This week, we continue exploring biblical principles that underpin the Word that has been given to Glorious Church for 2025, which is the word of Freedom and Expansion. In the example of Elijah and the widow, we learn various principles that exemplify the working of God in the lives of His people and how we can then position ourselves to experience the same today. Reading through the passage in 1 Kings 17, we begin with the instruction God gave His prophet after he declared a drought over the land of Gilead, saying, “Get away from here and turn eastward, and hide by the Brook Cherith, which flows into the Jordan. And it will be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there” (v. 3). Immediately, we see that even before Elijah had experienced the full expression of his need for food and water, God had already gone ahead of him and secured the means for his provision. He is a Father who is never caught unaware by our various needs, and out of His good treasures, speaks a Word of command to ensure our supply. But this command did not come without instruction. Elijah had to get up from where he was and go to the specific location the Lord had revealed. The same is true for children of God today. In His infinite wisdom, God plans for provision, but they have to follow through by going to the place called “there,” where grace awaits them. Blessings can be domiciled to locations, and it is incumbent upon us to follow through with precision and obedience the instructions of the Lord to find ourselves in alignment with the supplies of His grace. Obedience positions you to receive that which God has already provided.
Following Elijah’s journey to the place the Lord had commanded him to go, we then see the supply of water through the brook (natural) and bread and meat by the raven (supernatural) daily (v. 5–6). These are the ways of God. He uses a combination of both natural and supernatural means to work in our lives; He does not just specialize in one. Believers today, on the other hand, want to specialize only in one leg—they believe they can pray down manna from heaven and not put the hands God has given them to good use. They are believing God for promotion and favor, but have no value for hard work, relationships, honor, and so on. No! It does not work like that. If you want to pass, you still have to study and believe in the Lord for supernatural leading and remembrance—prayer is not a license to sit and do nothing!
The Word of the Lord came back to Elijah, saying, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you” (v. 9). Through this, we learn that it is very possible for God to command one thing in one season and something else in another. We must always remain current and connected to the vine, so we are not living off yesterday’s revelation when the Lord has since moved on. When Elijah met the widow, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink” (v. 10), and “… Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand” (v. 11). The woman responded by noting that she only had a handful of flour and a little oil, which she was saving for her last meal before dying. Elijah then instructed her to first do what he has commanded, for the Lord has spoken a word of sustenance over her and her son (v. 14). Because of her generous heart, the woman heeded the prophet’s instruction and prepared him the bread he had asked for. We read that, “The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah” (v. 16).
It then so happened that after these things, the widow’s own son became sick and passed away (v. 17). She ran to Elijah, saying, “What have I to do with you, O man of God? Have you come to me to bring my sin to remembrance, and to kill my son?” (v. 18). At this point, we begin to see that this is what it was all about to begin with: her heart was being prepared to receive the ultimate provision, the life of her son. This is what believers today do not understand: if we struggle to believe God with unrighteous mammon, how can we be trusted with true riches? How can we believe in God for the raising of the dead if we can’t even believe that He is able to provide for us materially to meet our everyday needs? The heart is the breeding ground for all manifestation because there is a direct connection between its contents and the expression of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Are we happy with the condition of our hearts today, and what can we do to ensure the working of the Spirit is not stifled? Questions every believer who is believing in God for freedom and expansion ought to answer.
Prayer
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank You for your powerful Word, which transforms our lives, strengthens our faith, and deepens our convictions. Thank You for always showing us, not only your doings but your ways, that we may be able to understand your heart and everything that inspires what you do. May you continually reveal yourself to us. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
1 Comment
Caroline
This is a powerful devotion…full of nuggets to learn from!