Tuesday, June 9
We live in an age of big problems. There is a health problem brought on by the pandemic, there is an unemployment problem, the news people are talking about a “systemic racism” problem. “Experts” pose grand solutions: a miracle vaccine, a revised economy, overthrow of current political systems. We know from history that new solutions create new kinds of problems. We wonder, where is God in all of this?
The prophet Elijah lived in an age of “big problems.” How did God intervene then (1 Kings 17:7-6)?
“The brook near where Elijah was hiding ran dry, because no rain had fallen on the land. So the Lord said to Elijah: ‘Move on to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have designated a widow there to provide for you.”
No water to drink! Now that is a problem bigger than any we currently face. Elijah was in “hiding”—his enemies were out to kill him. Now that is a problem that few of us face. God would take care of his prophet. He told him to move into a Gentile territory and a widow would take care of him. God had a solution!
“As he arrived at the entrance of the city, a widow was gathering sticks there; he called out to her, ‘Please bring me a small cupful of water to drink.’ She left to get it, and he called after her, ‘Please bring along a bit of bread.’ She answered, ‘As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked; there is only a handful of flour in my jar and a little oil in my jug…when we have eaten, we shall die.’”
A new problem—a food shortage! The widow had some water, but she was almost out of food. She was gathering sticks to start one last fire so she could take her small amount of flour and oil and provide a final meal for herself and her son.
Stuck in an impossible circumstance, Elijah, confident in God’s provision for him, spoke boldly to the woman.
“Do not be afraid. Go and do as you propose. But first make me a little cake and bring it to me. Then you can prepare something for yourself and your son…She left and did as Elijah had said.”
Though she used her handful of flour to bake Elijah a “little cake,” she still had enough supplies to feed herself and her son. And, we know that this miracle continued to unfold. Her supply kept growing so that she had ample flour and oil for a year! In the middle of draught and famine God worked a miracle for a widow who was willing to put God’s prophet ahead of her own needs.
We wonder why God did not work a more grandiose miracle–bring rain and tons of flour to the people? Why did he limit his action to a small widow and a weary prophet?
We want a “superman” God who will suddenly bound into our world, eliminate the pandemic, create jobs, establish a new government, and bring us truckloads of food. This is not how he works. God prefers to work in small ways with little people and honor the trust that one faithful servant puts in him.
God’s great work of our time already begins, but not in the political arena. He performs small miracles that he uses to assure his faithful ones that he is taking care of them, no matter the conditions of the times.
“You put gladness into my heart, more than when grain and wine abound” (Ps 4:8).
