Widow of Zarephath

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Father God woke me up this morning with the Widow Woman of Zarephath, found in the Book of Kings, on my mind.  She was in crisis, that seemed to her, without a solution.  The article I wrote below is a beautiful story of what happens when we put our trust and faith in God!

It was a very sad day for the Widow of Zarephath, actually every day was sad since her husband died leaving her with a son to support. “What am I going to do for food she thought? All the resources left to me by my husband are gone. How am I going to provide for me and my son? Where are my gods now, I served them all these years, and now when I need them most, they won’t provide food for me and my son, she cried out?” The only thing left she thought was to use the little she had left to prepare one last meal for herself and son and die. The Widow of Zarephath, hurriedly went out into the city looking for sticks to start a fire to cook her last meal. While looking for sticks, she thought about the stories she heard about the God of the Israelites, how He fought for them and provided food and water for them, and most unusual to her, is that He is a “living” God, not a god made of wood. A God that provides for His people, a God she thought she would like to serve. Little did she know, on that day the God of the Israelites was going to pay her a visit.

We are told in 1 Kings 17:8-16, that the living God did hear the Widow’s cry. While searching for sticks, the Widow of Zarephath is approached by a strange man by the name of Elijah. God, after listening to the Widow’s heart, told Elijah to go to Zarephath (a Gentile city) because I (God) have commanded a Widow woman there to sustain you. When Elijah sees the Widow Woman told to him by God, he asked her to “fetch me, I pray a little water in a vessel to drink and a morsel of bread to eat.” And she replied “As the LORD your God lives, I have not a cake, but a handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse and I am about to prepare one last meal for me and my son to eat and then die.” Now a test is presented to the Widow Woman from the LORD God. Elijah replies, “Fear not; go and do as you have said: but make me a little cake first, bring it to me and then make one for yourself and son to eat. For thus says the LORD God of Israel, the barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, unto the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth!” What a test, will she believe Elijah! The LORD God was about to demonstrate her thoughts to her in a miraculous way. The scriptures continues that “she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he (Elijah), and her house, did eat many days. The barrel of meal and oil wasted not!” She chose to “trust” the Living God! The God of the Israelites! The God that provides for those that put their trust in Him.

With the Corona Virus, we are currently living in a state of want. Many Believers and non-Believers are living with little food or no food in their cupboards. Bills have to be paid, but no money! Businesses are shut down. Jobs are suspended! Unemployment is at an all-time high. Schools has been cancelled and kids can’t go outside to play. We all are in the same struggle as the Gentile Widow of Zarephath! The LORD God knows and hears? Believers are you going to believe in the LORD God to sustain you and your loved ones? Non-Believers are you going to surrender your unbelief, and serve the LORD God who can sustain you and your loved ones? God is the same yesterday, today and forever more. He provided for the Widow of Zarephath! Her little meal in the barrel and little oil in the cruse supplied food enough for her, Elijah and her entire house until the rain came to the earth, which was 3 ½ years later.

Friends, salvation and faith in God is our answer. God didn’t cause this Corona Virus, but He can help, if we believe and put our trust in Him! The world can’t do what the LORD God can do, provide something out of nothing, or take very little and make very much! Put your trust and faith in God!