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Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”
“As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land.’ “
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah.
From God’s perspective, being in need can be spiritually beneficial. When the bottom drops out of our imaginary financial security bubble, we will discover the reality that all provision comes from His hand. The Lord uses various instruments to meet needs, but He alone is the source of all we possess or earn.
God can use traditional means-like an employer-or remarkable methods to supply our needs. Elijah had learned to live by faith in the unusual ways of the Lord: he’d been fed by ravens. Now God sent him to Zarephath, to a starving widow with no ability to feed him.
Every financial need is an opportunity to learn to walk by faith in the Lord as our source. Prosperity can lead to a sense of independence that blinds us to how inadequate we actually are to provide for ourselves. We’re totally dependent upon the Father whether we know it or not.
Believing that God would provide, Elijah witnessed His miraculous intervention. We may not see the Lord perform a supernatural work in our financial situation. However, we can be sure that, just as God fulfilled His promise to Elijah, He’ll be faithful to His Word in our situation as well: “My God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19).
Are you focusing on the instrument or the source of your provision? The means God uses may change, but His faithfulness endures forever. He’s infinitely more reliable than any employer or 401K. The Lord is inviting you to trust Him and live in both the adventure and security of a life of faith.
