A Step of Faith

             How many times do we miss out on God’s blessings because we aren’t ready to take a risk?  Stepping out in faith isn’t easy.  It may require us to take actions that seem totally contrary to common sense—they may even seem foolish at the time.  Just ask Noah who was asked to build a giant boat when it had never rained before.  Or ask Abram who was asked to go to a land God would show him.  To be fair, Noah was a righteous man, who “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9) and the Lord spoke directly to Abram (Genesis 12:1), so those relationships probably added to their courage.

            What about the person who does not have a relationship with God?  Do you think they would have the courage to step out in faith like Noah or Abram?  One woman in Zarephath, a city in Northern Israel which at that time was controlled by Jezebel’s father, did.  The people there probably worshipped baal.  God had brought a famine on the land as punishment for the people’s baal worship.  Elijah was still on the run from Jezebel and her spies, and then God sent him right into the heart of baal country, to Zarephath.  God told him, “I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food” (I Kings 17: 9 NIV84).  Elijah didn’t question the Lord’s instructions.  He did as he was told.

            When Elijah arrived in Zarephath, he found a widow at the town gate, gathering sticks for a fire.  He asked her for water and a piece of bread.  The widow didn’t hesitate in getting the water, but her reply regarding the bread would break anyone’s heart.  She said, “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” (I Kings 17: 12 NIV84).  She was a woman without hope!

            Elijah’s response may seem a little harsh.  He told her to do just that but before she did, he asked her to make a small cake for him.  It almost makes you cry out, “Didn’t you hear what she said?  She only has enough for one meal for her and her son!”  Elijah didn’t stop there.  He proceeded to tell her God’s promise.  “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” (I Kings 17: 14 NIV84).  I don’t know what the widow thought about his instructions.  Maybe she thought, “What do I have to lose?  What’s one meal more or less?”  We know that she knew about the God that Elijah worshiped because she referred to Him as “the Lord your God” (I Kings 17: 12).  We also know that the Scripture says that God “commanded her” (I Kings 17: 9) to supply Elijah with food.  She had probably also heard about Elijah’s victory over the prophets of Baal.

            Whatever her reasoning, the widow did not hesitate to take a step of faith.  The Scripture says “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” (I Kings 17: 15, 16 NIV84).  She took a step of faith, and she was blessed.

            Again, I ask, how many times have we missed out on blessings because we weren’t willing to take that step of faith?  It takes a strong faith to realize that when God calls us to do “hard” things, He will supply all that we need.  I have a plaque on my desk that says, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.”  The Widow of Zarephath learned that lesson well.  If only we would do the same!

I Kings 17: 1 - 24