Listen

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go and do what you said. Only make a little loaf of bread for me first. Then bring it to me. You can make something for yourself and your son after that. This is what Israel’s God, the Lord, says: The jar of flour won’t decrease and the bottle of oil won’t run out until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.”

1 Kings 17:13-14

Think

After the widow in Zarephath tries to turn Elijah away with her story of destitution, Elijah makes a counter-offer: share with me, first, then make that last meal you were telling me about. Because God tells me that God’s going to keep providing for you until this terrible drought and famine is over – you’re not going to run out of flour or oil before then.

I wonder what the widow thinks about this outlandish promise made by a stranger who wandered out of the wilderness. Does she believe him, or does she think this is too good to be true?

Have you ever been asked to do the impossible or been promised something unbelievable? How did you respond? Did you turn away because you didn’t think it could actually happen, or did you hear the voice of God and trust in the promise? Don’t be afraid to trust God – the One who always provides, even when we don’t believe it is possible.

Ann Wells

Pray

God, I praise you and thank you for all the ways you have provided for me, even in times when I didn’t think it was possible. Help me to continue to trust you without fear for the future. Amen.

Go

If you cannot give your thousands,
You can give the widow’s mite;
What you truly give for Jesus
Will be precious in His sight.

Daniel March in “Hark, the Voice of Jesus Calling” (1868)