Flour Power

I’d like to speak this morning about faith. We are people of faith, amen? However, there are times when some of us struggle with not having enough faith. A broken relationship, news of a life-threatening illness, loss of a job, or your house burns to the ground, a normal response is to feel devastated and to be filled with fear.

Turn with me to 1 Kings 17:1

PRAY

Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.” ESV

Our story begins with Elijah, a prophet of God, confronting King Ahab. In chapter 16, the king is described as one who, “did evil in the sight of the LORD, more than all who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:30) and “Ahab did more to provoke the LORD, the God of Israel, to anger, more than all the kings of Israel who were before him.” (1 Kings 16:33)

During one of the greatest religious crises in the history of the kingdom of Israel, God was still working. Even in our own nation today, God is still working. Dark times call for bright light. During this deep spiritual darkness in Israel’s history, God raised up Elijah. Elijah somehow gained the audience of King Ahab and told him, “There shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”

1 Kings 17:2-5 ESV

"And the word of the LORD came to him: [3] "Depart from here and turn eastward and hide yourself by the brook Cherith, which is east of the Jordan. [4] You shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there." [5] So he went and did according to the word of the LORD. He went and lived by the brook Cherith that is east of the Jordan.”

God told Elijah, “get out of here!” Not just for the obvious reason that his life was in danger by King Ahab and his wife Jezebel, but because God was more interested in working in him than he was in working through him. God said, Don’t just do something, sit there! We could learn from this today. In our busy and chaotic culture, there’s so much running. There are meetings, and appointments, and when we think we can catch our breath, there are emails and text messages. Then there are group emails and group text messages!

God is speaking to us today, “Hide yourself!”

In Isaiah 40:28-31 we are told, “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. 29 He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. 30 Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 31 but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

So Elijah waited. We must infuse into our hectic lives, the discipline of being still.

Elijaha stayed in a ravine, along a small tributary to the river Jordan. It was named Kerith, which means separated, and the name depicts perfectly Elijah’s situation – he was alone with God. During this time, God took very good care of Elijah. He had water. The ravens fed him breakfast and supper. He was on his own for lunch. He probably fasted…hence, the first fast food.

Verse 7 tells us, “some time later the brook died up.” The brook dried up! What a subtle suggestion that it was time to move on.

We are told in verses 8 and 9, “Then the word of the LORD came to him, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.”

This morning, I want to introduce to you a single mom, a widow with a young boy to take care of, and she is a woman of faith. She didn’t start out as a woman of faith, but she sure ends up a woman of faith.

Whoever you are, whatever your circumstances, and whatever your faith is like, you can become a person of greater faith. I call it flour power. I’ll explain why in a moment, but first let’s read from verse 10,

“So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." [11] And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." [12] And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now 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." [13] And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. [14] For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, 'The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.'" [15] And she went and did as Elijah said. And Elijah, she, and her son ate for many days. [16] The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.” 1 Kings 17:10-16 ESV