If you grew up listening to Bible stories, you probably remember the story of Elijah and the time of no rain. Elijah was a might prophet. He spoke a word that it would not rain for three years and it was so. And yet he was a man just like us and he was affected even by his own prophetic declaration. Without God's help he would have died in the famine. And God did come through in saving His prophet from starvation and He sent him to the Brook of Cherith where God sent ravens to bring him food and where he had a steady water supply for some time.
But even God honors the physical laws that He established for the earth and soon the brook dried up and the ravens stopped coming. Elijah needed a new word from the Lord to take him to his next season and a new way of provision. And the word did come. The Lord said, "Go to Zarephath for there I have instructed a widow to take care of you."
Anyhow, Elijah obeyed but when he met the widow, she had nothing except a handful of flour and a bit of oil for the last piece of bread that she would bake for herself and her son before they starve to death. That got me thinking about what must have gone through Elijah's mind... well, at least if I was Elijah, it would go through MY mind. I would think that maybe God sent me to the wrong widow! Wouldn't it make more sense for him to send me to a widow who at least had more supplies?
Well, honestly, this is how I have been feeling these past couple of years. I feel like my life in China was my Brook Cherith and Nepal is my Widow. The Lord has given me a new word to move on to a new season and experience a new way of provision. But here at the "widow's house," I stand baffled and doubtful... and I think to myself, "Did I really hear God right?" I think I am at the WRONG house and come to the WRONG widow. There is NOTHING here and I feel disoriented and I don't like change and I wish I was back at the Brook Cherith where I could hear once again the sound of clean, flowing water and see once again my group of faithful, raven friends!
So what is there to learn from this story? God's ways are certainly higher than the ways of man. God was not just thinking of Elijah's survival for the rest of the famine years, He was also thinking of the survival of the widow and her son. His intention was not just to feed the prophet but to feed the widow through the prophet. And this particular story confirms the scripture that says, "Man shall not live by bread alone but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God"(Matthew 4:4). God wanted Elijah to speak the prophetic word that will save both him and the widow. "There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again!” (1 Kings 17:14) And the miracle came to pass... for BOTH parties!
So now I realize that God did not send me to the wrong house nor to the wrong "widow." He did not make a mistake in telling me to leave China and come to Nepal. And He did not just bring me here to comfort me but to comfort others through me. Besides, the Gentile widow of Zarephath had a thing or two to teach the Prophet Elijah about what it means to be a family and you can read the rest of 1 Kings 17 for that! And the story did not end there either. Chapter 18 tells us how Elijah went on to be the prophet of fire he will be remembered for! The Lord God used the widow to take Elijah through the famine and on to his glorious destiny!
And that goes for me as well. Being here in Nepal has taught me a thing or two... or three... or four!
Lord, I confess that I have thought that you must have made a mistake ... or I must have heard You wrong when you brought me to Nepal. I have put my faith on the "widow" and not your word. Instead of complaining, I should have prophesied more.
It's TIME to stop looking back to my memories of Brook Cherith and embrace the Widow whom the Lord has sent me to. God has spoken a new word. There exists a new day, a new season, a new way of provision, and a new family to love and cherish and bless... and experience miracles with!
So now I realize that God did not send me to the wrong house nor to the wrong "widow." He did not make a mistake in telling me to leave China and come to Nepal. And He did not just bring me here to comfort me but to comfort others through me. Besides, the Gentile widow of Zarephath had a thing or two to teach the Prophet Elijah about what it means to be a family and you can read the rest of 1 Kings 17 for that! And the story did not end there either. Chapter 18 tells us how Elijah went on to be the prophet of fire he will be remembered for! The Lord God used the widow to take Elijah through the famine and on to his glorious destiny!
And that goes for me as well. Being here in Nepal has taught me a thing or two... or three... or four!
Lord, I confess that I have thought that you must have made a mistake ... or I must have heard You wrong when you brought me to Nepal. I have put my faith on the "widow" and not your word. Instead of complaining, I should have prophesied more.
It's TIME to stop looking back to my memories of Brook Cherith and embrace the Widow whom the Lord has sent me to. God has spoken a new word. There exists a new day, a new season, a new way of provision, and a new family to love and cherish and bless... and experience miracles with!
