1 Kings 17:24
The scripture for today is 1 Kings 17:24
1 Kings 17:24 Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.”
God told the prophet, Elijah, to “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 1 Kings 17:9 When he arrived at Zarephath, there was a widow there gathering sticks. The prophet asked the widow to get him some water and a morsel of bread. The widow replied, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” 1 Kings 17:12
At that point the average person’s next question would have been "God, is there another widow here?” But Elijah was not the average person; He was a man of God, a man of faith.
“And Elijah said to her, do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth. So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:13-16
God does not need what we can see in order to meet our needs. He can create out of nothing, if necessary, to fulfill His promises to us. It is our faith in His word that moves the hand of God. When we have faith, we follow God’s instructions, and when we follow God’s instructions, the impossible becomes possible.
Sometime after the powerful miracle, the widow’s son died. He was her only son, and without him, her future was in jeopardy. What was this horrible turn of events? God performed a miracle to keep them alive and then allowed her only son to die? God again used the prophet to work a miracle and restore life to the son. And Elijah said, “See, your son lives! Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now by this I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is the truth.” 1 Kings 17:23-24
Through the eyes of the widow of Zarephath, we can see that what God promises, He will do. When we come to God in faith, He works powerfully on our behalf. God has not left us. He is the same God when things seem to not be going well as He is when things seem to be going well. Our circumstances may change, but God never changes. So, we learn from this widow to keep our focus, not on our circumstances, but upon God. “There are thousands of ways by which every child of His may know that God’s Word is truth. God is as good, as powerful, as close to us today as He was to the widow of Zarephath, and as interested in supplying our every need.” The SDA Bible Commentary, Vol. 2, p. 815
God bless you as you continue in His service.
Tim