“Didn’t run out”

By Rev. Michael Stonhouse

Meditation – Sunday, November 10, 2024

1 Kings 17: 8-16 (Forward, p. 12) CEV p. 371

Here is one of those stories from the Bible where it is dangerous, and rather unwise, to draw too much into it by way of contemporary conclusions. For instance, are we to conclude by this that if we depend upon the Lord, we will never go without, never run out of the necessities of life? The apostle Paul himself admits that “I have gone hungry and thirsty and often had nothing to eat’ (2 Corinthians 11:27b) and I suspect that many listed in the rollcall of faith’s heroes in Hebrews 11 also went with out. It certainly has been true of faithful Christians in South Sudan.

So, what then can we take from this account of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath? Firstly, that she was moved, by God, to share what little food she had with Elijah, even though there was so little, and despite her initial protests. (She sounds amazingly like Jesus’ disciple, Andrew, in John 6:9, “There is a boy here who has five small loaves of barley bread and two fish. But what good is that with all these people?”). And, secondly, that she had faith enough to believe that God could do the impossible, or at least, what she thought was impossible. And, thirdly, that God, in this particular instance, was able to make a miracle take place.

So then, can we always expect God to ‘pull off that one’ in our own lives? I don’t think so, but I do think that He can still do amazing things if we are willing to share, to give over to His use, the small bit that we do have—our small bit of time, or abilities, or treasure. I like to think that this can happen in our own lives, in our communities and nations, and even in our world, if we just contribute our ‘small piece’. Amen.

Forward notes: “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” (verse 16).

“This story from Kings reminds us that God provides what we need. Elijah meets a widow who has planned to die. She is so desperate for food and so hopeless that it seems like the best option is death. When Elijah hears this, he doesn’t condemn her or tell her she doesn’t have enough faith; he asks God to help him meet her need for food and water.

“God gives her a promise that her flour and oil will not run dry for the remainder of the famine. There’s not a lot of extravagance in the provisions—just enough to make it through.

“I wonder how many times I have asked for more than I need. How often have I confused need and want? I am learning that God provides for our needs, but sometimes those needs are simple—water, oil, flour. Enough.”

Moving Forward: “Where has God provided enough for you? How might you see the provisions in your life?”