August 13 End or Beginning?

1 Kings 17:12 And she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die."


WHEN Elijah asked the widow in Zarephath for a cup of water and a morsel of bread, she has a fascinating response. Here is a woman living in a pagan land - the territory from which the evil Queen Jezebel had come - and the first words out of her mouth confessed her faith in the Living God of Israel. To the Israelite prophet, she speaks of the God who sent him. In her first response, though, it seems she is saying, "No." to Elijah's request. Can you blame her? She has only one meal left at home for herself and her son. This could be the end of the conversation.

    But in truth, it is the beginning of Elijah's and the widow's faith journey with God. In her reference to God is the expression of the seeds of faith God has planted in the widow. Remember, he had told Elijah to go to Zarephath because he had "commanded a widow there to feed (him)". God's command to the widow didn't come on a stone tablet, a parchment or in a vision. But God's command came to the widow in sowing of faith into her soul.

    That seed came to the widow because God's name was known throughout the land. His reputation for miraculous work dating back to the Egyptian Exodus and through Israel's settlement of the Promised Land was recorded and spoken throughout all nations. Certainly, too, the power of the Lord's anointed King David loomed large in all nations as well. The Old Testament shows many examples in which pagan rulers acknowledged the Living God's power. Tragically as this widow does here, the pagans seemed to express more faith in God's power than Israel did.

    The widow knew of God and believed in him as the Living God. She may not have worshiped him outright, but she worshiped God in this confession. In the power of God, Elijah will use these seeds of faith, even though they seem as small as a mustard seed, to guide this desperate mother into a faithful journey as a servant of the Lord God.

    Are you willing to acknowledge God even when it looks as if you are on the edge of destruction?

Prayer: Lord, you are the Living God, who cares for me at all times in miraculous and gracious ways. Water my seeds of faith with Jesus, the Living Water. In Jesus' name, amen.