Irvin Wasswa
Tylertown Campus Pastor
1 Kings 17:8-16
8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” 12 And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now 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.” 13 And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. 14 For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.’”15 And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 16 The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.
Jehovah Jireh! I remember hearing that specific name for God throughout the early days of attending church. The name means God is my Provider, speaking to His nature as the great provider for His people as well as mankind. Lately I have grown to greater appreciate the truth that I can trust in the Lord to take care of me, even though the economy may be struggling, I can trust that He will provide.
We see here in 1 Kings 17 a widow from the region of Zarephath come to experience the graciousness of God. Elijah the prophet was called by God to go to this pagan region and meet this widow to be fed there. The problem was the widow and her son were poor and only had enough to make one more piece of bread for them to eat before they starved to death. Well, the Lord said “not on my watch”, and provided food for the family for many days. What a God we serve.
Maybe today you are worried about the future due to the current landscape of our economy. Can I encourage you though? The God that we serve and follow does not operate in our economy! The bible says God owns it all, and He is able to take care of all our needs according to His riches in glory. So today may we choose to praise Him for His current provision, and choose to trust that He is able to continue to provide! Jehovah Jireh! Our God is able to provide!