GOD IS ABLE
Written by Deborah.
I Kings 17: 8-24 King James
And the word of the Lord came unto him (Elijah) saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there; behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city behold the widow woman was there gathering of sticks, and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse, and behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not, go and do as thou hast said, but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah, and she and he and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. And it came to pass after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick, and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? Art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? And he said unto her, give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. And he cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the Lord, and said, O Lord my God, I pray thee, let this child's soul come into him again. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother, and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the Lord in thy mouth is truth.
Considering a few truths presented in this section of scripture.
It is wise to look beyond present appearances and to focus on God's faithfulness.
God told Elijah to go to Zarephath; a widow woman would sustain him. This was unusual guidance for Elijah for 3 reasons:
1. Men did not generally speak or seek help from women.
2. This widow was a Gentile.
3. This widow was poor and destitute.
Elijah had learned to trust God's faithfulness based upon past experience. In I Kings 1:1-7, Elijah was instructed to go to the brook Kerith to drink and that ravens would provide his food. We can be assured of God's promises because of His faithfulness in the past. We cannot see tomorrow, but we can see yesterday.
Don’t let your need keep you from meeting the needs of others.
Elijah challenged the widow to believe God. He pushed her to trust and obey God's guidance. When we disobey God's leading, we should be willing to accept the reason for failure. If the widow had disobeyed God's man, she and her son would have died. She was facing a life and death situation. If we use our need as an excuse to not give to others, we will remain in need. If we use our need as an excuse to disobey God, we will remain in need. Let's not use our lack of something as an excuse for disobedience. God asks us to trust Him in our time of need and in our time of abundance. We can trust God before, during and after our time of need. We can trust Him at all times; He is our refuge.
I Kings 17: 8-24 Amplified
And the word of the Lord came to him: Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. So he arose and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her, Bring me a little water in a vessel that I may drink. As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. And she said, As the Lord your God lives, I have not a loaf baked but only a handful of meal in the jar and a little oil in the bottle. See, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and bake it for me and my son, that we may eat it--and die. Elijah said to her, Fear not: go and do as you have said. But make me a little cake of (it) first and bring it to me, and afterward prepare some for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel: The jar of meal shall not waste away or the bottle of oil fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth. She did as Elijah said, And she and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not spent nor did the bottle of oil fail, according to the word, which the Lord spoke through Elijah. After these things, the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. And she said to Elijah, What have you against me, O man of God? Have you come to me to call my sin to remembrance and to slay my son? He said to her, Give me your son. And he took him from her bosom and carried him up into the chamber where he stayed and laid him upon his own bed. And Elijah cried to the Lord and said, O lord my God, have You brought further calamity upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? And he stretched himself upon the child three times and cried to the Lord and said, O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child's soul come back into him. And the Lord heard the voice of Elijah and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, See, your son is alive! And the woman said to Elijah, By this I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.
Our obedience does not give us immunity from problems and losses.
A young boy was playing outside. He ran into the house crying because a bee had stung him. His mother made him a peanut butter and honey sandwich.The boy liked the sandwich and wanted more. His mother asked, "Do you like the taste of honey?" "Oh yes, I love it." She responded, "Well, the bee that stung you made the honey." We want our lives to be sting-free. We want God to be all honey and no "bees." Our obedience to Him doesn't give us immunity from the stings of life.
Don't deliver your mail to the wrong address.
In this record the widow in her distress becomes angry and she lashes out at Elijah. We may vent our anger upon those that love us when we become distressed. Our anger may be misdirected; it's being delivered to the wrong address. We can deliver our "mail" to the Lord and He will deliver us to the uttermost.
Psalm 62:8
Trust in Him at all times ye people, pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah. (Consider these words.)
God is faithful in times of loss and gain.
Elijah prayed for the widow and her son was revived. Then the man of God gave her son to her; how tender those words are to the woman that yearns to be a mother. God understands the heart of a mother. He knows the yearning that resides within a woman's heart to become a mother. He understands the protective bond she feels towards her child.
Luke 7:11-16 verse 15)…and Jesus gave him back to his mother.
No matter what losses we may face or how terrible a situation may appear, God is faithful to deliver.
As we hold fast to His promises, we will not be disappointed.
For more information please read Katharyn.
We encourage you to follow God's loving guidance.
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