1 Kings 17:10-16 - Trusting in God

Scripture:

1 Kings 17:10-16
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.
NASU


Thoughts:

What a wonderful story!  Through one set of circumstances, God not only cares for Elijah, but also this widow and her son (verse 12). 

Truly a miracle is taking place with the flour and the oil (verses 14-16), but look how God required this woman to give away what she had, before she saw it happen (verses 13, 15).  This is not always how God works, but still it illustrates to me how the Lord wants us to trust Him, and not our own abilities.  She thought she had just enough for a final meal, but the Lord gave her enough to support her family.


Prayer:

Lord, forgive me for a skeptical mind that thinks:  You don't work in these kinds of ways today.  You do!  I have seen it, although not so dramatically.

Let me be a person of faith, today.  Let me see You in my life.  Let me trust in Your provision not just for food, but for all that I want and need in my life.

Amen

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.