I Kings 17:15-16 So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
We studied this scripture in Sunday School yesterday, and one key question really stood out to me. Do we have enough faith to hold on when it seems all hope is lost? Let’s ponder on that for a few minutes this morning.
The people of Israel had allowed the worship of Baal and other gods to supercede the worship of God. Elijah delivered God’s message that there would be no rain or dew in the land for years. God initially provided for Elijah during the drought with water from the Wadi and food delivered daily by ravens. The amount of time that passed wasn’t stated, but after a while, God sent Elijah to Sidon to a widow woman who would provide for Elijah during the next leg of Elijah’s journey.
It’s funny how God works. He sent Elijah to a widow woman who was gathering sticks to build a fire to prepare the last meal for her son and herself because she had only enough flour and oil for one more meal. Elijah asked the widow for a cup of water, and then he asked her to bake some bread for him first before baking bread for her son and herself. Elijah already knew that God would take care of everything and work it out. He had no doubts whatsoever. Why would he doubt? He had just been fed daily by ravens that were ordered by the God of the universe to care for him.
Elijah was a believer. He was completely sold out. But what about this widow woman? She didn’t know God. She didn’t even know Elijah, and this stranger was asking her to use the only oil and flour she had left to feed him first. The nerve of Elijah! Her plan was to prepare that last loaf of bread for herself and her son and die. She had given up. She had lost all hope. She didn’t have any means to gather more flour or oil, and she had given up completely. But God…oh don’t you love those but God times? But God intervened, and this woman prepared bread for Elijah as he asked, and guess what happened next? The flour pot never ran out of flour and the oil jug was never empty for the entire duration of the drought.
Peeps, I know lately it feels like our flour jars are empty and our oil jugs are dry. When we look around us, we feel like our hope is slipping away. How do we keep the faith when it seems all hope is lost? Well, my friends, we must remember Who gives us hope. “So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” 2 Corinthians 4:18.
The troubles of today will not last forever. We can’t dwell on these things. No, we must fix our eyes on Christ because the things of Christ are eternal. Christ is what matters. When all hope seems lost, grab a hold of that faith. Cling to Christ. He is going to work everything out for our good and His glory.
Inspirations from the Funny Farm 