1 Kings 17:9-12 - "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."
It’s a most amazing story
…of Elijah….an obedient prophet of God who has delivered harsh words of a
drought to a king who believed that rain came from the god Baal. He was told to
hide near a river where God could send ravens to feed him each day. Then…after
about a year …when the river dried up…there was a widow God spoke to about
caring for him. She must not have believed God…for when Elijah found her…she
was collected sticks to build the fire that would cook the last two cakes of
bread for her and her son…from the clays jars that held just enough oil and
flour for two last meals.
Living with the
daily miracle was not enough to convince her to trust God completely. For she blamed Elijah some time later…when she
finds her son dead. But Elijah just
takes him and carries him up to his room on the roof….and spreads himself upon
the child…and cries out to God to restore his spirit….which God does
immediately.
The story was
perfectly placed for me…for it has been a hard week…emotions at the surface
most of the time …. two more of my friends found themselves widows this month….and
the pain I felt at the beginning of my journey was renewed as I grieved with my
friends. The deaths from the storms….and every other thing that happened the
last few weeks brought all the pain I thought I had moved on from …. right back
to the forefront of my life. I realized
I had been relying on myself for the last month…pity party in full swing. I am that widow.....
God has sent many
people to try and tell me how to put that pity party back in the past where it
belongs…and use him to draw the strength I need to turn my pain into a message of
hope for others. But I must have been
like that widow….who verse 9 clearly states had been…’commanded’ by God to care
for Elijah. God spoke to her…but she chose not to believe….and continued the
pity party that caused her to prepare a fire that would bake her last meal….and
believe even after the daily miracle of unending supplies of flour and oil…that
she was being punished for her sins…and her son was dead without hope.
Thank God for Elijah…who
took her son to his room…and called on God to continue to show his mercy and
love to her and restore the life of her son. Elijah’s prayer of trust and
confidence in God restores my soul as well this morning. It wakes me up to realize
that God is still at work in my life…even when I just can’t seem to understand
his methods.
Father…I thank you
for this sweet reminder that you are there and care for us even in the times we
just don’t understand. I pray this
morning as Elijah did…believing that you gave me …and all my friends…a promise
in Jeremiah 29:11…..to prosper us…and give us good things in our lives. Renew a spirit of hope and goodness within my
soul that I have allowed satan to twist into a pity party. Give me the strength …courage….and wisdom ….to
use your power to keep searching for your perfect will in my life….so that
everything I do will help encourage others to believe in your salvation and
saving grace. Amen.
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