Widow of Provision

1 Kings 17

Have you ever been faced with making a decision that, although you

knew you had to make it, took all you had to do it? I’m sure most of us have

been there and can testify how difficult those times can be. Times like that

require we not look at the circumstances around us, but on what we believe

God has told us to do.

In I Kings chapter 17 we read the story about a woman who also had a

decision to make – a hard decision. The woman’s name is not listed in the

Bible, but we know she lived in Zarephath, she was the mother of one child,

and she was a widow. This woman was living during a famine in the land. It

had gotten so bad for her and her son that one day she set out to gather sticks

in order to make a fire. The fire she was going to make would cook her and

her son’s final meal. They would die because there was no longer anymore

provision for the two of them.

Thankfully, the story has a great ending. She and her son were saved

through a man God used, by the name of Elijah who was a prophet. Elijah

had been instructed by God to go to Zarephath to meet a woman who would

provide for him as well. So, Elijah set off just as God had instructed him.

When he got to Zaraphath, he saw this woman gathering her sticks. Elijah

went to her and asked her to bring him a cup of water, and she agreed. As she

was making her way to get it, he also asked her to bring him a little piece of

bread because he was hungry. This woman said she didn’t have enough for

him, and she only had enough to make her and her son a little bit, which was

to be their last meal. Elijah then said to her, “Do not fear, but make me a little

bread cake from it first, and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make

one for yourself and for your son. For thus says the Lord God of Israel, ‘The

bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty until the

day that the Lord sends rain on the face of the earth.’” After hearing Elijah

say this, she went and did what he had asked of her. As stated by Elijah, her

provisions did not run out.

This story is so amazing in that God not only provided for Elijah, but

also for this widow and her son. They were in such a desperate time of need

and God truly showed up for all of them. Now at the time of this story we

only read about the last day of this widow’s sufferings and not everything she

went through emotionally up to this point. We can assume though, realistically, her days were incredibly rough, heartbreaking, and most likely depressing at times. After all this woman had lost her husband and was living in a land that was not providing the resources that she and her son needed to live on. Imagine the fear that she had to have been feeling, even the tears that she may have shed, and what about her son? Imagine what he had to have been thinking as he was wondering how he and his mom would live. As a

single mother, she had to have been feeling desperate, hopeless, scared, and

then unfortunately by the time Elijah had gotten there, she was at her end. She

had nothing left to give herself or her son and that was their last meal and

then the Lord showed up.

I wonder though what her first thoughts were when Elijah told her this.

Was she thinking, “This is crazy- I need to take care of myself and my son

first not this man?” I suppose at first she was, for she even told Elijah she

didn’t have enough, and yet Elijah knew the truth and pressed her even

further and reassured her it would be ok. This mother, this widow at that

moment had a decision to make. She had to decide whether or not to believe

this man and trust God would make a way or not. Thankfully she chose to

believe in this man of God and every day after that she had to have felt

relieved that she made the right decision.

As we read about this widow we can see how it can be extremely difficult

to navigate between what we see around us compared to what God says. For

even in this woman’s case the fear, anxiety and perhaps depression she was

feeling because of her circumstances were clearly real and true, and yet God

called on her to provide for someone else first, and she had to decide if she

would or not. So, for you and me, we need to remember that even in what

seems to be a desperate and hopeless time, God is with us and will make a

way. While it may not happen when or how we think it should, God never the

less is faithful and will provide, and it will be in a way that only He will get the

glory, just as in this widow’s story.

Also take a moment and think for a minute how real God became to this

widow’s son. This child was hungry and I’m sure scared, and because his

mother chose to believe in God and do what He asked, he got to see first-

hand God perform a miracle, and that is the greatest part of all!

From The Noble Woman Book, by Gina Burns.