Today’s Author is Nate Youngblood from Every Meal.
I’ve always been intrigued by the story of Elijah, the Widow, and the jar of flour that did not go empty. In many ways, the story resonates with me because I’ve spent the better part of the last 20 years where food played a massive role in the ministries where I served. Most recently at Every Meal, where we fight child hunger by focusing on the food gaps that prevent children from having enough to eat. Over 300,000 children in MN live in food insecurity and often do not know where or when they will have their next meal. Children here in MN share the same struggle as the Widow and her son.
In particular, the Widow’s desperate response to Elijah resonates deeply with me.
12As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
Her direct response to Elijah was one of desperation, resignation, and frustration. Elijah’s response was one of confidence. There will be enough. God will provide. The flour and the oil will not go empty
13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 14 For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
This verse leaves me particularly speechless.
15 She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.
The Widow does as Elijah requests. She was planning on using the last of her flour to bake one final loaf. She had enough to feed Elijah, her son, and herself. The jar should have been empty from that point on, but it wasn’t. She kept baking food every day for them.
We don’t know how long this miracle lasted, but scripture indicates it was quite a while. Did she wake up every morning wondering if the jar would remain empty after baking for the day? Perhaps she had complete trust that the next morning it would be refilled?
Are you often consumed by worry regarding God’s provision? Do you, like me, find it very easy to worry about what is coming next? These last few years have easily been the most anxious of my life. There is a LONG history of God’s provision in my life, one that I can track back multiple generations and yet I can still be overwhelmed by worry, doubt and questions about the future.
The Widow here offers us a great example of what it means to take simple steps and to trust that God will meet us in the moment. We don’t know if she fully believed that what Elijah said was true, but she believed enough to take the step of baking that last cake. The Widow has taught me that all I need to do is take the next step, whatever that step may be. That one step is enough.