Bake Me A Cake

“Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” Hebrews 11:1

Have you ever said, “God, I don’t have the resources for the needs we have to buy a home, to buy a car, to buy food, to pay for my children’s education, to pay for our monthly bills, etc.?

I would like to share a story from the Bible about a widow who was going through some very tough times.  In 1 Kings 17, the Bible says that Elijah, a prophet of God, proclaimed a drought to King Ahab, due to the nation’s idolatry. God instructed Elijah to leave the area and go to a city named Zarephath – for God had commanded a widow in the city to provide for him there.    

This is where the story gets interesting.  When Elijah arrived in Zarephath, indeed there was a widow - but she was gathering sticks to cook the last meal for her and her son!  As soon as Elijah saw her he asked her for water and bread to eat.  This was her response, ”As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

Why would God send Elijah to a widow who barely had enough food for her and her son’s last “meal”?  

Watch what Elijah says to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD God of Israel: ‘The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.’ ”

The Bible says that the widow “Went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.  The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke by Elijah.”

Why did God send Elijah to a widow who barely had enough food?  Because God knew that she would obey and trust God as her provider when she heard the word from Elijah.

Are you going through “tough” times? Do not fear, go and do as God has spoken to your heart – God always supplies our daily needs and much more!

 

"Every miracle, large or small, begins with an act of obedience. We may not see the solution until we take the first step of faith." Bible Commentary