1 Kings 17: 12b I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.
There was a severe famine in Israel at the word of Elijah. The rivers and brooks had dried up, the crops had failed and the cattle were perishing. The Lord God directed Elijah to go to the ‘bed and breakfast’ home of a poor pagan widow. 1 Kings 17:8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” This widow had exhausted all her resources; she had used all her supplies and was gathering sticks to make her last meal. Her despondency pushed her to plan a silent suicide which is when she encountered the great prophet Elijah. The Lord God did not send the prophet to the palace to be fed; He sent him to the empty hut of the impoverished widow who had exhausted all her resources and was enmeshed in poverty.
Elijah gave the destitute, despondent, starving widow a command – 1 Kings 17:13 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. The little oil in her jug and the hand full flower in her jar in the home of the widow fed the widow, her son and Elijah until the end of the famine. The Lord replenished the resources in the jar and the jug throughout the drought! Obedience opens the door to miraculous resources.
The prescription for the exhaustion, emptiness and ensnare is in the Word of God:
1. Exhausted: Have you exhausted all your strength and savings? Have you knocked on all possible doors of opportunities? Are you tired of receiving rejection, refusal and rebuff? The exhausted widow did not challenge the Word of God. If you are exhausted, your efforts are being wasted; surrender your efforts and exhaustion into the Lord’s hands and He will open springs of resources. Implicit obedience opened the door for ample supply.
2. Emptied: Have you emptied your supply and sources? Is your fuel running out and your engine failing? The widow was planning to commit suicide as her emptiness was going to sell her son in to slavery. Debtors were waiting to snatch her home and inheritance. However, she did not challenge nor confront the prophet but indisputably obeyed God’s Word. Irrefutable obedience opened the door for unseen resources.
3. Ensnared: Are you enthralled and ensnared into systems and surroundings? Are you caught in a vicious circle of routines and schedules? Are you trapped, traced and tricked? The widow was ensnared under a system which pushed her into poverty, lack and slavery. She lived at a time when there were no government benefit systems for ‘widows without income’. Though entangled and ensnared in a cruel system of slavery she was certain that obedience to the prophet will open an avenue to the miraculous. Simple obedience is the key to the door of deliverance and the miraculous.
The prescription to failing strength, emptying resources and enthralling systems of vicious circles is the Word of God. God’s address is at the end of the rope – Dallas Willard.
Have you taken your prescription medicine today?
1 Kings 17:15 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.
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