God Knows Your Address

Read 1 Kings Chapter 17

In 1 Kings 17 we read about the widow woman who Elijah goes to stay with, who is barely getting by and in fact is getting ready to just lay down and die. All hope is gone, she feels she has nothing left, and that she and her son will die. She is out gathering sticks to build a fire to prepare the last of the flour and oil she has to make a cake of bread for her and her son and then they will die from starvation, because there is nothing left in the land. There is a great famine and drought over the land, and there is no food left to harvest. All of her family is dead, she has no one but her son. What is the widow to do?

1 Kings 17 v 9-11...."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 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."......

God sends Elijah to her house in Zarephath, very close to enemy territory where Jezebel is having all of the prophets killed. So now, the widow who is barely surviving has the most wanted coming to her house. And now he tells her to go and fix him some bread. Have you ever had company show up at your house at dinner time, and you just barely had enough prepared for you and your family that night? Well, at least you could probably go to the refrigerator and pull something out to heat up and add to the meal to go further. But not this widow, she only had what she had. But Elijah promised her that her flour and oil would not run out until the drought on the land was broken by rain. What a leap of faith she took to do what he asked of her. Then a while later while Elijah was still there, her son fell ill and died. She accused Elijah and the Lord of turning on her and taking her only son after she had done what he had asked. But Elijah a man of God was not put off by her accusations, and he took the boy and laid across him and called out to GOD to send his life back into the boy and the boy lived. The woman knew then without a doubt that this was a man of GOD.

What would have happened to this woman and her son if Elijah had not obeyed the LORD and went where the LORD told him to go? What would have happened if the woman had not obeyed Elijah and trusted him enough to share with him the little she had left. We need to be sure we are listening when God speaks and that we are not so caught up in the things of this world and ourselves that we can not hear when God speaks to us. We would not want someone to miss out on their healing or their provision from the LORD because we were not obedient to what the LORD is telling us to do.

God loved this widow woman so much that he sent help through a man of God. Even if she didn't believe at the time, he proved to her that He was there for her. Even when it seems as if the bottom is falling out and we have nothing left, God will provide. He knows our address, He knows where we are in life and what we need and when we need it. He is faithful to provide for us. We just need to make sure that our faith is strong enough not to doubt when the crisis in our lives occur. So when the storms come and they will, don't fold up camp, keep believing and the LORD will see you through. AMEN!

Neta