"Mother, OBedience, Miracle"

Mother, Obedience, Miracle

1 Kings 17:15-16 (NKJV)
So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days. The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

In life, we often face adverse circumstances that challenge our faith and willingness to obey God. The story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath found in 1 Kings 17:8-24 is a powerful example of how faith and obedience can lead to remarkable miracles. It encourages us to trust God in the face of adversity, step out in faith, and witness His miraculous provision. When we align our lives with God’s purposes and walk in faithful obedience, we open the door to experience the extraordinary and witness His power at work. May this message inspire us to deepen our trust in God, seek His guidance, embrace the challenges of life with unwavering faith, and reflect on how we can apply these principles to our own lives.

The story begins with Elijah, a prophet of the Lord, who boldly confronts King Ahab and Queen Jezebel about their wickedness and lack of devotion to God. As a result, God declares a severe drought over the land, leading to a devastating famine. Elijah himself experiences the effects of this adversity as he is commanded by God to hide by the brook of Cherith, where he is miraculously sustained with water from the brook and food brought by ravens.

The Widow of Zarephath’s story begins while she is at the gate gathering a few sticks so she can go home and prepare the last little bit of food for herself and her son. As the famine intensifies, the Widow of Zarephath finds herself in a dire situation. She is a single mother with only a handful of flour and a small amount of oil left. (clip art) Desperation fills her heart as she gathers sticks to prepare a final meal for herself and her son before facing inevitable death. Her circumstances seem hopeless, mirroring the challenges many of us face in our own lives.
In her mind, the end is near. She needs a miracle from God.

#1 – Faith overcomes fear.

Elijah, guided by the God of Israel, approaches the widow and requests water. She responds with obedience and goes to get it. However, when Elijah asks for bread as well, her fear and doubt become evident. She confesses her limited resources, but Elijah assures her, saying, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first, make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me. Then make something for yourself and your son.” 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 sends rain on the land.’” Elijah’s words are a profound display of faith, demonstrating his trust in God’s provision.

#2 – For a bigger purpose.

God’s purposes are so much higher and wider than what we imagine. God tells us to go here or there—to do this or that—and it’s easy to think it’s about us. Hopefully we can see it as God positioning us for blessing. While that is often a part of his plan, our eyes usually rest on ourselves, when in fact it has less to do with us and more to do with what He wants to do through our relationships with the people to whom He connects us. Our lives are intertwined for mutual provision and blessing.
The Widow of Zarephath had nothing for her own family to eat, much less a prophet. Through her obedience, God sustained the prophet and her household.

When Elijah sees the woman God told him to meet, he asks her for a cup of water. I can just see her acknowledge him and turn to go get the water. Then behind her, she hears him ask for a piece of bread. (clip art)
Can you imagine just a little attitude in her response to him? The Message says,
1 Kings 17:12 (MSG)

“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”.

This man of God is asking for the last of all she has.
Perhaps she’s wondering …
Did God send this man?
Do I dare trust him?
Do I trust God?

#3 – Obedience ignites miracles.

If that woman had acted differently, the loaf of bread that she made from her meager supply of flour and oil may well have been her last meal. Instead, she acted in faith, trusted in Jehovah, and fed Elijah first.
A lesson that we can learn from this is that God blesses those who exercise faith. When you face a test of integrity and exercise faith, Jehovah will help you. He will be a Provider, a Protector, and a Friend in order to help you cope with your trial.

Since the woman had the faith necessary to obey, then she would be esteemed worthy of the Lord’s assistance through the Prophet. Thus it is with us,—at various steps in the journey of life the Lord brings us to the place where he tests our faith. If we exercise the faith, we will get the blessing; if we do not, we will lose the blessing.”

When we face specific trials, we need to seek divine guidance from the Scriptures. Then we should act in harmony with Jehovah’s direction regardless of how difficult it may be to accept it. We will indeed be blessed if we act in harmony with Proverbs 3:5-6. It says, “Trust in Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding. In all your ways take notice of him, and he will make your paths straight.”

