A LOT FROM A LITTLE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

"As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. 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."

Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake 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 gives 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. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

1 Kings 17:7-16

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

I have a confession to make. Since I have arrived here in Africa, I have lot sight of my priorities.

Sure, I have been very successful in my first two months here and have gained a lot of acclaim and compliment on all the work I have invested to improve the command for all the service members here. And herein highlights how I have lost sight of my priorities.

For in my wanting to do so well here and get off to a good start, I have essentially placed my work and service to the command over the One who is in command. I always tell others I serve God and country in that order. Over the last eight weeks, I’m afraid I have fallen short of making good on that statement, allowing Satan to slyly pull me away from my daily writing by getting me consumed with my workload. Shame on me for allowing that to happen.

And so today, I write to you with a renewed commitment. One that will ensure that I allow God to guide my time and allot Him all that He desires to work in and through me. I anticipate that He will show me that I will be just as successful if not more so by adjusting the attitude I have concerning my time management.

As I pick up where I left off…at Chapter of 17 in 1st Kings, you’ll recall we were introduced to one of Israel’s greatest prophets, Elijah, who the Lord used to send a message to Ahab, the wicked, standing king of Israel. The message was a foreboding one. For the Lord was going to bring a drought on Israel with no dew or rain on the land for “the next few years”.

Well, the drought happened and as Elijah was staying in the Kerith Ravine by direction of the Lord where he was fed day and night by the ravens, eventually the brook that he drank from “dried up because there had been no rain in the land”.

It was at that time that “the word of the Lord came to him” saying:

"Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food."

And so Elijah…the faithful, obedient servant that he was…did what the Lord commanded and “went to Zarephath” and when “he came to the town gate”, he came upon a widow just as the Lord had said he would. As the widow was “gathering sticks”, Elijah “called to her” saying, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" and he followed it up with a request for “a piece of bread."

Elijah had to be a little surprised at the widow’s reply, especially since he asked politely.

For we read where the widow said to him, “As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don't have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. 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."

Her words show us just how tough times were. The widow was sure that what little she had left would be the last meal that she and her son would have together. After that, they would just end up starving to death. And with this, the woman was trying to relay onto Elijah that it was hard enough for her and her son to have enough to eat yet alone feed a stranger. What she didn’t know was that she was about to experience the Lord’s plentiful goodness.

Note how in the midst of the widow’s worst concerns and worries, the Lord enters in with words of comfort and peace through Elijah who assuages the woman’s concerns saying, “Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake 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 gives rain on the land.' "

Wow. That was quite a proposal from Elijah. I wonder what must have been running through the widow’s mind at that point? I think any average person would have been skeptical. The widow could have felt that Elijah was taking advantage of her simply to get some food for himself, rejecting his request because of this suspicion. She could have just flat out rejected his request out of greed. What little flour and oil existed would stay in the family. No need to share it because there was so little to begin with. The widow was asked to believe and trust Elijah…trust that there would never be a shortage of food no matter how bad it got anywhere else until rain fell once again.

So how would the widow respond?

As we see, she responded in trust and obedience, carrying out Elijah’s directions perfectly. Scripture tells us she “went away and did as Elijah had told her” and as a result, “there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family” because “the jar of flour was not used up” and “the jug of oil did not run dry”…just as the Lord had predicted. The woman discovered two important truths about the Lord in the process.

First, He can make a lot from just a little. Some time after this passage, God’s Son, Jesus, would bring a similar kind of blessing to first the crowd of 5,000 using five loaves of bread and two fish to feed them all (Mark 6:30-44) and then followed it with feeding a separate crowd of 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish (Mark 8:1-13).

Second, the Lord provides when we need it. For the woman and her son, they were down to their last bit of flour and oil when the Lord entered in and through divine blessing ensured they never were without. I couldn’t help but think back to the people of Israel as they wondered through the desert on their exodus from Egypt toward the Promised Land. You’ll recall they were fearful about starving to death, only to receive God’s blessing of provision as manna and quail came from heaven to earth. (Exodus 16)

Back to my testimony…so how will I be able to carve out my time with the Lord each day to continue to write His messages faithfully?

First, I need to remember that He takes a little and make it a lot. And so when I give Him my time, no matter how much time that is, He will ensure it becomes a blessed bounty.

Second, any day when I see that it might be difficult to get time set aside for what the Lord wants me to do, then I only need to step back and remember that He provides when we need it, especially when it comes to serving Him.

So how about you? Have you allowed Satan to suck up the time in your days to where you have no time remaining to give the Lord…the One who creates every day and every hour?

If so, I pray the Lord will speak to you in this message just as He has spoken to me. It’s great to be back.

Have a blessed week in the Lord everyone.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

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