fervently. Seven times, he asked his servant to go and look if the clouds were signifying rain. The servant went back and forth until the seventh time when he reported to Elijah, "a cloud as small as a man's hand is rising from the sea." That was all Elijah needed to hear. That small insignificant cloud signified an abundance of rain to come.
Two things are worth pointing out:
First: Even when God clearly promises a blessing, we must never cease to pray it through. God promised Elijah the rains but Elijah still spent time in prayer. Praying our blessings through signifies our dependence and reverence for God. It tells God that we do not take Him for granted. We will bow before Him as He releases His promised rains.
Second: When God promises us a blessing, it might start off in trinkles rather than a heavy outpouring. By faith, we should see the small trickles as a sign of greater blessings to come. We must express gratitude and have faith that God might start us off small but He has great abundance in store for us. Never despise small beginnings. It might be the down payment for great abundance to come. It might be small, but it might signify great abundance.
Prayer: Lord, I thank you for the blessings you have bestowed upon me. Please help me never to despise "small blessings" because it could well be a sign of greater blessings to come. Amen.