The story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath resonates with us today, offering valuable lessons and insights.

#4 – There is no lack in God.

I imagine this widow watching her flour and oil dwindle for weeks. She had one more handful of flour and perhaps if she knocked every last bit from the container’s sides, and left the oil jar to hang upside down, she’d get just enough to make one last cake.
Before she ever reached the place of need, God knew how he would meet it.
Her flour was getting low, but God knew Elijah would come. Her oil is running thin, but God knew Elijah would come. She heads out to gather sticks for a last meal, but God knew Elijah would come.
Right now, in your desperate need, God knows how he’s going to meet it. In fact, God knows how he will meet needs you haven’t even come to.
God will provide guidance as you need it.
God will provide wisdom as you need it.
God will provide comfort as you need it.
God will provide for you financially as you need it.
God will provide grace to sustain as you need it.
God will provide for each circumstance as you need it.

#5 – Tests of faith in adversity.

The widow’s plight symbolizes the challenges and difficulties we face in our lives. Sometimes, it may feel like our resources are depleted, and there is no solution in sight. However, this story reminds us that even in the darkest of times, we can choose to trust God and His promises.

You know, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and he could have hand-delivered one to this woman. But instead, he asks her to trust and obey. She had to give the last of what she has to the prophet of God with a promise that God wouldn’t let her flour and oil run out until the drought was over.

God wanted more than to simply meet this woman’s needs. He wanted this unbeliever in a gentile country to know that he was the one true God. God was more interested in feeding her soul than feeding her stomach.
When she trusted God with everything she had, God provided everything she needed.

There it was, a promise of a miracle. And of course, God was faithful to his promise as he only can be. For three years, every time she reached into that jar of flour, there was enough. Every time she made cakes of oil and flour for Elijah there was enough. When her growing boy was hungry, there was enough. Until God brought rain again, God provided for Elijah, this woman and her son when she trusted God with everything she had.
God wants the same for us.

Maybe you wouldn’t have chosen to write your life story this way. Maybe you’ve found yourself at the end of hope and in deep need. God WILL meet your need – he promises us that. But he wants more for you. God wants you to have hope beyond this life. He wants to feed your soul as the one true God.

There is no hopelessness in God. And while there are tests of faith, there is no lack in God either. The same God who provided for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in extreme drought and desperation, is the same God who is faithful to us as well, if we will but trust and obey.

The Widow of Zarephath’s story doesn’t end there. Yes, God sustained her household through the drought, but there is more to her relationship with God’s prophet.

The widow’s faith was about to undergo another test. “After these things,” says the Bible account, “the son of the woman who owned the house fell sick, and his sickness became so severe that he stopped breathing.” Searching for a reason for this tragedy, the grieving mother says,

1 Kings 17:18 (NKJV)

“So she said to Elijah, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?”

What do those bitter words mean? Had the woman recalled a sin that troubled her conscience? Did she think that her son’s death was divine retribution, and that Elijah was God’s messenger of death? The Bible does not tell us, but two points are clear: One, she’s angry. She lashes out in her pain at the man she trusted, the man who God used to perform a miracle. And two, the widow did not accuse God of any unrighteousness. She looked to Elijah for answers.

Jehovah was listening. The widow had provided for his prophet and had exercised faith. Apparently, God allowed the boy’s illness to take its course, knowing that a resurrection—the first one recorded in the Scriptures—would take place and would give hope to future generations.
Conclusion

1 Kings 17:19-22 (NKJV)

And he said to her, “Give me your son.” So he took him out of her arms and carried him to the upper room where he was staying, and laid him on his own bed. 20 Then he cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, have You also brought tragedy on the widow with whom I lodge, by killing her son?” 21 And he stretched himself out on the child three times, and cried out to the Lord and said, “O Lord my God, I pray, let this child’s soul come back to him.” 22 Then the Lord heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came back to him, and he revived. (clip art)
The story of a widow, who remained unnamed in the Bible, was important enough to have her faith and obedience recorded in the Bible. Her name didn’t matter, but her faith and obedience will forever be remembered.
He knows your name…