Desperate Measures In Desperate Times (1)
Monday June 20, 2016
God always has good plans for us if we will consult Him. We don’t need to wait for desperate times in order to hear God’s voice. Our part is to meet with God in every situation, ask for God’s help, listen for God’s direction, and then act in faith and obedience to His word to us. This is how we can live joyfully in God’s care and generous provision no matter what our circumstances.
In the Bible we read the story of a man named Elijah. Elijah is a man who listens carefully to God. Even though Elijah does what was right, the King is evil and is out to get him, so Elijah has to flee. God sees Elijah’s trouble and has a plan prepared to take care of him. As unlikely as it seems, this plan involves an extremely poor widow and her son who are facing starvation because of a drought. Can desperate people really help others who are in desperate need?
God tells Elijah to go to a particular town and to seek out a particular widow. Elijah does as God says. He asks her for food and she tells him that she only has a bit of flour and oil that she is going to use to make one last meal for herself and her son. After that they will face starvation and death. In that moment God gives instructions that seem ridiculous but which ultimately save the woman, her son, and Elijah.
But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah. (1 Kings 17:8-16 NLT)
Despairing as this woman’s circumstances were, she trusted what God said and left the outcome with Him. Are we willing to trust what God’s says even in seemingly desperate situations?
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