August 11 Every Hour

1 Kings 17:8-9 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you."

THINK for a moment about being in a very impossible physical existence. Because you obeyed God's commands, you are homeless. You have no friends, and, indeed, it seems you can trust no one. Your life is in danger because the authorities blame you for a severe drought. You have seen the Lord protect you. But now, your food is gone. What do you do?

    Then God comes to speak to tell you what he will do. Surely he has the answer! But he effectively says, "Leave the country. Go to a widow, a poor woman. She is so poor she has to scavenge for fire wood every day. But go. I've told her to care for you."

    Your response may be something like this: "Right, Lord. Here I am with nothing. No water, no food and no friends. You want me to walk some 80 miles through a drought-stricken land to find a widow? Most widows have very little to feed themselves and family. How can I expect a widow to care for me, too? I hope you know what you're doing."

    Perhaps, though, I'm wrong about Elijah's response. Clearly, Elijah is a man God has anointed to faithfully follow him. Elijah could have walked those 80 miles with great anticipation of what the Lord would do. Perhaps his response was more as, "Thank you, Lord, for providing another place to care for me. I will go there excited and hopeful to see what you will do. I'm looking forward to trusting my life even more completely into your hands. You have cared for me to this point. And I'm sure you will care for all I need in Zarephath."  

    I don't know Elijah's response. But a teaching moment from the Bible comes when we pause to consider the human frailty of anyone God anoints to do his work. We must see in the Bible that God called men and women into extraordinary tasks that are impossible without him. Our faith journeys are the same. Facing new, uncomfortable or even frightening tasks, we are often inclined to say, "But, Lord." as he daily, even hourly challenges us to say, "Yes, Lord."

    Which response is yours?

Prayer: Lord God, I confess there is no hour that passes when I do not need you. In Jesus' name, amen.