I Kings 17:13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
God’s Supply
What is your greatest need right now and how do you think God will provide for it? Sometimes we are doubtful that God will provide because we’ve limited God as to how He might provide. An example of this is found in I Kings 17 where we read about how Elijah told King Ahab that by the word of God it would not rain until Elijah said it would. Of course, Ahab was angry, and Elijah hid. God provided for Elijah through ravens that brought food to him, and then through a widow woman who could barely feed herself.
My question is, “For what did Elijah pray?” Well, I Kings 17:1 says, “And Elijah… said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.” Why was he standing before God and what was he asking God for? James 5:17 says, “Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not.” So we know that Elijah prayed for God to withhold the rain.
Later, God sent Elijah to a widow woman to provide for him. Now few candidates are less likely to have the ability to provide for another than a woman who is a widow, especially in this time and in this day. Yet, when Elijah found her, he said in verse 13, “Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.” Now this is an amazing thing that Elijah said. This woman didn’t even have enough food for herself and for her son. She was going to prepare the tiny bit of remaining food and then die.
Elijah seemed to be almost calloused. He said, “Don’t worry. Go and do what you have said, but first make me some food, and then go prepare for you and your son.” The Bible says, “And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.”
What would this woman have prayed for? She would have prayed that God would have provided food for her and her son. Did God answer that prayer? The answer is “yes.” So did God provide for Elijah or did He provide for this widow woman? The answer is that God provided for Elijah by providing for the widow woman.
The lesson is that God often supplies for us by supplying through us. Sometimes we can be so absorbed in our own needs that we don’t see the value of being used by God for the needs of other people, and then we are living a poor life no matter how much we have. When I see the needs of others and ask God to be a blessing to them, I am not poor no matter how little I may have because a giver will always be able to. God wants to provide through you and when you’re willing to be used of God, God will provide for you by providing through you.