Good
Morning Friends,
“Some
time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then
the word of the LORD came to him: ‘Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay
there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.’ So he
went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering
sticks. He called to her and asked, ‘Would you bring me a little water in a jar
so I may have a drink?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me,
please, a piece of bread.’ ‘As surely as the LORD your God lives,’ she replied,
‘I don’t have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in
a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and
my son, that we may eat it — and die.’ Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go
home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from
what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your
son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: The jar of flour will not
be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives
rain on the land.’ She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was
food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of
flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the
word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.” (1 Kings 17:7-16)
The
story of this widow is a lesson in being willing to trust God and the story of
the blessings that are ours when we do.
What
Elijah asked of the widow was not reasonable. She didn’t even have enough to
keep her son and herself alive. No one in her right mind would have given away
what was needed to keep her own child alive for another day or so. But that is
what God asked of the widow and the question was whether she would trust God’s
promise to provide if she was faithful to give or whether she would hold on to
what she had so that she could take care of herself and her son a little
longer.
She
chose to trust God and gave the last of her provisions to God’s prophet. True
to His Word, God miraculously provided for the widow and for her son as long as
the drought continued. God is faithful! We can trust Him.
But
there is an addendum to this story, too.
“Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He
grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.” (1 Kings 17:17)
Elijah
came at the time of the widow’s distress and Elijah cried out to God on behalf
of the widow’s son. “The LORD heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned
to him, and he lived.” (1 Kings 17:22)
Not
only did God provide as He had promised and there was food for the woman and
her son all through the drought, but God went one better … a big one! God came
to her rescue in her most desperate hour … and brought her son back to life
again.
God
is faithful to His promises. God goes way beyond what He’s promised!
His,
by Grace,
Steve
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