June 4

The Widow at Zarephath

            Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, “Go now to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and live there; for I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he set out and went to Zarephath. When he came to the gate of the town, a widow was there gathering sticks; he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, so that I may drink.” As she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”  But she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not be afraid; go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son.  For thus says the Lord the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain on the earth.”  She went and did as Elijah said, so that she as well as he and her household ate for many days. The jar of meal was not emptied, neither did the jug of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.

1 Kings 17:8-16

         

            There was a widow who was called by God to care for one of His prophets.  They were in the midst of an awful drought.  Years without rain left the land dying and the people starving.  This woman had already lost her husband; now she was gathering supplies to prepare one final meal for herself and her son before they too died.  Into this haze of despair and fear came Elijah, asking for a meal.  She had no reserves. She had no hope. All that she had to cling to was the promise of a vagabond who said that if she helped him, God would provide for her and she and her son could be saved.  All that it would take was everything that she had left.

            It must have been uncomfortable for Elijah to ask.  He had been living in the wilderness for years, being fed by the birds and living next to a stream.  Then the stream dried up and God told him to find the widow who would take care of him.  He could not have imagined that the one who was supposed to save him would have so little and be so desperate.  But Elijah obeyed and hoped that God’s graciousness would deliver both he and the woman from their crisis.

            The widow gave what she had and God was true to His word.  Her supplies of meal and oil never ran out for the next year and a half before it rained.  God saved her and her son and Elijah.  All that she had to give was everything that she had in order to receive more than she could imagine.

            Sometimes I feel like Elijah.  There are times I know that my son is near the end of his rope, but if he would push a little bit more we would break through to something amazing.  We were on a school hike up a mountain in elementary school.  About a third of the way up the climb he decided that he was tired but we struggled through.  I hiked, carrying two backpacks, and he held on to me and we made it to the summit.  He was so proud and so tired.

            Other times I feel like the widow.  I am on my last nerve or last ounce of energy or last dollar…and then someone asks me to do something else.  I feel panic and I feel anger and I feel compassion and I feel despair all mingled into one big ball of emotions as I try to sort out whether I can help or not.

            In both of those places, it is important to lean in to God.  Ask for wisdom.  Ask for guidance.  Ask for the ability to be obedient.  God brought the widow and Elijah together so that through their obedience they could both be saved.  They were both hanging on by a thread and God’s invitations seemed like madness.  But they believed God’s promises.  They acted out in faith.  And when they gave everything that they had, they received more than they imagined was possible.

            May that be true for us as we struggle with tight finances and schedules that are stretched ridiculously thin and the exasperation of not knowing what to do next.  Lean in to God.  Ask for wisdom and patience and energy.  Trust God and believe that what He calls us into, He also equips us for.  

A moment to reflect:

Do you resonate more with Elijah or the widow?