January 15, 2002
So he went to Zarepath. 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 you 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 read 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. I Kings 17: 10-16 (NIV)
Talk about pity pot time, I can hear the tone of the widow’s voice as she spoke to Elijah. Can you hear the whine in her voice? However, the Lord said to go and bake. She did as the Lord instructed. There is power in obeying the Lord. There is power in doing as he instructs. By obeying what the Lord commanded, she, Elijah, and her son were fed throughout the time of famine in the land. This is the same power we are called to walk in. We are told to make our homes a place of refuge, to entertain strangers, and to give to others in need. When we walk in that power, the Lord provides what we need. When we share what the Lord has so richly given us, He rewards us with the flour and the oil that never run out. He is the bread. He is the wine. He is the oil of anointing. Therein is our power, Jesus!
Father, I praise your name that the bread does not run out, the wine continues to flow and the oil is always there. Father, in the hard times to come, we trust that you will keep us fed, physically and spiritually. Lord, for the sake of your name, open our hearts to others that we no longer fear sharing what you have so graciously given us. Show us that when we do as you command, we are blessed. In Jesus name I praise you for those blessings, amen.
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