1 Kings 17:7-24 – Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 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?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “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 olive 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.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 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 sends rain on the land.’” 15 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. 16 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. 17 Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing. 18 She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” 19 “Give me your son,” Elijah replied. He took him from her arms, carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” 21 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried out to the Lord, “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” 22 The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him, and he lived. 23 Elijah picked up the child and carried him down from the room into the house. He gave him to his mother and said, “Look, your son is alive!” 24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.”
“Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land.” The truth is that sometimes the situation before us is, in human perspective, is dire. If God does not step in then we could die. That could cause us to fret but we remember two words…”But God!”
“Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” The Lord always has a plan for us. A plan He has prepared and a plan that will succeed. (Jeremiah 29:11, Proverbs 19:21) A plan that may be nothing like we could have thought, or imagined, and perhaps, a plan we would not think is even the best thing. But if it is of God, it is the best thing and the perfect thing for us. (Romans 8:28) The prophet Elijah could have contested with God and said “Why do I have to seek out a widow, who is likely struggling, and seek charity from her? Why should I be so burdened and why should I burden her?” But Elijah didn’t. That is the difference between those who know and trust God and those who don’t.
“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?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”” Elijah personally and intimately knew God and since He did, he trusted God. In order to trust God one has to know of Him, or minimally, know of Him, and must believe. Trust will follow that. (Romans 10:14)
So Elijah found the woman gathering sticks. She was likely hot and tired, discouraged and depressed, hungry and desperate, for herself and for her child. Yet, when Elijah asked her to bring him some water, she stopped gathering the sticks and was going to bring Elijah water. Then Elijah went a step further. He said to this woman whom he had never met before “And while you’re getting me some water, would you bring me some bread to eat?” Yikes, think about that! Was he being too bold? No, not too bold, unless we say bold in his faith of God. Then there is no such thing as being too bold in our faith to God. It was simple to Elijah, God had said that a widow who would feed him, and somehow he knew this was the woman, so he asked her for food. He knew he would receive it, because God had previously arranged it to be so. Elijah was claiming what God gave him. He did not shrink back. I wonder how often we miss the blessings that God has for us because we do not act in faith on what God has already given us.
““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 olive 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.”” It is amazing that this poor widow, who already was feeling beaten down and abandoned, didn’t say to him “Look buddy, I am tired and have a lot on my mind. Yet in spite of that, I agreed to get you some water. Then, what gall you have! You ask me to bring to you not only water but also some bread!” But she is more gracious than most. She explains, perhaps a bit exasperated, that she is telling him the “God’s honest truth” when she says that she has no prepared bread to eat or to give him. Not only does she not have any bread to give him, but she has next to nothing to make bread. This lady, having humanly surveyed her situation, figured that in this drought and famine she and her son would have a little bit to eat and then die of starvation. She was telling him that she would help him if she could, but she could not, without depriving her son. Very sad.
How did Elijah not cry? He didn’t because He knows God and in knowing God He trusts God. Elijah knew the Lord had a plan that would succeed. So Elijah could be bold and confident, because he lived by faith and in doing so, he was daily given all the evidence he needed for his faith in God to continue to grow and be strengthened. (Hebrews 11:1) Hopeless situations become, in God’s hands, just a seed ready to burst into seen life. Seen life because we know that a seed has potential to bring forth life that we can see. Yet the seed is filled with life and with the blessings of God its deep life is revealed. The seemingly lifeless fruit seed, when understood and put into proper use, will reveal its potential. It will show the beauty within. Its life will blossom and the result will be that it blesses those who come to it. Not only does it get to live its life, but it grows to bless others. And not only that, but in living out its potential, it produces seeds that will likewise, when properly planted, repeat the cycle and many more will be blessed. Thereby the blessings are doubled, and even more so, multiplied, ad infinitum. It begins with fulfilling God given purpose. God already has a plan for those whose seeds fulfill their potential. For those who won’t live out God’s plan, well, that is a different and very sad story.
But we rejoice in the faithfulness of God. We know that He not only has a plan but He has the full ability to bring it about. So we believe God. We put our faith, our hope, in Him. We draw near to Him. By drawing close we get to know Him better. By knowing Him better our faith in Him grows. As our faith in our Unlimited God grows, we draw closer and we get to know Him more. And the cycle continues. Then we, like Elijah, may have faith to pray for what we now think is unthinkable to pray for. Draw near to God and He will draw near to us (James 4:8). Actually we will find that He has always been near to us, He is just waiting for us to open our eyes and acknowledge Him (Acts 17:27). God is. Do we know that! And once we do, do we daily pursue Him as the only treasure that truly matters. If so, perhaps we can pray and see things that would today blow our minds (James 5:17). That would really bless us. It is what God wants for us. For all of us. Know God. Believe God. Trust God. It’s the best life! Praise God!
Psalm 150:6 – Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Praise the Lord!
Micah 7:7 – But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.
Micah 6:8 – He has shown You, O man, what is good; And what does the Lord require of You but to do justly, to love mercy, And to walk humbly with Your God.
Numbers 6:24-26 “The Lord bless you and keep you; 25 the Lord make His face shine on you and be gracious to you; 26 the Lord turn His face toward you and give you peace.”