Press On!

Today's passage comes from the book of First Kings. All of today's readings can be found here.

"And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you. 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. And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand. 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. 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. 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. And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 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." - 1 Kings 17:7-16 (ESV)

To anyone faithfully following Christ there will come a time when the Lord calls you to do something risky, and with the calling will not come clear instructions and obvious outcomes. Indeed following Jesus is a life only possible for the faithful, those who heed the Father's callings without question and move forward without always having a step by step plan.

In today's passage, we are given a first hand look at the faithfulness of Elijah and an elderly widow in the face of extreme danger. We learn from the passage and the verses just before that the brook from which Elijah had been drinking while living in the desert had dried up - a perilous prospect to anyone living in that environment, and especially so for Elijah who at the time had no reserve supplies or home even. He was living in accordance with the demand of the Father, and putting all of his trust in divine providence for things as elementary as bread to eat and water to drink.

Elijah, heeding the word given to Him by the Lord, went to a widow and requested provisions, and was met with a strange answer. She replied by saying that she has no bread, and only a little flour and a small amount of oil - not even enough to feed herself and her son a last meal before they died, probably of starvation. Elijah must have been stunned by this - didn't God say that he was going to have a widow in Zarephath feed him? How can this be, that the widow mentioned actually has no bread to offer?

Continuing in faith, Elijah tells the woman not to worry about the flour, but to feed him and she will be fed afterward. What faith! This woman, about to eat her last meal with the little bit of food she has left, bakes it instead for a homeless transient on his word that there will be enough!

Has the Lord ever called you to do something that doesn't seem to make sense, and when you get there to fulfill the designated task things don't really work out as planned? You followed the leading of the Lord and worked your hardest, but it just didn't really work out as you expected? Maybe you are in the middle of this situation right now, and looking for answers to such hard questions as "Why did you call me to this if it was not going to work out?" Maybe a better question would be "Why did you call me this if it was not going to work out how I planned?"

In the face of trial and seemingly uncontrollable circumstances, when we are in the middle of the storm and wondering what the Lord could possibly have in store, I urge you dear brother to find strength in the fact that "for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." (Rom. 8:28 ESV)

It is hard to see what the final plan is when you are in the middle of it, just as I am sure Elijah was confused when he got to Zarephath and saw that there was not enough flour to feed him, let alone the widow and her son, but have faith and press on in perseverance, because His plan is much greater than yours, and it will not be thwarted.


Father Most High, forgive me for my unbelief. I am so quick to lose heart when things do not go according to my plan, but you give me more grace. Grant me the faith necessary to trust that you have a plan that is much nobler than mine, and the perseverance to see the task before me through to the finish. Amen.


-MD Letteney