The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry.  1 Kings 17:14

RECOMMENDED READING:  I Kings 17:8-16 “⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, ⁹ “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” ¹⁰ So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” ¹¹ And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”¹² So she said, “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.”¹³ 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. ¹⁴ 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.’”¹⁵ So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶ 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.”

COMMENTS:  I have struggled a bit with this passage in past mostly due to fact I hadn’t  read it closely enough  to understand the level of faith both Elijah and the widow were revealing here.   The widow was desperate, only having enough flour and water for one last meal for herself and her son with no hope the drought would subside enough to keep her son and her from perishing.  I’m sure Elijah was aware of the drought but until he saw her and her  situation did he understand the depth and  reality of her desperation.  But that not only didn’t shake his  willingness to do  what God asked but also did not stop her from doing what he asked.  Yet, she still made sure he was aware of her situation and condition.

God commonly does not show evidence of His miracle until we have initiated the  first step of obedience.  Literally stepping out of the boat and putting our full weight on our foot before walking on water type of faith.  That means taking the  risk of failure and allowing ourselves to be vulnerable and fully dependent on God.  I’m sure some questions  raised are:
“What if God doesn’t come through right away?  What if He is late or doesn’t provide at all?”

“What if …  ”  How about you relating to some doubts you have had in difficult situations.

Well, God did come through for her and for Elijah but just day to day and not by providing any more than what was needed for next day.  No more and no less.   The jar of flour and the supply of water did not stop until the drought and need for this miracle had passed.  Friends fail us during difficult times, but  GOD NEVER FAILS NOR IS LATE!   He is just typically later and slower than our impatience and lack of faith aches for, right?

 Then came the death of her son and sense of loss and betrayal is seeking all hope gone with death of her son.  Why would God provide a miracle of feeding them just to let her see her son die in her arms?  BUT GOD DID PROVIDE AND HE WAS FAITHFUL!  He provided in a way to show Elijah and that woman just how powerful and how compassionate He really is! 

Well, stop and consider just have brief life is on earth and how permanent eternity in heaven is.  I am 68 and can reflect back in amazement just how faithful  God has been all those years and just how quickly they have passed.  I clearly recall the years growing up of school and family and discovery.   I clearly recall the  teen years with so many obstacles and temptations and scary unknown opportunities and doors I had to choose and open.  I clearly recall the challenges of college and a new career and Arlene’s and my first date.  I clearly recall our wedding and  life and family we have built and raised over the years.   I clearly recall the years of  church work and people we’ve ministered to and  who have ministered to us over the years.  I recall the friendships and relationships built over the years.   I also  recall some of the many lessons and challenges God has guided us through but now I better realize God’s wisdom and influence in them and yet just how brief  and how quickly those years have passed.   I can also clearly recall in my 40’s spending time planning for future needs including  retirement funding while wondering what our children and we would look like and be like during  retirement years.  Now I look in a mirror and  recent pictures and answer those questions and look at pictures taken of us in 1990’s and 1980’s and answer those questions to them.

What I also say to them is GOD HAS BEEN FAITHFUL!  THEN I LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND TELL MYSELF HE WILL CONTINUE TO BE FAITHFUL FOR     OUR REMAINING BRIEF YEARS REMAINING!

I invite you to do such an exercise of reflection and contemplation.  I’m sure you  too will make similar discoveries and come to the same conclusion.   God doesn’t have limits so His faithfulness and fellowship to me doesn’t sacrifice from  Him faithfulness to you, nor yours to me.  No, there is more than enough of God to go around!   There was  for Elijah and that widow and her son long ago and  there is today for us.  AMEN?  AMEN!!

The old devil doesn’t want us to believe that.  His tricks and lies haven’t changed over the centuries and are just as effective now as then.  But satan can be surely defeated if we simply are and remain faithful to God. We have an real enemy, but we also have a real God who loves and provides for us day after day after day without exception or delay.  We take the what God does do faithfully for granted and complain and doubt Him when evidence of His provision is delayed or appears incomplete.  So let’s focus on praising Him and appreciating what He has done and continues to faithfully provide and look forward to and seek His help building our faith for those things He is still working on providing.  If   it appears He is too slow or late, just recall how He has provided in the past and seek His help to accomplish the miracles in our lives and other’s lives He wants His provision to accomplish too.  After all,  growing our faith and faith in others will serve us and them in eternity much better and more effectively than something we now want but will be worn out and discarded in a few years.  AMEN?  AMEN!!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

Though I have not outward comforts and worldly conveniences to supply my necessities, yet I have a sufficient portion between Christ and my soul abundantly to satisfy me in every condition.
Jeremiah Burroughs, Puritan preacher

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