Is God big enough to keep you calm in the
storms of life? Is he big enough to sustain you through times of scarcity? That
was the question Elijah had to answer. The prophet declared to King Ahab of
Israel that it would not rain for several years. How would Elijah live? Who
would supply his food and water? At God’s direction, Elijah went to a brook to
hide, and there God sustained him with food carried by ravens and water from
the stream. But, as the drought took effect, the water dried up. Elijah was then
commanded by God to travel to an insignificant town called Zarephath, located over
100 miles away. The Lord did not arrange for some wealthy person to provide for
Elijah. Instead, he chose a poor widow-woman and one who was on the brink of
starvation to be his provider. This widow-woman was a most unlikely source of
sustenance. God often uses the most improbable means of meeting our needs. The
narrative describes her impoverished condition as very meager (1 kings 17:10).
Elijah met the woman and asked her for a
little water, and then as she was going for the water, he asked her to bring
him a small piece of bread. That was an act of faith for Elijah because it was
clear the woman had nothing to give. She responded that she only had a handful
of flour left, and she was going to cook that for her and her son—and then
there would be no more for them (1 Kings 17:12). Elijah asked her not to be
afraid, but, “Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small cake of
bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for
yourself and your son (1 Kings 17:13). If she first gave to the prophet, she
would experience God’s miraculous provision. If she did not, the scenario would
be one of scarcity. That is what we are looking at here—a mentality of
abundance supplied by God or a mindset of scarcity spawned by men. This pandemic
has been an opportunity for us to trust God by putting Him first and see him
supply our needs. But, it has also been an occasion to be overwhelmed with fear
and engulfed with the mentality of scarcity.
Elijah promised her that if she obeyed and did
this act of faith God would provide, “For this is what the Lord, the God of
Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not
run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land’” (1 Kings 17:14). Could
she believe it? Could she trust the word of the Lord? Can we believe that God
will sustain us? She did believe, and she experienced God’s divine provision, “And
she went and did as Elijah had told her, and the jar of flour was not spent,
neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that
he spoke by Elijah” (1 Kings 17:15-16). Can we trust God to take care of us? Can
we put God first when it looks like there is nothing but scarcity? Do we
believe that our God is big enough to meet our challenge?
As a young person, I experienced a remarkable provision
from God’s hand. I was part of an agricultural class in high school in which
each of us would have 2 ½ acres to raise a crop of oats. Each of us drew numbers
out of a box to get our assigned parcel. We worked together on a forty-acre
field that we planted, watered, and harvested. After paying the expenses, we
each could have any profit. Shortly
after, being a part of this project, I pledged some money to help buy property
for a building project for my church. The amount I pledged was undoubtedly a
leap of faith. As the oats grew, my section outgrew the other parcels. After
everything was said and done and expenses were all paid, my profit was enough
to pay the pledge I had made. The teacher was bewildered as to why my oats had
grown so much fuller than the other parcels. One Saturday morning, he was
telling the story to a group of farmers at a local café. One farmer asked where
my plot was located in the forty-acre field. When a diagram was drawn and the
plot located, the farmer said I could tell you why his oats outgrew the rest. I
owned a dairy farm on that property, and his acres were located were a corral
for the cows was. That was one piece of property that was so rich because of
the organic fertilizer. I believe God did that, and it was no accident.
