SEED FAITH

• DAY 263
• FAITH FILE: WIDOW OF ZAREPHATH
• SCRIPTURES: I KINGS 17:10-14

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” So she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son. 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.’ ”

God has a sense of humor. Sometimes He gives a word and when you look into it you’re wondering, what’s going on. For example, God tells Elijah, I have instructed a widow to make provision for you. Elijah gets there and meets a widow, as God had said. The only problem is the one who was meant to help is in need of help herself. She doesn’t even have enough to feed herself not to talk of the prophet. So God brought two people in need together and they were solutions to each other.

God put two people who needed each other with each other. Elijah needed a place to stay and steady meals like the raven brought while he was by the brook. The widow needed a miracle of provision for her and her family to survive. She had accepted her faith that she would make what she had and wait for death. Here comes Elijah asking for a meal from a woman who could barely afford to eat. And takes it further by asking that she makes for him first.

Sow First

If I were this woman, I would have said, “Dear preacher, did I not just tell you that I’m hungry, that I’m about to die, that I don’t have anything in my house and you are asking me to make for you?” I would have thought about how preachers scam and take things from people rather than give to them. However, she decides to listen to the word of the Lord that came through Elijah she makes food for him first, believing that the bin of flour and oil will not run out until God sends rain. Bringing to him first was her act of faith. We call that kind of seed, Seed Faith

I believe it is called seed faith because you need all the faith you can get to give your last penny just because God said. Chances are fear will cripple you even before you even consider it. You will look at your life flash before your eyes, literally. In that moment you will calculate every maths in the world to postpone giving in that moment.

Beloved, sacrifices are necessary for miracles to occur. We have to be willing to give God what little we have, first. These principles still work. When you are in a tight corner and what you have is not enough to meet the need at hand, that is a seed of faith in your hands. You can sow it, but you have to pick the ground you’re sowing it carefully because there are different soils and those soils produce different results. Take what’s in your hand, that’s not enough, go sow it. Give it to God and trust me, it will be multiplied.

Shalom.