As I sit in my quiet morning spot I see a basket with a bottle of olive oil and a pouch of flour. A very dear friend gave me this very dear reminder at a very hard time in my life. She told me that just like God took care of the widow He would take care of my and my family. That story comes from I Kings 17. I read it again recently and saw something I hadn’t seen before. (Funny how God can do that – just keep showing you stuff from the same story!)
This woman and her son were about to have their last meal when Elijah showed up, said he was a man of God and she was supposed to make supper for him. After a bit of a conversation she must of thought, what do I have to lose this was going to be our last meal anyway. So she made Elijah and there was “food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.” I Kings 17:15 NIV Verse 17 starts with “Some time later” we don’t know how long her son became very ill. During that “some time” the provision of God, a miracle became ordinary to the widow. When her son stopped breathing she lashed out at Elijah, “What have you against me man of God?” How quickly she forgot how God was taking care of them. The short version of this story is Elijah went into the boys room, prayed to God for him and God spared her son. The widow’s response? “NOW I know that you are a man of God and that the word fo the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” (verse 24) Hmmm. Think about that. I’m like that too but when you read it here it seems so obvious. God miraculously replenished her food supply day after day and it became ordinary in her life. The newness of the miracle wore off some where in the daily-ness of life. It took another crisis to prove to her (again) that God could provide for her.
I don’t know about you but I really don’t want to have to have crisis after crisis in my life for me to learn that God can provide for me. I don’t want it to become so ordinary that God provides for me that I forget. What does this remind you of today?
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