Today's Devotional Thought
June 12, 2012 by Wendy Foreman
My Container Will Never Be Empty
I recently read the story in 1 Kings 17 about the widow and Elijah. To give you a little background, the country is in a drought and many are starving. But the Lord sends Elijah into the village of Zarephath and tells him that a widow there will feed him. When he arrives in their village the widow is preparing her final meal for her and her son and then preparing to die because it is the last of their olive oil and flour. Elijah asks her for water and bread and she tells him her situation, but he tells her to prepare bread for him first and then prepare some for them. And then he tells her that God has promised out of her act of obedience, He will bless and her flour and oil will never run out until the drought is over. (Please read this whole passage of scripture it is awesome!)
I love this story.
As I read it, I began thinking about how the Lord tells us to give and give sometimes until we feel like we cannot give any more. That giving may be our finances, our gifts, talents or our time and sometimes to be honest it feels like he is telling us to do all of them at the same time. I feel like God is telling us to give and he will multiply what we give and make it enough and then some.
I know that we all grow weary and we have seasons of life that are busier than others. But as I read this passage of scripture in 1 Kings 17 I was so struck by how God promised to continually fill the containers with oil and flour.
And He did.
And the woman and her son never went hungry.
God has promised us the same thing. As we continue to "feed" those around us in obedience to God he will continue to multiply and make what we give and what we are enough to do the task ahead of us for Him.
Maybe today you are reading this and feeling weary. Perhaps you are in a season of life where you are busy ministering to others. Allow me to encourage you with these words today, 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!
The Lord will always fill you up with strength and perseverance as you work for Him and when that rain comes it will be a period of rest and refreshment. Work for Him and know that He will always supply what you need and then some and the period of refreshment will come...I promise!!!!
December