When God Provides There Is Always Enough!

1 Kings 17:14-15---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. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house did eat many days.

Once the Kerith Ravine dried up, the Lord sent Elijah to the home of a Gentile woman. If you thought ravens were stingy, try humans. But a few verses earlier the LORD said He had commanded her to feed Elijah. Elijah gave her a real faith test by asking her to feed him first and then cook their meal from the little left in her jar. If the LORD had not commanded her to do this, I doubt she would have even considered it. Even though there was a promise that a miracle would happen, consider that this woman is not Jewish. The prophet before her had been camping out in a ravine for months. Who is going to give their last meal to him instead of feeding their own child? But just as the LORD commanded the Ravens, so He commanded her. When she obeyed, she found the promise was true. One pastor tells of the surprise she must have experienced each time she reached in to scrape the bottom of the jars. Just enough for another meal, again, and again, and again! We have the same experience when we abide in Christ. We think we have scraped the bottom of the mercy and grace jar with a certain brother. We reach into the life of Christ within us and, low and behold, there is just enough for the present situation. Then another situation comes along. The last time, we know we scraped the bottom and had just barely enough. Here this brother is offending us again. How can we possibly find the mercy to forgive him? But we reach into the earthen vessel that holds the treasure and what do you know! It is just enough to meet the present circumstance.