SERMON NOTES

Faith isn’t proven when everything looks full — it’s proven when everything looks dry. In this third message of our Backbone series, we look at what it means to stand strong in a season of drought — to believe when the sky is silent, and to hold onto the promise when there’s no evidence of it yet.

Backbone faith isn’t fragile. It doesn’t crumble under pressure or retreat when things don’t look hopeful. It’s the kind of faith that keeps standing, keeps praying, and keeps believing — even when there’s nothing to see. In 1 Kings 18, we meet a prophet who embodied that kind of strength. Elijah had the courage to declare rain in a season of drought.

1. Hear the Rain Before It Falls

“And Elijah said to Ahab, ‘Go, eat and drink, for there is the sound of a heavy rain.’” — 1 Kings 18:41 (NIV)

At this point in the story, Israel had been in a severe drought for three and a half years. There was no sound of rain — no clouds, no thunder, no sign. Yet Elijah said, “I hear the sound of a heavy rain.”

Elijah wasn’t speaking from his surroundings; he was speaking from his spirit. He had tuned his ear to the frequency of heaven. That’s what faith does — it hears what God is doing before it sees what God is doing.

Faith doesn’t need visible proof to act; it moves based on invisible truth.

As Romans 10:17 reminds us, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

You might be standing on dry ground today — in your finances, your family, or your future — but deep in your spirit, you can sense something shifting. You can’t see it yet, but you can hear it. Heaven has already spoken, even if the earth hasn’t yet responded.

Sometimes the first sign of your breakthrough isn’t what you see — it’s what you hear. The soil may still be dry, but the Spirit has already spoken: rain is coming.

2. Go Again

“‘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.’” — 1 Kings 18:43 (NIV)

Elijah’s servant saw nothing — not once, but six times. Every time he returned, the report was the same: “There is nothing there.” But Elijah didn’t waver. He didn’t change his confession or his expectation. He simply said, “Go again.”

That’s the heart of backbone faith.

It doesn’t fold after the first disappointment or stop after one unanswered prayer. It knows how to stand, persist, and keep returning to the place of obedience until something shifts. Each “nothing” isn’t failure — it’s formation. God uses those silent seasons to build endurance in us. He’s forming a kind of faith that doesn’t depend on evidence to stand.

When Elijah said “Go again,” it wasn’t frustration — it was formation. He was teaching his servant that what you hear from God must outweigh what you see around you.

Real faith keeps praying even when the answer hasn’t come. It keeps praising when the door hasn’t opened. It keeps believing when the sky is still clear.

So if you’ve been standing on a word from God and nothing seems to happen — go again. When the business fails, go again. When the healing hasn’t manifested, go again. When your prayers seem unanswered, go again. The same God who spoke the promise is faithful to send the rain.

3. Value the Cloud

“The seventh time the servant reported, ‘A cloud as small as a man’s hand is rising from the sea.’”

— 1 Kings 18:44 (NIV)

After seven rounds of looking, the servant finally saw something — a small cloud, barely visible. But Elijah recognized it immediately as the beginning of God’s promise.

People of faith don’t despise small beginnings — they discern divine ones. Elijah didn’t wait for the entire sky to darken before he believed; he saw God’s hand in a cloud the size of a man’s hand.

Zechariah 4:10 reminds us: “Do not despise the day of small beginnings.”

The small cloud carries the same DNA as the downpour. That single, tiny cloud was proof that heaven had heard the prayer. Sometimes your “cloud” might look small — one open door, one encouraging word, one small opportunity. But that’s all God needs to begin the downpour.

One cloud can carry revival. One whisper can carry a calling. One small “yes” can shift a generation. Faith doesn’t wait for the storm to arrive before preparing. It acts on what it’s heard, not what it sees.

While Ahab went off to eat and drink, Elijah stayed on the mountain, declaring what he heard until he saw it happen. That’s the difference between those who sense the season and those who miss it. Elijah stood his ground, and soon what was invisible became visible. The sky darkened, the winds shifted, and the long-awaited rain began to fall.

The Drought Was the Test — The Rain Is the Reward

Elijah’s story reminds us that God always fulfills His Word. The waiting season is never wasted — it’s the training ground for faith.

The drought tests your endurance, but the rain rewards your perseverance. You may have stood through a season of dryness, but the sound of rain is near. That dream that seemed delayed, that prayer that felt unanswered, that promise that looked forgotten — it’s not over. Something is shifting in the atmosphere.

Rain is coming. Not a drizzle, but a downpour of divine favor. Hold your ground. Keep your faith.

Because when you have a backbone faith, you don’t chase the cloud — the cloud finds you.