Please Read this FIRST: On this site we prefer to use the actual Name of our loving
Heavenly Father as it was written in the Word, and
thus you will note that we will use the Four Letter “Memorial
Name” of 
- YHVH, which is pronounced as YaHVaH or YaHWaH. In addition
we will also use our Heavenly Father’s attribute/title, which is Elohim
rather than “God,” which sadly is the name of a pagan god. In
addition we also love to use the actual and real Name of our beloved Messiah
which is 
- Yahushua or Yahshua in short, for
this is our Saviours original Hebrew Name as given to Him at birth in
Why is it that
Believer’s so often Suffer
Or
“How Dry is Your
Looking at a variety
of Scriptures from the “Tanach” and “Brit
Chadashah”
Being Hebrew for the “Old
Covenant” and the “New
Covenant”
Welcome to
this, what may seem a rather deep and in-depth study, however this is just Part
One of Two Web Pages as there is a great deal of ground to cover. I believe
that we need to understand that the faithful in Messiah do and can suffer, for
it has been happening during the days of the Apostles, and thereafter as has
been revealed in the blessed Scriptures. But amazingly we have also seen that
the true faithful who stand strong will be richly blessed, and I pray that this
study will cover a great deal of ground and a few “dry brooks,”
Beloved, the
question in the title above “Why is it that Believer’s so often Suffer,” is a question that I have
been so often asked and there is a valid answer. However to fully comprehend it
we must go back into the Word of YaHVaH Elohim (The LORD God), blessed be YaHVaH’s most
Sanctified Name and learn more in order to understand it.
Although,
before I actually get to the part that relates directly to “suffering”
etc, I feel in my heart that it is very important to relate the story regarding
the prophet Eliyahu - Elijah, for beloved, his story contains a mighty message,
as well great teaching and a wonderful blessing that is found in the very heart
of what we are about to read. Thus I ask you to spend some time in prayer, ask
our Heavenly Father in Messiah Yahushua’s blessed Name for guidance and
discernment that you may gain much, and know what is right when it comes to
what is being taught! Beloved, I firmly believe that we should always pray
before reading anything and seek His guidance if what we are reading comes from
Him, or not, and that is regardless who the teacher is and that includes myself!
A Lesson from the
There is no
doubt, but one of the most dramatic and adventurous stories found in the
blessed Scriptures revolves around the spectacular arrival of the prophet
Eliyahu - Elijah as he appeared on the scene whilst the land was ruled by an
evil king and queen. But what made Eliyahu – Elijah’s arrival so
completely different and thus amazing, is that he arrived like a shooting star,
then having achieved what he came to do, he then disappeared and vanished into
obscurity considering he had changed the character of the entire nation.
Although,
so-called scholars tend to say that little is known about the background of
this dramatic reformer of Israel, but I say that they are very wrong, the
problem is, they simply do not fully comprehend the blessed Word of our Elohim,
for there is so much more written about this great prophet and his family then
what we may first read, but sadly it seems to be missed by most so-called
scholars!
If we look at the Scriptures, we are not given any actual details
regarding the tribe he came from, or if he had any prior training for his
special prophetic call. However, this does prove something very special; and
that is that YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, can call anyone,
such as … “a man just like us,” (Ya’akov - James 5:17) to proclaim His
word to an errant and sinful world.
As shown throughout the Tanach, Hebrew for the Old Covenant, Elohim does
not choose great men for His work, but He chooses a person out from a people or
a family of faith or those He knows who have a heart to become His worthy
servant on the earth. Thus through Elohim’s choice, Eliyahu -
“He was
a hairy man, and girt with a girdle of leather about his loins” 2
Melachim - 2 Kings 1:8.
Eliyahu -
Elijah was a native of Tishbe (1 Melachim - 1 Kings 17:1) which is a village in
the rocky and rugged terrain of Gilead north of the Jordan River in the terrain
that used to be part of the territory belonging to the Tribe of Gad. However,
as we may be well aware Judah remained mostly faithful to their Elohim and the
nation was named after the Tribe of Judah, for the Messiah would one day come
out of this tribe, being a direct line of King David and thus Yerushalayim - Jerusalem remained its capital.
