REFILLING OUR EMPTY
“ Elijah said to her, “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, and 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.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.“
1 Kings 17: 13-15 (NIV)
The Lord told Elijah to go to a widow’s house, because He had already directed her to supply the prophet with food. We don’t know how God directed her, but she heard from God, and followed what He told her, even though it didn’t make her task any easier. She was at the end of her supply of food during a famine and an economic crisis, and she only had enough flour and oil for one last meal. When Elijah arrived at her home, anxiety must have gripped her, because he had to first calm her by telling her not to be afraid. She used up the last of her oil and flour to make bread for the prophet. As she obeyed, she might have wondered about tomorrow, while looking at her empty jar. God didn’t give the widow a financial plan for her future, or a miraculous lump sum supply of food to last her for months. Maybe she wished God would explain what His plan was for her future, but He doesn’t work that way. God gave her direction and through Elijah told her not to be afraid. She had to trust God for that day, even though she was probably full of questions about tomorrow. The next day her jar of flour and her jug of oil were refilled. It continued to be refilled, day by day, and she had enough to last her until the famine was over. God blessed her in her scarcity. Instead of miraculously filling her jar and jug to the brim the very first day, He provided for her each day, one day at a time. God wants us to put our trust in Him fresh each day, because He is the Lord of today. He is always teaching us to trust, and His lessons might also apply beyond financial or material needs. He wants us to trust Him for whatever we have a scarcity of. We might be scarce on patience, trust, or have reached a limit in our willingness to forgive someone who once hurt us. God provides whatever we lack, and He makes changes in us, when we give ourselves to Him. We cannot change ourselves, but God can, and He directs us and provides for us, only one day at a time, as He did for the widow of Zarephath. We have something that the widow did not have. We have the bread of heaven, Jesus, who is a real living presence in our lives, and is always with us. When we practice His presence, casting all our cares and concerns on Him, He sees our scarcity, and will give us what we need, one day at a time. Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us and giving yourself up for us. Help us to give ourselves back to you, and to trust you as our daily bread of heaven, to refill all those empty jars in our lives. Thank you for supplying all our needs one day at a time. Amen