I’ve always been intrigued by stories from the Bible that are larger than life, the supernatural events that remind us of God’s sovereign power. Each of these stories exemplifies God’s divine power over the natural world. But what is more interesting to me is how often God displayed this unmistakable supernatural power to meet the most basic of everyday human needs.
There are, of course, spectacular examples of miracles, such as the Israelites being saved from Pharaoh’s army at the Red Sea or people who are raised from the dead, but there are also many miracles where God provides simple things like food.
My trust in God’s faithfulness doesn’t rely on supernatural experiences, but those stories recorded in scripture are a reminder to me of just how much God cares about those simple everyday experiences of our daily lives.
I love reading about the life of the prophet Elijah. Few people in the Bible experienced more supernatural moments.
One of my favourite examples is the story of the widow from Zarephath recorded in 1 Kings Chapter 17. There was a drought and a famine caused by Israel’s worship of Baal instead of God. To provide for Elijah’s needs, God sent Elijah to the town of Zarephath in Phoenicia where a widow would feed him.
This instruction is a bit unusual. Elijah was sent outside of Israel to be cared for by someone who was not only a foreigner but would have had a high likelihood of being unable to care for herself under normal circumstances, much less during a famine. In those days (the 9th Century BCE) widows would have had a great deal of difficulty earning a living. Today we would call her “marginalized.”
But on the Word of the Lord, Elijah went. He gets to the gate of the city, and he finds a woman gathering sticks. He was thirsty, so he asked her for a cup of water. Even this request would have been a test of the widow’s heart. Water was obviously in short supply during a drought. She didn’t refuse or complain, she went to get Elijah a cup of water. Then he calls her back to ask a second question. “Will you bring me a small bite of bread?”
She takes a pause, then says this: “I do not have bread, but only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar. I am gathering two sticks, that I can go in and make it for me and my son, so we may eat it and die.”
The widow had almost given up. After all, there was no escaping the inevitable. But God had a different plan. Elijah told her that if she would make him a small cake first, then one for herself and her son, the Lord would not let the flour or oil run empty until the famine was over. The widow agreed. Again, this mother didn’t complain and didn’t ask questions, she immediately believed and obeyed the word of Elijah.
Miraculously, the small amount of flour and oil that should have only made one very small meal did not run out. The containers just never became empty. It didn’t just sustain Elijah, but the entire household. This was a supernatural provision of something as basic as the need to eat.
This widow who was not even an Israelite, trusted the word of the Lord more fully than the King of Israel. She gave Elijah food fully trusting that God could and would provide. Because of her generosity and trust, God took care of her fundamental, basic needs.
This story displays a beautiful intersection between the supernatural power of God and the commonplace needs of mankind through the heart of a Creator who cares about every part of every person.
This is a God worthy of our trust today. He sees circumstances, our seemingly unimportant day-to-day existence. He cares about the smallest details of our lives. He is not some distant God demanding mindless worship while keeping Himself set apart from the toil, agony, and confusion of human existence. He cares about the ignored, the poor, the weak, the downtrodden, and yes, the marginalized.
Does God care for the vulnerable? Absolutely!
The widow of Zarephath received so much more than food. She knew that the God of Israel was real and that He loved her and her family. Nine hundred years before Christ, God shows us that His love for mankind crosses all human ethnic and cultural boundaries. He loves ALL. And so should we.
We encounter many people like this widow as we carry our vision to strengthen families in crisis. We meet many widows in our travels across Eastern Europe. Our hearts are always moved with compassion to intervene in their lives to bring hope and healing. Often this is as simple as filling up their cupboards with food. There is no clearer way of showing what God’s love is really like than to feed empty stomachs.
To learn more about how MPI feeds people vulnerable people and shares the love of God with families in crisis, visit our website at www.mpiconnect.org
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