Considering Eliyahu’s family lived in the village of Tishbe in the
rugged terrain of Gilead in the territory that had been allotted to the Tribe
of Gad, I can tell you that the mountain people usually remained, throughout
their generations in the one place and held onto their faith and taught their
children well. Therefore, I believe that Eliyahu originated from the Tribe of Gad and that is what we can
learn from the short introduction we are given about him and his family, if we
only pray and understand His Word!
Ten miles north of Yabbok, there is an area that is now called “
In the blessed
Scriptures, we are never told in any shape or form how Eliyahu was called into
Elohim’s work and to leave the rugged mountains of Gilead and head
directly for the Royal Palace in Samaria and confront that completely rotten
and evil King Ahab, as he simply left, as he must have received a word somehow.
When he
arrived, Eliyahu did not stop at the entrance of the Palace gates and asked if
he could enter in order to have an audience with King Ahab, no far from it, for
he simply walked right past all the guards and straight into the Palace and
walked forcefully with great authority right up to the royal throne and stood
before the king and addressed him with great authority!
We must
remember that this occurred during a period of time of great apostasy, for it
was at its most evil and its very darkest point. And thus, Eliyahu was
obviously led by the Power, the Ruach or Spirit of YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be
His Sanctified Name, as he confronted this wicked ruler of
“There
shall not be dew nor rain these years, but
according to my word” 1 Melachim - 1 Kings 17:1.
Test One - The Brook of Cherith:
After
delivering his inspired message, this courageous prophet was commanded by
Elohim to hide himself in the eastern wilderness by the brook Cherith. There
Elohim arranged providentially for ravens to deliver food to the isolated
fugitive during the predicted years of famine. We will discover that this was
part of a Two part Test, although there was much more that is written in this
study, for there is another study online that cover far more on the prophet
Eliyahu and it is more comprehensive! A link is available at the bottom of the
page.
As the land
baked and cracked under the withering heat of the sun, every green plant died
for lack of water. However, Eliyahu
-
What a perfect
picture of Elohim’s power and willingness to care for the physical needs
of His faithful servant! With pleasure we contemplate that scene of restful
abundance. The prophet had no problems. Everywhere else the people were
suffering from the terror of the drought, but Elohim would not let His obedient
servant lack for anything. Without fail, the ravens flew in twice a day with
their fare of food and the brook was always yielding its life-giving supply of
water.
We should
really remember that ravens never bring you anything, for they as we should
know, ravens are birds that only tend to take things. Thus for them providing
Eliyahu with food during this long period of time is without a doubt a miracle!
Have we not
seen that same kind of providence in our own day? The Elohim of Eliyahu still
takes care of the needs of His children. The prophet was walking in the center
of Elohim’s will, and the promised blessings never failed. Or did they?
Well beloved, let us read on in the blessed Word of Elohim:
“The
ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning, and bread and meat in the
evening; and he drank from the brook. And it happened after a while that the
brook dried up, because there had been no rain in the land.” 1 Kings
17:6, 7.
Can you not
picture the sudden shock and disappointment as Eliyahu walked out to the brook
one day to obtain his daily water, for as he looked down the stones of the
brook-bed were dry and parched and he could scarcely believe what he beheld?
Suddenly there was not a drop of water remaining and he realised that a
terrible tragedy had over taken him for; “the brook had dried up”
what was he to do?
