1 Kings 17:8-17 – “Then the word of the LORD came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” 11 As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12 But she said, ” As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13 Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14 “For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'” 15 So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.” NASB

I love the accounts of the Prophet Elijah, and although some today tell me that we no longer need miracles because we have science, medicine, and the New Testament, I disagree.  When did God change?  When did God stop being God?  When did the compassionate heart of God to do good things for His people end?  I believe that you will agree that GOD HAS NOT CHANGED!

In this account, there are several things that we need to quickly look at to get the heart of the message that I am trying to convey:

• There was the Obedience of Elijah.

God told him where and when to go and told him what he would find when he arrived.  However, as we see in the following verses, it did not turn out quite like Elijah might have thought.  The widow fulfilled his request for a drink, but when he asked for food, she explained her situation and justification for not doing what he requested.

• There were the Divine Instructions from Elijah.

“Do not fear…”  I love the preface to his instructions with a word of assurance.  Then he does something that many liberal theologians consider selfish, but it was a test of her obedience and faith.  He said, “… make me a little bread cake from it first, bring it to me, and then you and your son can eat.”  On the surface, this seems very selfish and completely out of character for a man of God and the heart of God.

• The Groundwork for the Miracle was Laid.

After Elijah informed her to prepare something from him “first’ out of her meager supply, he told her prophetically, “For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.”   That is a specific word for a specific situation with a specific timeframe.  It is going to be easy to verify if this prophetic word is accurate or not.  From the widow’s perspective, she had two options:

1. She could trust the Word of God from the man of God and place her confidence in God’s faithfulness or
2. She could look at her situation and say, ‘Why not? I do not have much anyway,” or “I do not have enough and will ensure that my child gets at least one last meal.  That would have spelled disaster in either case.

I passionately believe that the word she heard from the prophet took root in her heart. A seed was planted. Her obedience to God’s directive provided a platform for God to produce an Endless Supply for her and her son during the famine.

Verse 16 reveals that that is precisely what occurred – God ensured she never lacked.  She gave out of her poverty, and God gave out of His abundance.  This is evidence that it is impossible to “outgive” God and that obedience coupled with any required sacrifice will result in an “open door” into the supply room of the Father.

I do not know what you might be facing today, but know this: if God directs your heart based on His Word to do something, do it with complete confidence that He will Never Fail! 

  May the Lord bless you as you go through your day in Him!