Imagine this...
You're broke, dead broke! Your husband died 5 years ago and left you with nothing to sustain yourself. You've sold all your possession and no longer borrow money because there's no income to pay back with.
There's no food left in the store and family & friends have walked away one after the other.
All you have left are your son, the last cup of garri mama Ngozi gave after begging you to stop sucking her dry and the dirty 10Naira note you picked up while trekking back from her house.
You know this is the end, there's no one and no where else to go. So you decide to buy sugar with that 10Naira so that your last meal with your son will atleast be tasteful.
On your way home from Mallam's kiost, you see a dirty and hungry looking man who says to you "Please bring me some water in a cup, that I may drink". You don't mind because he really looks like he could use a cup of water-heck, a bath too- and you have two jerry cans of water at home, of which you know that after your last meal with your son, you won't be alive long enough to finish them.
So you head out to bring the cup of water for the stranger, but then, he calls out after you "Please bring me a cup of garri also"!
What will YOU do?
* * *
Elijah is the stranger in the scenario above and the Zarephath widow is you (me, us) from the biblical story in 1Kings 17.
When Elijah as directed by God asked for food from the widow, she said ,"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"
And Elijah said 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 aferward make some for yourself and for 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' "
My pastor in Church always says that when what you have is not enough for you, give it all back to God then sit back and relax because He'll return to you more than you needed in the first place. This widow is my biggest heroine in the Bible. Her name is not even recorded but her act of kindness and faith is so big that after all these years, the world is still reading about her.
God won't come down to bless us Himself, He can, but most of the time He sends people. But then again, those people need to obey before our requests will be granted. The widow needed to obey in order to feed Elijah, if she didn't, all three of them would have probably died of hunger. Elijah's success (of feeding) was dependent on her obedience.
We'll also need to give in order to recieve. Her recieving food was tied to her giving it. If she didn't give Elijah her last meal then she wouldn't have gotten the jar of oil that didn't run dry, flour that didn't get used up and she definately wouldn't have become the faith dame we are discussing today.
LESSONS
1. Obedience: if you have an itch to give something or do something for someone, no matter how big (or small) give it, do it. If not for them, then for you, because you'll never know which of your prayer answers is tied to an act of your obedience. And if you're not sure it's God sending you, give it anyway. There's always a reward for giving, besides, the devil will never send you to bless anyone!
2. Faith: the Bible says with faith as small as a mustard seed, we can move mountains! When Elijah said "make a small cake from it first, and bring it to me and after ward make some for yourself and your son", she would have argued and said there was no way the flour she had would feed the three of them, but she had faith and did as he said. Some of the things God asks of us seem unreasonable but if we do them in faith that He would never leave us nor forsake us, then we will never lack.
3. Speak out: if Elijah didn't ask the widow for food, he would've died of hunger. If she had just brought the food without stating her problems, she would have died of hunger too! God knows we have problems but we need to ask, we need to pray. Matt 7:7 "Ask and it shall be given unto you..." But James 4:3 "You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures". God doesn't want us to lack, but you can pray from today till forever for your neighbor to die so you can move into his house, and it wont happen. Understand???
4. Give: Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over would be put into your bossom. For the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you- Luke 6:38.
(c) Dosh
P.S
This post is a compilation of sermons i've heard over the last 2 years and everyone of them that i put into practice worked for my good. "God is not man that He should lie", hold onto His promises and do the work then sit back and wait for your blessings.