Test Two - The Woman at the Well at Zarephath:
We have no way
of knowing how long Elohim tested His prophet by the barren brook, but I
believe that it would have been for just a short time, as Eliyahu needed to
wait in faith. To us it may have seemed that all the promises were failing, but
Eliyahu trusted
“Arise,
go to Zarephath, which belongs to
Here we see
how Elohim closed one door in order that He could open another one. The trust
was that Eliyahu -
Elohim
provided the brook, and yes Elohim dried it up. Thus Eliyahu’s life had
to move on. We might say that in the dynamics of Divine Providence, Eliyahu was
scheduled to experience another miracle, but this time in another place. Had
the brook not dried up, he would have remained there. He would have relaxed in
the satisfying fullness of material blessing. But he would have missed all that
was about to happen with the widow, like the widow’s cruse of oil, as
well as the
Can we ever
forget that it was Eliyahu who was the very first in the entire Scriptures to
raise a young boy from the dead, being the son of the widow, and due to this
miracle the widow came to believe in the true Elohim Vs 24;
“Now by this I know that you are a man of Elohim, and that the Word of YHVH in your mouth is the truth.” 1 Melachim 1 - Kings 17:17 to 24.
This poor
widow was at the point of death with her son, due to the severe drought, yet
Elohim sent Eliyahu to her and the boy, 1. for Eliyahu to be taken care of, for
the flour never ran out, nor did the cruse of oil, thus three of them ate,
whilst all the pagan idolaters died of hunger. Then there was that great sign
of the widow’s boy’s resurrection, meaning that the journey to
Zarephath has a very powerful story for us all!
Listen
beloved, Elohim allows our brooks to dry up, for He
does not want us to remain in the same place all the time. For that
is our greatest problem. When I say “He does not want us to remain in the
same place” this may mean; 1. Literally and 2. Metaphorically.
Beloved there
are times we need to just move house, for where we are staying, or with whom we
are living with may not be right, only you will know the circumstances, and
prayer will reveal what you should do! Alternatively, you may have to make a
sharp turn of heart, or a rethink your life at a particular point of time for
if your brook is dry, there may well be a good reason for it, and believe me
Elohim has a better place ahead of you if you will only take the right steps in
the new direction! However your New Direction for 1 and 2
must be guided through much prayer unto YaHVaH Elohim,
in and through the Name of Messiah Yahushua “for there is no other Name under heaven given
among men by which we must be saved.”
Acts 4:12.
What can we learn from
I am well
aware that it is far easier to get comfortable resting by our brooks,
surrounded by peaceful beauty and the abundance thereof. We simply love the
restfulness there and would like to remain for the remainder of our days. But,
sadly even that will eventually get boring! Remember the Children of Israel, YaHVaH
Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, had rescued them with a Great and a
Mighty Hand out of Egypt, opened up the waters of the Red Sea allowing them to
walk to the other side and slayed the Egyptian armies as the waters of the Sea
collapsed upon them as they attempted to chase Israel? However, not long after
they had sung songs of praise in great joy, they suddenly realised that they
were not just hungry, but they missed their beloved meat cooked with spices and
they began to complain and cried out;
“The
whole congregation of the children of
Elohim
certainly heard them and He spoke to Moshe saying that He would send the
Children of Israel “manna” and when
“YHVH
said to Moshe -
Now that was
really wonderful you would think, but believe it or not, they either complained
again or were disobedient. The truth is they were told that they were not
permitted to collect any “manna” on the Seventh Day, for it was the
Seventh Day Sabbath. And please remember that the Ten Commandments or
“The Law” had not as yet been given, for they had not reached
But now having
received the “manna” and the Quail and eating it, soon enough
So far I have
spoken a great deal about a prophet and His blessed Faith and how Elohim looked
after him, but yet his brook dried up and his faith was tested, but he did stay
strong and He was sent somewhere else. We saw that
Three Terrible Words - Worry, Fear, Doubt:
Therefore beloved,
when Elohim allows our metaphorical brooks to dry up, we often weep and tend to
blame Elohim for afflicting us. But let me ask you; was Eliyahu -
“For
indeed Messiah, our Passover was Sacrificed for us.” 1 Corinthians 5:7. HalleluYAH.
But sadly,
there are many that are being held back due to Three of the worst words
possible and these are; “Worry, Fear
& Doubt!” And I have
really bad news if this is the case with your brook and life, for it
will lead to Depression that automatically opens the door to the
ultimate enemy HaSatan being The
Adversary and the sad truth is, that
depression always leads to sin for it opens up the door to HaSatan!
