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)
God provides for the righteous. God provides for the faithfulness. God provides. It sometimes means sharing what little you have with someone in need, and God will provide even in miraculous ways. I never tire of sharing two incidents in my life when someone shared with my family or with me. The first was when we had recently moved to Houston we lived in a fourplex; an ancient home made into four apartments. There were only two families in there at the time; the Lopez family lived on the first floor and we on the second. One Friday afternoon, with no phone with which to alert us to his lateness, my father worked overtime. We usually would pile into the family car and drive over to the supermarket and buy our provisions for the week. And on this particular day, Dad was late. And our cupboard was literally bare. Mrs. Lopez from downstairs came up and said, "I notice that Mr. Valverde is late. Your kids are probably hungry. I don't have much to share except this can of Spaghetti-o's; think your kids would like that?" Answered prayer for my mother. She took that can and filled the pan with more water than is required and that was our supper for the night. Dad came late from working something we didn't know about yet, overtime, and we went for groceries later that night.
This widow shared what little she had, with faith, with a man of God, and she was rewarded. It was an act of complete faith for she had reached the point of believing she and her son would die after eating this last meal. The prophet said for her not to be afraid and do as God was leading her. She was rewarded with food until rain came from the sky and the drought was over.
You and I have probably thought of, or heard, all the excuses against sharing with God or with one of God's people. We can list concerns for our children and their welfare, our future, our bills, etc. And we can even convince ourselves against sharing; but God is not fooled. More importantly, we can't outgive God!
PRAYER: Loving God, for what I have, I am thankful. For what You ask for me to share, I will share. Grant me the faith of this widow to give from what I have, and let me bless You and Yours, and help me to see how I will be blessed. This I pray in Christ Jesus' precious name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord!
Eradio Valverde
