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8 Then God spoke to him: 9 "Get up and go to Zarephath in Sidon and live there. I've instructed a woman who lives there, a widow, to feed you." 10 So he got up and went to Zarephath. As he came to the entrance of the village he met a woman, a widow, gathering firewood. He asked her, "Please, would you bring me a little water in a jug? I need a drink." 11 As she went to get it, he called out, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?" 12 She said, "I swear, as surely as your God lives, I don't have so much as a biscuit. I have a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a bottle; you found me scratching together just enough firewood to make a last meal for my son and me. After we eat it, we'll die." 13 Elijah said to her, "Don't worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you've said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what's left for you and your son. 14 This is the word of the God of Israel: 'The jar of flour will not run out and the bottle of oil will not become empty before God sends rain on the land and ends this drought.'" 15 And she went right off and did it, did just as Elijah asked. And it turned out as he said - daily food for her and her family. 16 The jar of meal didn't run out and the bottle of oil didn't become empty: God's promise fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had delivered it! (1 Kings 17:8-16 The Message Bible)
A blessed and special Wednesday for you all, ConCafe Family! And may the joys of seeing God working in your life, bless you, dear Friend, is my prayer. We continue to pray for one another and we lift up our needs to the Lord.
The great prophet Elijah is the subject of this passage. We find him after his story begins in this chapter. We find him in the court of the new king, Ahab, as challenging him and his wanting to continue the terrible and tragic leadership which included the child sacrifice of the king and queen's two sons, upon whose bodies were built the foundation of the temple of Baal, because it was considered a lucky thing. Elijah worked for God and did not like where the kingdom was headed and told the king that no rain would fall upon the earth until he said. This challenge, of course, made it necessary for the prophet to leave the city and head for safety. This abrupt start of his ministry is due to the loss of the material where Elijah's call was certainly recorded. We are thankful that what we do have provide quite the picture of a faithful and loyal servant of God.
Elijah is, in this passage, in his first year of ministry, which is the most trying and testing of all years. The call to ministry can best be described as a supernatural experience of a former rational person, who now hears voices or impulses that others would not dare answer or follow. And it's quite the adventure of faith to trust God in the good and the bad, knowing full well that one does not walk alone; they walk with God alongside and before, and Satan right behind, close enough to share his thoughts about what he believes to the best way for him. Though he never is identified in this story, he is both Ahab and Jezebel; he's the thought of doubt in Elijah's mind and the darkness of night that seems to never lift.
The first challenge to this young prophet is to go where God will lead without the luxury of diners, restaurants, or drive-throughs at which to get meals. God has selected the place, Zarephath in Sidon and for him to live there. This was a place named, in Hebrew, as a metalworkng shop or forging place, which is appropriate for a minister just starting their ministry. No one should attempt to serve the Lord without being ready to be tested by the forging of steel. God leads the prophet there with the promise that a widow there would feed him. Upon entering the village, he meets the widow who was gathering firewood, . Elijah asks her for a little water, and the classic man's move, "And while you're at it, would you bring me something to eat?" Husbands will understand, and wives will be upset. She swears to the prophet that she did not have any food to eat; the ony things she had to eat were the makings of bread, with a handful of flour and a little oil and confesses he met her when she was preparing her last meal for herself and her son. The prophet responds in faith, "Don't worry about a thing. Go ahead and do what you've said. But first make a small biscuit for me and bring it back here. Then go ahead and make a meal from what's left for you and your son." The prophet promises her that God will not allow her to run out of flour, and that her bottle of oil would not go empty, and adds that it would last even as long as the drought. The woman's faith allows her to do what the prophet has asked of her.
From that point on, she, her son, and the prophet of God had a regular meal. And neither the flour nor the oil ran out. What was faithful was God's word. The promise made by God was fulfilled to the letter, exactly as Elijah had shared it with the widow.
My list is too long to share on how many timess God has delivered on His promises to me and my ministry. One thing I do know is that God is a God Who always keeps His word and promises. His call upon my life came to me during a time of great insecurity and self-doubt. My shyness and reluctance were sure reasons for me not to go into ministry which required public speaking and leadership. I told God He had the wrong person. I had been told I was boring and would make a boring preacher. Who did I believe? Of course, humans, and not God. Yet on faith I went. I had a work/study scholarship and a lot of faith. The work part of the scholarship meant washing dishes that first semester, starting with breakfast. Nothing like going to first class smelling like egg! (Great way to impress girls!) I worked every other weekend, and those weekends at college allowed me to get to know the UMC of the Texas Conference, meaning English-language worship; and trips home meant worshiping with family. My second year at Lon Morris College I was called to the office. I had not given much thought to how I would pay for my third and fourth years I was informed that my academic record allowed for my being nominated for a Ford Foundation Scholarship by the college. If I received it, that would pay my upper level education. God kept His promise and I received it! God kept His word and I completed my undergraduate degree with God keeping His promise. Wherever God has called you to go or asked you to do, God is with you and He will keep His word to bless you.
PRAYER: Loving God, bless this reader in his/her life and life's work. Wherever You have called them, go with them and bless them by keeping Your promises for them; in Christ Jesus we pray, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! Be a prophet for God sharing hope in God's promises for those in doubt or struggling with their yes for God.
Receive my blessings of hope and peace.
Pastor Eradio Valverde