Beloved,
having been in faith for over forty years I have seen far too many
“christians” and even some wonderful folk who know and believe
Messiah Yahushua who sadly at times held onto the past in various degrees, be
it in the self, traditions or be it related to other matters, and it held them
back spiritually, or in the case of “christians” doctrinally for
their eyes simply would and could not open, and they tragically remain blinded,
just as Israel “is blinded in part” and
“christians” and Israel will remain at that dry brook and remain
within a drought and thus lost in sin! And we all know that “the wages of
sin is death.”
The Eternal Question Is “Why?”
Frequently I
am asked to pray for those who seem to be living beside dried-up brooks and
this will always be done as a combination of prayer and using the precious Word
of YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, and to assist them to
understand that the world has not come to an end. Frequently certain things do
happen for a reason and we must often face this in order to restore our lives
to the fullness that we may have had before.
One of the
difficult questions for a teacher of the Word in Messiah Yahushua is to answer
is “Why?” Or: Why did my baby die? Why did I lose my job? Why are
my children so unconcerned about spiritual things? Why did my husband/wife
abandon me for another woman/man? And the list just goes on.
Under the
emotional stress of our losses, sadly we tend to blame Elohim for making
terrible mistakes in dealing with our lives. It is so human to do this because
we have no way of seeing the failures in the lives of human nature as well as
human future.
I can still
remember weeping, as a child, when I read the story of Yoseph -
“Yoseph
is gone and dead, Shimeon is gone, and now you want to take
How familiar
all this sounds. Poor
It is so easy
to look back at what Yoseph did that day and confess that the disappointments
had really become his appointments into the Egyptian hierarchy. Why is it that we are not able to have the
faith to stand by our dried-up brooks and make that confession? Someday in the
future every redeemed soul will do it in retrospect. Elohim delights in those
who will take Him at His word and claim the promise of Romans 8:28 even while
the heart is breaking with sorrow. “All things work together for good to
them that love Elohim, to them who are called according to His purpose.”
The Fires of Affliction:
The Scriptures
has a host of texts that speaks about the spiritual benefits of suffering for
it was the
“think
it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some
strange thing happened unto you” (1
The
“Yes,
and all who desire to live godly in Messiah Yahushua will suffer
persecution.” 2 Timotheos - 2
And
“My
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the
testing of your faith produces patience.”
Beloved, we
should understand that in the light of the above as well as other similar
verses, thus we must admit that there are a number of mysterious blessings that
may well be associated with; “trials and suffering.” It is for this
reason that
“This
calls for patient endurance on the part of the saints who obey Elohim’s
commandments and remain faithful to Yahushua.” Revelation 14:12.
As we can see,
it is obvious that “patience” is a requirement for those who have
been “redeemed” out of this world of sin.
“It is
good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn Thy statutes.”
(Psalm 119:71).
Again, he
wrote;
“Before
I was afflicted I went astray.” Tehillim - Psalm 119:67.
The truth is
beloved, until a faithful believer has learned the simple Scripture principles,
he or she will live in a state of ongoing doubt and uncertainty. As throughout
their lives, each experience of disappointment will bring up fresh questions
regarding Elohim’s Love, but more-so His Justice and love. I have to say
with great sadness that there are some of those who claim to be believers in
the Saviour, but they may be believers in “the christ: of the greater
church (christ = taken from the pagan god “Chrestou” thus the Greek
“Christou” by the Samarian sorcerer Simon Magnus (Acts 8:9-24), he
became the first Bishop of Rome Not Shime’on - Peter), and there
are also some believers in Messiah Yahushua that tend to hold a somewhat
childish view, that because they had accepted their Messiah and because He
loves us, therefore, He will use His mighty power to preserve us from every
pain and trial. Sorry, that is not living life!
