Still Walking...

     Those of you familiar with our situation right now know that we have purposely put ourselves in a position where we will be in trouble if God doesn't come through.  That's a rough quote from a statement made by Francis Chan that I got from a friend a few weeks ago.  I'm still mulling over those words and have found myself enlivened and refreshed by their challenge.  It's funny how we see things more often when we are consciously thinking about them.  I was reading this morning from 1 Kings 17 about Elijah the prophet of God.  He was singularly used of God in a dramatic way.  He prayed and it stopped raining...for 3 years.  He prayed again and it rained.  He prayed and God raised a young man from the dead.  God did some incredible things through Elijah.
     This morning I read the account of the widow that Elijah stopped to visit in the little town of Zarephath.  You're probably familiar with the story.  Elijah stopped there to get a meal as he traveled through.  He saw the woman collecting sticks and correctly assumed that she was headed home to make a fire and do some baking.
     He stopped her and asked for a drink of water which she gladly gave him.  Then he asked her for something to eat.  So far; fine.  She was gracious and hospitable and God was using her kindness to care for one of his weary servants.

     Now comes the plot twist.  The unnamed widow tells Elijah that her oil and flour has all but run out.  Her plan is to go home and bake a loaf of bread with the little that remains, and then simply wait until she and her son starve to death after that.  With this incredible famine that has lasted for many months, there simply isn't food to eat.  She has probably watched as friends and neighbors have succumbed to the same fate.  She has no one to care for her; it's just her and her son.  She has done her best to provide for the boy, but now it's over.

     I have to imagine that Elijah's heart aches a bit since he was the one who prayed that it would not rain and since he is seeing, firsthand, the suffering that accrued to the innocent victims of Ahab's sinful reign as the king in Israel.  His next request has to come as a shock to the lady.  "Do not fear; go and do as you have said.  But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son." (17:13)  He promises that the oil and the flour will miraculously replenish themselves for as long as the drought lasts.
     There it is again: "trust God enough to put yourself in a position that if God does not come through, you are in trouble."  Verse 15 reminds me of the confidence this woman had in the Lord's word to her: "she went and did as Elijah said."  She chose to take a step that meant there was no food left if God didn't "come through." 
     You might think that she really didn't have much choice.  She might die a couple of days earlier, but she was already a goner.  But I think she did have a choice.  Her choice was to trust in God or not.  It wasn't a matter of how many days she had left.  It was a matter whether she would live or die.  If she followed the Word of the Lord through Elijah, she would live.  If she didn't; she would die.  She could have given in to her discouragement.  She could have asked if they could have their meal first.  She could have simply said "no; leave us in peace."  She chose instead to trust God for her daily provision.  We are not told, but I suspect that the container of oil and flour were never full to overflowing.  I suspect they had enough for each day.  Each day she had to walk over to that side of the home she lived in and trust that God would provide for that day so that she and her son could live.  She really did depend on God to "give her each day her daily bread."
     I'm liking this place of trust today.  I am excited about what God has waiting in the wings to care for our needs.  He reminded us in a pretty dramatic way just a couple of days ago through an unexpected gift that he will not let our flour and oil run out.
     I guess my challenge to you today is to start watching for ways in which you can trust God to come through for you.  It's always for his glory, but the thrill of watching God provide is something that His people throughout history have written and sung about.  Don't you want to have a story to tell or a song to sing for God's glory?  Songs and stories are not written about the everyday stuff.  They are written about those occasions when God gets honor through the obedience of a simple widow as she waits on God to provide.  They are written about those times in your life when you simply walk where God wants you to walk and you wait on him to provide. 
     What are some of the experiences you've had like this?  I'd love to hear about them.