Page 65 - Livin Light Issue 81

Friday August 18 - The choice
She went away and did as Elijah had told her. 1 Kings 17:15
It is impossible to know how far the widow’s home was from the town gate, or what thoughts were buzzing around her mind as she left Elijah. Could she believe his words? When she said to him, “As surely as the Lord your God lives...” (v 12) she clearly knew of this prophet’s God. But now... could she believe that the promise he had spoken, about her jar of flour and jug of oil, would materialise?
Whether she judged that she had nothing to lose or that her encounter with Elijah was to be a life-changing, life-saving event, she made the choice. I wonder how long she stared at the oil and flour before she did what Elijah had told her to do. With her meagre supplies she made Elijah a cake. What faith! She trusted in God, took a risk, and found she had all she needed.
There are so many aspects of God’s grace that flood through scripture! His ‘amazing grace’ – his saving grace. Then there is God’s restoring grace, his sustaining grace, his protecting and all-sufficient grace... and on and on.
In that moment, as she made the choice to bake a cake for Elijah, the floodgates of God’s grace opened to her. Those floodgates remain open today, for you and me. We too can trust that what God says he will do... he does!
Lord, may each choice I make today, however small, open the floodgates of your grace to others. Amen.
Saturday August 19 - Even today...
For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry
1 Kings 17:16
Do you ever read a Bible story and imagine yourself being part of it? I often do. I let my imagination run riot... and wonder which person I could identify with and learn from. This week I have identified more with the widow than with Elijah!
There are many comparisons to the ‘food and fuel crisis’ the poor widow faced and the crises so many are facing throughout the world, in contending with the increased costs of necessities. This ancient biblical narrative is for many of us a present-day reality.
My flat-mate and I are involved with a local church food bank. It seems almost beyond belief that in 2023 there are still ‘widows gathering sticks’, without the means to buy the food that they need. My heart aches for them. Is there a word from God for them, as there was for the widow? And how can we make it known? Is there hope that the seemingly small food bags that the food bank is able to give them will be enough?
Somehow it is. Each week the supply of donated food never runs out... it comes close to failing... but it never does. Each week there are opportunities to say to someone, “Don’t be afraid...” Each week God is present and his amazing, sustaining grace flows into people’s lives. Each week those who know God are making him known. Even today the ‘flour and the oil’ still flow.
Thank you, Lord, that your provision and your grace still flow. They are inexhaustible! Amen.
PRAYER FOR TODAY
PRAYER FOR TODAY
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