The inspired
Word of YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Sanctified Name, reveals that because He
loves us, He will often permit us to pass through the fires of affliction. We
may ask, “Why does He do this? It is because Our heavenly Father sees
that this is the only way to prepare us to be with Him for all eternity. Elohim
is actually answering the prayers of those who have asked for the purification
of life. When we pray for Elohim to eradicate sin from our life, we must be
ready to accept His ordained method of accomplishing that very work.
Purification trials seem to be a part of the means by which sanctification is
made complete.
Beloved, I
have found it so sad to learn, that many in Him have lost their way just
because of this very issue than any other. I have spoken with many teachers and
even some pastors and they have told me that they have seen their people
suffering and that they seemed to struggle with the “O why me,”
etc., regarding their dried-up brooks?
I am sure that
we are all aware how even the most faithful believer in Messiah Yahushua can be
insulated from the shock and sorrow, when one of their most beloved ones are
suddenly taken from them. Is it ever possible that they can be prepared ahead
of time so that their faith will not give way under the stress of the loss of a
loved one?
Beloved, we
know that certain things in life are sure, and I do know this that the secret
is to rest upon the blessed assurance that Elohim will not permit any
circumstance for our spiritual lives to happen. Indeed, this requires faith,
but as is stated in His Word; “You may know and believe Me and
understand that I am He.” (Yeshayahu - Isaiah 43:10) and thus it is
not difficult to trust He who is the One who was sent and was “In the
beginning was the Word” - Yahushua the “Messiah our Passover
was sacrificed for us” (1 Corinthians 5:7).
We must keep
on reminding ourselves that Elohim is not a puppet master, and thus He will
allow situations to occur throughout the world and in our lives that will seem
to us like things we just do not need right now. We will not be able to discern
any logic or reason behind certain events. Our human faculties may rebel at the
very thought that any good could ever result from some circumstances.
Therefore,
beloved I call on you to always reject Satan for he will be there to tempt you
and have you turn against Our Heavenly Father and His blessed Saviour who was,
lets us be honest, terribly beaten and tortured, can you imagine that crown of
thorns being forced upon His head, the pain was enormous, not to forget the
nails being hammered into His Hands and Feet. O beloved Father, we could well
ask, where were You, but the real question is where was mankind, for all this
evil occurred because of us, SIN, and that is because of he who is the
god of the whole earth, Satan, the adversary!
“But
even if the Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose
minds the god (
Reasons for Trusting:
I have said
that faith alone will hold us in this kind of distressing test. Nevertheless,
our faith is not blind nor is it unreasonable, for the truth is that in our
lives we tend to have a host of experiences with Elohim that has proven His
unfailing love and concern for you and for me. Thus, why should this one event
be any different? Even though you may not understand it at this time, but you
do know that you can trust Him who has promised that if His blessed Word has
not failed before, as history has proved, then how can it possibly fail in this
situation. Therefore just like Job, we can also say,
“Though
He slay me, yet will I trust in Him.” Iyov - Job 13:15.
From this
verse we could also learn a lesson from the trustful way that parents surrender
their children into the hands of a surgeon and they submit their much-loved
child to the cutting of that scalpel and the throbbing pain that will
inevitably follow. Two main factors make it easier for them to place such great
confidence in the surgeon. They trust his skill and ability to operate
successfully in addition they have faith in his wisdom to do the right thing at
the right time for the good of their child. They also know that after the
temporary pain and suffering has passed that the child will be better off than
it was before all the pain.
Therefore
beloved, let us just think about the above; If we can trust a physician who is,
let us be honest, able to fail, why is it so hard to trust Our Heavenly Creator
YaHVaH Elohim, blessed be His Name, and Yahushua the Messiah, for be assured,
there will never be a failure! I pray that none of your children will ever have
a need to be operated on, no matter the condition. It is only due to our
greater knowledge of their case that we submit them to the required surgery
when it is required.
It is in the
same manner, we would never choose to experience the trials and afflictions
that our heavenly Father often allows to come upon us. He understands the case
completely and knows that after the passing pain we will be better prepared for
a happier future.
