OBEDIENCE BRINGS BREAKTHROUGH // MAY 18, 2023
But Elijah 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!'”
I Kings 17:13-14
The widow had a choice to make. She could trust God and feed Elijah first, believing in God's provision. Or she could trust herself. She chose to trust God and was blessed with food to last through the drought. She lived in overflow after deciding to be obedient.
When life is difficult -- the bills are piling up, the pressures of family, jobs and relationships are mounting -- where do we tend to put our trust? Self-medication (food, alcohol, drugs, shopping)? Ourselves: setting a plan in motion to fix the situation? The result is often frustration and defeat. But what if God is asking for obedience before we receive the blessing? When the widow trusted God with everything she had, he provided everything she needed.
Are you facing a situation that seems hopeless? Is God asking you to do something that you've been holding back to do? The same God who provided for Elijah and the widow in a season of extreme drought is the same God who's faithful to us, as well, if we'll trust and obey.