Daily Devotion, April 28, 2021

 

Devotion:

Read 1 Kings 17:8-16.

God’s people, such as prophets, show up to meet the needs of others. But God can also work through a widow and her son in an unfamiliar land to meet the needs of others. The human part is, even when all hope is lost, to trust in the living God, and to be willing to follow in the ways our God, who is full of compassion and tender mercies, is leading.

Elijah was a prophet of the living God of Israel.  After Elijah confronted King Ahab, God told Elijah to go into hiding. God provided for Elijah by the streams of the Wadi Cherith and commanded the ravens to bring his food.

After the Wadi Cherith dried up due to the drought in the land, God sent him to Zarephath, a land unfamiliar to Elijah. God had commanded a widow there to feed him.

As you read this passage, you see that this widow had lost all of her hope and no doubt her son had, too. Perhaps Elijah was weary and was also losing hope. Anyone who is hungry has a difficult time seeing a brighter future. But Elijah speaks three words which are spoken often throughout the Bible, “Don’t be afraid.”

The living God was at work in their midst! Out of the willingness of this widow to share the last of her flour and oil and through the prophet’s word of the living God’s blessing unto her and her son, their futures change! There is enough flour and oil for them until the drought ends! Next week, we will hear more from this chapter!

Personal Worship Option:

Where do you find yourself in this story? As one who walks closely with God, but becomes weary at times; as the widow who is weary and hungry; as the son is hungry; or as the narrator telling this story of God’s compassionate and miraculous work? If you find yourself among the first three, keep hope alive because God is at work in your midst! If you find yourself as the narrator, keep telling the stories of God’s compassionate works in and through us all! As any of these, follow their lead with your actions to show up for others. Trust God for miracles of compassion because little is much in God’s hands!