But never
think for one single moment, that our blessed Heavenly Father does not care for
our pains and trials. Just like a small child we may cry over the pain and
blame our Father for allowing the cutting to be done. And like a human parent,
Elohim will also weep because He has no way to communicate His reason for
allowing us to suffer the pain. It is just as impossible for us to understand
Elohim’s decision for our lives as it is for our children to comprehend
our decisions for them. The truth is that Elohim cannot control man on the
earth as they have freewill and they are to determine their destiny! This in so
many ways has allowed much suffering.
It can be an
overwhelming revelation to look back at our lives at some time, no matter how
painful it may have been at times. But, we will also recall the many errors we
have made and the suffering we have gone through, we may realise that all this
has been what is called life, but it is really the end result that counts!
Beloved, once
we have returned unto our beloved Saviour, it will be when we see our “King of kings and Lord of lords,” Yahushua face to face and reason on
the plane of immortality will we be able to thank Him for allowing all things
that has happened just as they did!
The truth is,
that I can certainly look back upon certain shattering experiences in my own
past and recognize how they altered the direction of my life. Yahushua
certainly changed my life significantly and turned it completely into an
opposite direction. From being an Orthodox Hebrew who to say it gently, who
disliked anything to do with “Christians”, however, loved the Elohim
of Israel and upheld the Torah, being the Law, not because Elohim told me I had
to, but because I adored Him!
Then, one
evening in 1977 nothing short of a miracle occurred in my study, whilst I was
reading His Word in the Book of Daniel He somehow spoke to me. No I am not a
tongue-speaking Pentecostal or whatever, but I heard something wonderfully soft
within, it was something I had never experienced and it was comforting and very
assuring! Over the next two hours I received instruction of the full meaning of
However,
having long rejected the Messiah of the churches, but then came that blessed evening
as the Sanctified (Holy) One revealed the full and blessed meaning of the
following …
“Know
and believe Me, and understand that I am He. Before Me there was no El (god or
idol) formed, nor shall there be after Me. I, even I, am YHVH and besides Me there
is no saviour.” Yeshayahu - Isaiah 43:10-11.
I was further
guided to other prophets and later when I finally did obtain a Brit Chadashah
– Hebrew for the New Covenant, I was soon led to read Yochanan John
1:1-4, which clarified to me what Elohim was saying when He said; “besides
Me there is no saviour”
for as an Hebrew, the church was continually preaching the pagan doctrine of a
trinity, which I am sad to say is a doctrine concocted by the pagan church of
Rome with the help of HaSatan, the adversary – Satan, and if you will
only read the blessed Scriptures, I pray that you will accept the Scriptural
truth, otherwise you will suffer until you receive final judgement, being the
wages of sin, which is death, but in Messiah Yahushua is the “Eternal
life.”
“In the
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with Elohim, and the Word was Elohim.
He was in the beginning with Elohim. All things were made through Him, and
without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the
life was the light of men.” Yochanan -
The above
Scripture and Yeshayahu - Isaiah 43:10-11, clearly proves that
I pray that Part
One has been a blessing to you and that you will have found something
therein that you can take and apply to your life and turn around those dry
brooks and make the waters flow again, for Yahushua is always there and
remember what He said;
“So I
say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock,
and it will be opened to you, for everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks
finds and to him who knocks it will be opened.”
The only thing
we do have to remember is that sometimes our prayers may not be answered right
there and then, and there is always a reason for this. Often, it is we
ourselves that must first make some changes in our own lives and become more
obedient and start reading, understanding the Word and listening, for YaHVaH
Elohim may well be speaking to you one very blessed day, just as He did to me,
back in 1977, but I had to wait a very long time for this, and I had to be ready
to receive and act upon it!
Go to Page Two online soon
“Teach me Your way, O YHVH. I will walk in Your truth.
UNITE MY HEART TO FEAR YOUR NAME!”
Yahushua’s loving
Name!
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