TESTING, GIVING AND FAITH

I think Kings is like one of my favourite Bible chapters to read. I feel like every time I open that chapter I come across a new Bible story that I have never heard about. So I was reading 1 Kings 17 which at the beginning was speaking about a famous Bible story which we all know; Elijah closing the heavens and causing no rain or dew to fall for years. After that God told him to hide and during this hiding, He will provide Elijah with food through ravens. Elijah obeyed and after there was no more water coming from where he drank from, God sent him to a widow in Zarephath who was to provide food for Elijah. So this is where today’s blog starts.

So Elijah was obedient and he went to Zarephath where at the gate met a widow who was gathering some sticks. Immediately, he knew this was who God was talking about. Amazing! So he approached this lady and asked her for a little cup of water. As the lady was going to get the water, he called her back and asked her for bread. The widow then said “I swear by the Lord your God that I don’t have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die” (1 Kings‬ ‭17:12‬ ‭NLT‬‬). So Elijah then said to her: “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (1 Kings‬ ‭17:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬). So verse 15 tells us that “She did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days.” Such a beautiful story.

So my blog today is titled: “Testing, Giving and Faith”. So we’ll start with “Testing”. When Elijah got there, what he did was to test and see how the widow will respond. This reminded me of the story of Isaac when he was looking for a wife. What Isaac did was to ask Rebekah for water to see how she will react. In our current life, if a stranger asked us for water, that will be a different story. Our answer will range from “I don’t have some” to “who is this creep” to “wow this homeless person is moving mad”. There are some test that I know most of us will fail if we are put to it, but this widow passed with flying colours. This also draws my mind to Hebrews 13:2 which ways “Don’t forget to show hospitality to strangers, for some who have done this have entertained angels without realizing it!” You never know how your destiny helper might approach you, therefore always try and remain on the good/ positive side. Let kindness come from you effortlessly, show kindness without delay to avoid missing your blessings. We saw that Elijah became a blessing to this widow and her family, only because she showed kindness at their first interaction.

Moving on, “Giving”. I learnt something great in the story relating to giving. You see when Elijah asked for water, we saw that the lady was fast to go and get it. Why? Because water was something that she had. She can probably give a lot of people water, effortlessly. But when Elijah asked for the bread, that was when there was a problem. It is easier to give things when you have a lot, but when it is insufficient, giving becomes hard. It’s like a Pastor saying “Sow a seed of £10”. That might be very easy because £10 might be nothing to you. You can close your eyes and give that without any pain. But when £1,000 is mentioned, well all the possible headaches in the world comes onto you. Because you might not have the £1,000 so it’s like where am I going to get that money from. This is something that everyone, including myself struggle with. It’s like “okay, this might be my last £1,000 or what I have does not reach £1,000 so is it a thing of let me sow this seed and see?”

That’s when “Faith” comes in. This lady said to Elijah, I only have a handful of flour and even the oil you have to tilt the jar and wait for five minutes before it comes out, that’s how little I have. But let’s look at something. Elijah said “Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (1 Kings‬ ‭17:13-14‬ ‭NLT‬‬). And as soon he said that, the lady had faith and did it. Before, when Elijah said go and make the bread, the lady had no faith until after he said what God has said. This is the true definition of Romans 10:17 “So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.” When you know the word of God, that is when you start to have faith in His instructions and His directions. If I tell you, during this race Usain Bolt has a 99% percent chance of winning, you will believe me. Why? Because you have heard and seen him in action. That’s the same way you will believe me when I tell you “God will bless you” if you know the word and have seen His goodness. Therefore, surround and soak yourself in the word of God, and you shall see greatness. God bless you.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, we thank you for your grace and mercies. God may you give us the grace to build our faith no matter how our situations are or may look. May we also be givers and show kindness to everyone that comes in our directions in Jesus name. May we be lifted today, tomorrow and forever in Jesus name, amen.