Focal Passage: 1 Kings 17:7-16
A banker in my church once told me a story I’ll never forget. She had carefully prepared ten goody bags for the kids in her Sunday School class. As the one who had worked her way up to the top position at our local bank, she was not used to making mistakes — especially with numbers. But that morning, eleven children showed up. She panicked inside, knowing she had only made ten bags. Yet as she handed them out, one by one, she reached the last child — and somehow still had one more bag in her hand. She looked up, stunned: The Lord provided!
Our study today focuses on another time when God came through in a moment when provisions seemed to run out. Elijah had moved to the Jordan River to escape Ahab’s reach. During the famine, God provided for him in extraordinary ways—ravens bringing him food and water from the Wadi. Eventually, the ravens stopped coming, and the wadi began to dry up. The place that had sustained him was no longer enough.
Then the Lord told Elijah to act. He heard God’s instructions and obeyed them. A good question for us is: Are we quick to obey the Lord’s voice? Do we read Scripture seeking what God wants to say to us, and then actually do what He says? God’s Word is not just to be admired — it is to be obeyed.
Brandon Johns
Elijah obeyed. God told him to go to Zarephath, where a widow would provide for him. God had already arranged the provision, but neither Elijah nor the widow knew it yet. God’s plan was unconventional. A widow in that culture was not among the wealthy. She had nothing extra. She wasn’t even an Israelite, which added cultural complications. And she herself was suffering through the same famine. On paper, she was the least likely person to provide for anyone. But God’s wisdom is always higher than conventional wisdom.
When Elijah approached her, she revealed the desperate truth — she had only a small portion of flour and oil left, just enough for one final meal for herself and her. Her plan was to prepare that last meal and wait to die. But God’s plan was very different. Through Elijah, God told her that if she would obey and make bread for him first, her flour and her oil would not run out until the famine ended. Remarkably, she believed Elijah. She trusted God. And the miracle happened. Day after day, her supplies never ran dry. The Lord came through.
This encounter teaches us three important truths.
First, God’s provision is not limited to our means. We often assume God can only work within what we already have, but He has provided for people many times in ways that far exceed their resources. God is not limited by what is in our hands.
Second, God’s Word is true and must be obeyed. Elijah could have remained silent. The widow could have refused. But both obeyed even when it didn’t make sense. Obedience opened the door for God’s provision.
Finally, God’s provision is dependable in all areas of life. He provides for our temporal needs, but far beyond that, He provides for our spiritual needs through a relationship with Him. That is a provision that never runs out. B&R
