Readings for today: 1 Kings 17-19
Faith doesn’t often make much sense. Not from a human, rational perspective. Noah building a boat before it rains. Abraham leaving his home and family to go on a journey without knowing the destination. Moses stepping into the water and raising his staff before the Red Sea is parted. Throughout the Bible, the people of God are called to walk by faith and not by sight. To step out in faith rather than cling to safety and security. And the woman we meet in our passage today is a great example. She is down to her last bit of flour and her last ounce of oil. She barely has enough to feed herself and her son one final meal before laying down to die. Then she meets Elijah. The man of God. And he challenges her to step out in faith by making a small loaf for him first and then use the rest to make some for her and her son. And amazingly enough, she does! And then she experiences the miraculous provision of God as He continually fills her jars with flour and oil.
I try to put myself in her shoes. How would I have responded to Elijah’s request? Are you crazy? You want me to feed you first and then eat the leftovers? The crust? The crumbs? What a selfish thing for you to even ask! I think I would have missed out on the miracle. I wouldn’t have had the faith to trust. I wouldn’t have had the humility and heart to serve. I wouldn’t have been able to make the sacrifice. But the woman considered Elijah more important than herself. She considered hospitality to be a sacred act. She was generous to the point of self-denial. We don’t know a lot about her background. She appears and disappears quickly from the pages of Scripture. She’s a bit player in grand narrative of salvation and yet what a role she plays! What an example she sets!
Whenever I read stories like this and think to myself, “I could never do what she did”, God is always quick to remind me I’m not in her situation. I am not a woman living in ancient Israel during a terrible drought and down to my last bit of food. But even though her circumstances were different than mine, God’s call remains the same. God has brought all kinds of people across my path. Godly men and women. Ungodly men and women. Christian and non-Christian alike. All of them made in the image of God. All of them loved by God. And my call is to serve. To give. To offer all that I have and all that I am to feed them and nourish them and bless them. Especially in the spiritual desert that is our culture. The spiritual drought we are experiencing as a people. And every time I do, I get to experience the miracle of God’s provision just as she did. This is what it means to walk by faith and not by sight.
Readings for tomorrow: 1 Kings 20-21