It is no secret that the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has launched most of the world into extended periods of economic chaos. More than 20 million Americans lost their jobs, at least temporarily during the pandemic, creating serious financial concern for millions of people. It’s easy to face times of economic uncertainty and experience anxiety. After all, all of us need money to survive. Rent and mortgages are still due, car payments need to be made, monthly utilities are a necessity, and we all have to eat. It’s easy to become overwhelmed by the fear associated with job losses and a lack of money.
While it’s still easy to become uneasy when facing financial uncertainty, God’s people can rely on the promises of His Word that He will sustain us. Time after time in the Bible, we read stories of God supernaturally providing for His people. If you find yourself facing unemployment and you’re wondering how you’re going to make ends meet each month, find some solace in God’s promises for provision for His people.
Elijah and the Widow from Zarephath
1 Kings 17
Elijah was an Old Testament prophet who God used to perform multiple miracles during his ministry. At one point, Israel had been dragged into such a sinful state by a wicked king, God allowed Elijah to declare a drought over all the land until Israel repented (1 Kings 17:1). Once Elijah declared the drought and God shut up the skies, God immediately provided for Elijah:
1 Kings 17:2-3 (ESV)
And the word of the Lord came to him: “Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is easy of Jordan.”
God knew that Elijah needed water to survive just like all of humanity does, so He directed Elijah to go to a brook. God’s provision for Elijah didn’t stop there, though.
1 Kings 17:6 (ESV)
And the ravens brought him bread and meat in the morning and bread and meat in the evening, and he drank from the brook.
God sustained Elijah supernaturally by sending ravens to deliver his daily meals. Elijah was obedient to God and God rewarded that obedience. When we are faithful to God, we can rest in the promise that He will always be faithful to us. That is not to say that we earn the blessings of God, but rather that our obedience opens the door for God to display his power in our lives. Elijah’s story takes a turn shortly after we read about the ravens, though:
1 Kings 17:7-9(ESV)
And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.
Elijah’s original source dried up because of the lack of rain, but God immediately pointed him in a different direction to continue his divine provision. Did you notice what God said to Elijah? God had already commanded a faithful woman in Zarephath to feed him. That’s how God’s provision works. While we are worried about the things we’re experiencing in the moment, God has already gone ahead of us and is working everything out for our benefit.
When Elijah got into Zarephath he found the widow that God had told him about and asked for a drink of water and a piece of bread. Can you imagine his surprise when she gave him this response?
1 Kings 17:12 (ESV)
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.
That certainly doesn’t sound like a woman who was expecting a guest for dinner, does it? That doesn’t even sound as promising as the ravens that were bringing him two meals a day. This woman who God had told to feed him just told him that she had enough food to make a small cake that her and her son were going to eat before they died of starvation! Both Elijah and the widow were faced with a decision: trust God’s ability to provide or shrink in the face of uncertainty.
1 Kings 17:13-14 (ESV)
And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the judo g oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth”
Elijah was putting all of his hope in God’s promise that this woman was going to feed him. He could’ve left. Everyone in Israel knew that he was a prophet. Surely someone had a little bit of food in their house that they would share with a man of God, right? But God had told Elijah to go to this house. He had told him about this woman. Elijah knew that to embrace the fullness of God’s power and God’s promises, He had to be where God told him to be. Now the ball was completely in her court. What would she do? Here’s this man who she’s never met telling her to give him some food when she has already told him that she was preparing a last meal for her and her son! She could’ve said no. Anyone who knew her would’ve understood if she had. Her response is telling:
1 Kings 17:15-16(ESV)
And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Obedience opens the door for God to fulfill His promises in our lives. What neither Elijah nor the widow realized is that they were the key to the other’s provision. Elijah asked the woman to do what seemed unthinkable and give him her last cake. The woman’s jar and jug were running out until God used Elijah to give a prophetic word over them. When they both responded in obedience, God supernaturally provided for both of them.
You and I have been promised the same supernatural provision. Yes, times have changed, and you may not have a literal jar of flour and a jug of oil, but you may be facing a situation where there’s not enough money in your checking account to make things make sense. While it’s easy to see that kind of situation as hopeless, those are the situations that create an opportunity for God to do something incredible in your life.
Jesus spoke on the concept of God’s providing for His children during the Sermon on the Mount:
Matthew 6:26-30 (TPT)
Look at all the birds-do you think they worry about their existence? They don’t plant or reap or store up food, yet your heavenly Father provides them each with food. Aren’t you much more valuable to your Father than they? So, which one of you by worrying could add anything to your life? And why would you worry about your clothing? Look at all the beautiful flowers of the field. They don’t work or toil, and yet not even Solomon in all his splendor was robed in beauty more than one of these! So if God has clothed the meadow with hay, which is here for such a short time and then dried up and burned, won’t he provide for you the clothes you need-even though you live with such little faith?
Nature points us to God as our provider. Birds do not worry about how they’re going to eat; they simply go out and eat what God provides them. If God takes care of the birds and the flowers, we can rest in the fact that He will take care of us.
A Closing Prayer:
God, you know that I am concerned about my finances. I know that Your Word teaches me that You are a Provider and I certainly need provision. God, I don’t know how this is going to work out, but I know that if You cared for Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, and you care for the birds and the flowers, you will sustain me. In Christ’s name I pray, Amen!