Give & Give = Receive & Receive

"For thus says the LORD God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the LORD sends rain on the earth.'" 

                                                                           v14 of 1 Kings 17:8-24  NKJV

Obedience will always bring provision. There may be a waiting period but, it will come. Elijah had told the evil King Ahab that there would be a drought until he commanded otherwise. Because of the danger he was in from Ahab and Jezebel. God told him to get away from there and hide by the Brook Cherith; He promised Elijah that He would command ravens to feed him and that he could use the brook to drink out of. 

The key to releasing heaven's power is to do exactly what God tells us to do. You will always miss your place of divine provision when you stop listening to God and start relying on yourself.

After a while, the brook dried up because of the drought so, God told Elijah to go to Zarephath where he would find a widow to provide for him. This he did and on arrival, he met with the widow. Initially, he asked her for water but as she was going for this, he asked her to bring him a morsel of bread. She told him the truth, she had no bread, just a small amount of flour in a tin and a few drops of oil. Elijah gave her a test of faith; he asked her to go and do as she was going to do - bake some bread for herself and her son but, to bring him a cake first. Notice, he wanted her to serve him first which would have been quite difficult for her to do under the circumstances. He told her that the flour for her tin would not be exhausted and that the oil would not run dry until the day God sends rain upon the land again. She did as Elijah asked and the blessing began, the flour tin was always full and she had enough oil each day. 

Now a short time after, the widow's son became very ill and died v17. She was understandably upset, especially with Elijah - she had taken care of him but this was how she was treated. Elijah, instantly took the boy in his arms to the upper room and called on God for this unfair treatment. He stretched himself out on the boy 3 times calling out to God for His help. Finally, the LORD heard his prayer and gave the son life. 

Now, first of all the persistence of Elijah in prayer. Never give up, keep praying The widow had to trust God with all she had and she was given an instant reward from God. As often happens, the devil can rob us of our blessing as he did here - her son died. But God intervened and used Elijah to restore him back to life. What a blessing.

Notice though, God's plan is for us to give first (Matt 6:33) and He will then bless us in return. This is an excellent example of how God wants us to give what we have - a tithe, even though it may hurt and put you under fear and pressure just like the widow was. When we do this, God always gives us a return.

Question - Do you give tithes and offerings? If you don't, you are missing out on being blessed - totally. Give it some thought! Give and receive.

If you don't know Jesus or, have fallen away, why not say this prayer right now:

'Lord Jesus, I have sinned and I ask you to forgive me and be my Lord and Saviour. Please come into my heart, fill me with Your Spirit and give me a brand new start today.

In Jesus' Name. Amen'

Copyright 2024 Grahame Howard.                                

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