There are times in life when you meet someone who brings change into your life. The change can be either positive or negative. One day a widow woman met a man of God who brought change into her life. There was a drought in the land and usually famine would follow.
Famine is a time of hardship where everything is in short supply. We had a famine of sorts during the pandemic when some supplies like toilet paper and cleaning products were in short supply. I went to the supermarket and stared in disbelief because the shelves were bare. If you were fortunate to enter a store with cleaning supplies or toilet paper, then you were limited to one of each item.
So I could imagine how difficult it must have been to live through a famine. During the pandemic I would leave my home about 6:30 am to go food shopping.. I would arrive in the parking lot, put on my mask, gloves, clean the handle of the shopping cart and go stand on line to get into the store. Now there was no guarantee that the items I needed were in stock but it was easier if you’re early.
Now this woman had challenges providing for her family. I went to the supermarket and was able to buy some of the things we needed. This woman in 1 Kings 17, did not have that luxury. There were no supermarkets with almost empty shelves. She exhausted her supplies and she came to the end of the food in her home. She had just enough for one more meal. Her plan was to prepare the meal, eat then wait for death.
Right at that point, someone entered her life. She was out in the field gathering sticks when a stranger approached her. He asked her for something to eat. In the midst of a famine, he is asking her for food. She didn’t look at him like he was crazy, instead she politely explained she had no bread in her house but just a bit of flour and oil. In fact, the supplies were just enough to prepare the last meal for her and her son.
Well that man told her the strangest thing. 1 Kings 17: 13-14 says, “But Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 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!” She said to herself, if I prepare the meal for us, we will die. If I prepare a meal for this man, maybe he is truthful and we will live. She had nothing to lose so she prepared the meal for the stranger.
Something amazing happened! Everything that stranger told her came to pass. The stranger was the prophet Elijah. She had enough oil and flour for meals until the rain came and the crops grew. Elijah make a difference in this woman’s life. Sometimes, people become so focused on what they don’t have that they are reluctant to help someone. This woman was supposed to die in the famine but her obedience to God made a difference in her life. If you are obedient to God, Change will come into your life also.
Victory Walk 