Wednesday February 28, 2024

Today is Wednesday, February 28 and we are learning what the Bible says about generosity.

As I enter a time of prayer, I pause and become still. I calm my thoughts and silence my mind. I breathe deeply and slowly, and focus myself on God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Pause and Pray

Holy and loving God, I long to experience your abiding presence. Through the power of your Holy Spirit, enable me to hear the message you have for me today. Speak to my heart and mind in the name of Jesus Christ my Lord. Amen.

I rejoice in God’s generous provision and praise him with the words of Psalm 78.

He guided them with the cloud by day and with light from the fire all night. He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them water as abundant as the seas; he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers. Psalm 78:14-16

Pause and Pray

The prophet Elijah had been living in the wilderness drinking water from a stream and being fed by ravens for nearly a year and then the stream itself dried up because of severe drought (1 Kings 17:7-10). God sent Elijah into the land of his enemy to a town called Zarephath, deep in Baal’s territory where Jezebel lived. God sent Elijah into the land of the very dangerous people he was fleeing. I imagine Elijah was hoping for more promising room and board than what he found in Zarephath. Instead of someone who could really provide for him, God sent him to a woman who is poor, desolate and starving herself.

Elijah went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. 1 Kings 17:10-16a

The widow of Zarephath had nothing. She was already poor in a time of severe drought in the land. She cared for a young son and they were down to their last morsel of food. She had no fuel but gathered sticks in the street at the edge of town. She had nothing to exist on but a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. If I was hungry and my child was starving and I was preparing to have my last morsel of food and some strange, disheveled man approached me and asked me to share my precious commodities in this time of scarcity, would I be generous? No way.

Ask: When have I been asked to share something that I believed I had precious little to give? What resources do I worry I will not have enough of?

Pause and Pray

Lord God, when I consider how I fill my shopping cart full of groceries, my car tank full of gas, and my pantry shelves full of food, these signs of abundance contrast sharply with the poverty and scarcity of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath. Yet in their time of hardship, they trusted in you to supply what was needed. Give me greater trust in what you can do in my life, take my fear and turn it into faith. I read the words from 1 Kings again and listen for the message you have for me.

Elijah went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” “As surely as the LORD your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.” Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land.’” She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry.

Ask: What image, word or phrase stands out to me when I slowly read this passage? What is God trying to say to me through these words of scripture?

Pause and Pray

Fear is a common part of life. Everyone struggles with worry, fear and anxiety. Fear of the future, fear of the unknown, worry about what will happen, and what is beyond my control. God does not want me to be afraid. I can replace my worry, fear and anxiety with trust, faith and gratitude. Elijah tells the widow to not be afraid, but trust in God. He tells her that the little jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry. That is not possible. Why believe him? But she did what Elijah asked, she trusted God. The three of them eat from that jar of flour and jug of oil for many days. It is one thing to trust God and be generous in times of abundance when my bank account is full and overflowing. It is quite another thing to trust God and be generous in times of scarcity.

Pause and Pray

Blessed Lord Jesus, teach me what it means to trust you completely, even when things are uncertain and the future is unsure. Let me learn the secrets of a generous heart and make me into a cheerful giver who is willing to share whatever I have knowing that you will take and bless and multiply what I give in order to bless the world. Amen.

So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. Isaiah 41:10

I leave this time of prayer trusting in God’s gracious provision. I go to generously share my resources and faithfully serve others.

Amen