~ "Foolish" Faith

[Lani]

1 Kings 17:8-16
And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying,
9 Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.
11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.
12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.


"My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the Lord.Isaiah 55:8


The coastline of Los Angeles faded as our ship sailed toward Brazil's western jungle frontier. We strongly believed that God wanted us to go to Brazil, but our friends were not convinced. "Is this faith or foolishness?" they asked.

Walking by faith often invites accusations of foolhardiness. Consider Elijah's story. I can imagine how he felt when God sent him to a poor widow to ask for food during a famine. Trusting God, Elijah asked the widow for bread. She replied that she had no bread - only a handful of flour and a little oil. She was going to use these in preparing the last meal for her son and herself. Doubt may have flashed into Elijah's mind, but God reassured them, "The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land" (v 14).

Elijah and the widow had to trust God for this miracle. And neither oil nor flour gave out. Again and again, God proved faithful.

Standing at the ship's rail, I realized that tests loomed ahead for us too. But the God of Elijah is still the same. That trustworthy God would bring us through. And time showed that to be true.



Prayer: God of change, who changes not, help us to trust you even through tests of faith. Amen

Prayer Focus of Day: Missionaries

Thought for the Day: To what "foolish" task is God calling me today?

Story shared by: M MacKinnon (Brazil)
Source: Upper Room Daily Devotional 7/15/11