INTRODUCTION:
A month ago, our country was hit by a strong typhoon. Many of us experienced great losses – our crops which are our only source of income, have drowned and died, acres of rice fields have been covered by flood… and tragically, some of our brothers and sisters here have lost their loved ones. I know it must have been difficult, I understand how much it hurts. And the church has been praying with all of you.
Our passage today talks about a similar scenario. Are you familiar with the story of Prophet Elijah and a widow from a Gentile territory called Zarephath? This story happened during the time when God punished Israel for its idolatrous acts under the reign of King Ahab. God did not send them rain and they experienced severe drought.
Zarephath, according to some scholars, was mostly relying on Israel for their food supply. And when Israel experienced famine, this Gentile territory were also in calamity.
It is this place where God asked Elijah to go after hiding in Cherith for several months. And God said in that place, he would find a widow who would take him in. In obedience, Elijah went and found the woman, asked her for a piece of bread and found out that she was left with her last portion of flour and oil to make the last meal for her and for her child, and then die. He was left with nothing to hope for except to hope to die as soon as possible.
How devastating it must have felt to just stay in one place and wait for the very moment that you would just stop breathing. A devastating feeling that probably most of us are feeling right now. Perhaps, there are some among us here who have been asking, where is God in these tragic times? Why did these have to happen to me? to us? …despite knowing that natural calamities and deaths are both parts of our lives. Because naturally, it is not easy for us humans to face losses. It is painful for us to experience any of these tragic things. And because of all this pain, maybe we are asking…
QUESTION: Can we really turn to God in times of distress?
Our first response would possibly be…
PROPOSITION #1 No, because He allowed this calamity to happen.
Maybe, some of us are thinking… “How can I trust a God who allows tragedy? I have lost everything. My small rice field is covered in flood, what is there to harvest now?? That was our main source of income. Where will I get money now to buy food for my family? We are almost left with nothing.” While others might be thinking… “The strong wind and the heavy rain destroyed our house. How are we going to build up a new house again? Where will I get the materials? How are we supposed to start living again?”
As humans, it is easier for us to keep on holding on and to keep trusting God when we see actual provisions. It is easy for us to say, “Lord, I trust you because I feel secure and stable.”
However, it is also easy for us to give up especially when we do not see any glimpse of provisions coming. I may have trusted God before, but now that my crops have died or now that my house is gone, I don’t think that God watches over me. I cannot trust Him anymore because He abandoned me.”
In the passage, uncertainty also filled Elijah and the Gentile widow, uncertainty of provisions from God. In verse 9, God commanded him to go to a Gentile land and look for a widow. A natural response to this command would be… “Why should I go to that place? I am left with nothing, why would I go to a place which has nothing? A Gentile land where they do not worship God? A widow who doesn’t earn anything? How would I survive if I go there?” And if we stop reading the passage here, to all of us who are weeping today, maybe we empathize with Elijah and think, “Didn’t God know that Elijah might die there? I guess God does not really care for Elijah just like how he does not care for me.” Why would this God ask him to go to a place where he could eventually die of hunger? I thought this God knows everything? It might be that He is really a God who does not watch over His people, and like us, maybe he will just allow Elijah to be left with nothing along with that widow.
PROBLEM: But there is a problem: God does provide in time of need. Look at the widow in our scripture text. In God’s graciousness, instead of leaving Elijah, the woman and the child with nothing to eat, He promised that their jar of flour and jug of oil will never run out until the famine ends. This tells us that God has a heart for those who are suffering, for those who are hopeless and those who are helpless. The widow trusted the words of the God of Elijah even in time of distress. With the strong feeling of hopelessness that there would be no more provision coming, after she empties her containers, that woman actually just wanted to give up on life. But God sent her help. In verse 16 it is written, “there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.” To think that this woman did not even believe in God, was it not God who was still with Elijah and the woman in that time of distress? Was it not God who provided everything they needed to survive and live? Can’t He really be trusted?
TRANSITION:
Okay, we may see and realize that yes, Elijah and the widow, who also experienced calamity just like us, still felt the hands of God through His material provisions. But then, maybe some of us are still thinking…
“Yes, God may provide our physical needs, but if God really watches over us, why didn’t He watch over my child who died drowning in the flood?”
Perhaps, when asked, “Can we still trust God even in times of distress and uncertainty?”
Another response would be…
PROPOSITION #2 No, because He allowed the death of my family member.
“Why did He allow my son to die? Did he not watch over him? How can we trust a God who takes away lives? He could have just destroyed my house and my crops, but why my son?”
Brother and sisters, it is natural for us people to go through this time of bereavement when our loved ones pass away. It must feel devastating, I can understand the pain. In times like this, it is really hard to trust in God.
My father died in 2010. He was working as an Engineer in Saudi Arabia when he was diagnosed with a liver disease and after a week he died in one of the hospitals there. Few weeks later, he came home, in a coffin, freezing cold. That time, I asked God, “Why did you allow this to happen? How are we going to live our lives now?” My youngest sister was only 7 years old, she only got to spend a few months with our dad because he would only come home for a month every other two year. Why did God allow her to grow up without a father? How would my sisters finish their studies, since no one was still working among us during that time? Who will provide for our financial needs? I felt devastated and hopeless, I felt that God was too harsh and that He did not care about me and my family. I was in distress… I was uncertain about life. It is not easy to lose someone you love. Especially when it is unexpected. Brothers and sister, I understand how you feel. I know how much it hurts.
The widow in the passage also lost her son. And she was grieving in pain. Even Elijah understood how she felt, that’s why He asked God and cried out to Him in verse 20 saying, “Lord my God, have you brought tragedy even on this widow I am staying with, by causing her son to die?” So, we may also be thinking, “does this God really care? Why would He allow this widow’s son to die? Why would He neglect the widow who took care of His prophet?”
PROBLEM: However, in verses 22-24, we can see how God was mindful of the widow’s grieving heart. He put the child back to life after Elijah prayed and pleaded to Him. Would a God who does not really care do that? He could have just let the child remain dead, for He did not even need to prove Himself to the widow nor to Elijah. But He still did raise the child from the dead. Doesn’t this mean that He really cares? I am not saying that He will also raise our loved ones from the dead. But if we come to think of it, He is the same God who sent His only son to die so that we could have a life in eternity. He is the same God who promised us that there will be a life after the life we have here in this world. Doesn’t this also mean that He deeply cares for us?
TRANSITION:
So, from today’s text we see that God really stands with people in their distress and does not abandon them to death. So, it is clear what we must do:
CENTRAL WORD:
We can trust God in time of distress.
8 years later, after my father’s death… many things have happened: My sisters who were still in Uni in those days are now working. My youngest sister has all of us to take care of her. And we may not have a well-off status compared to when my dad was still with us. But here we are… still living with enough resources each day. God never abandoned us, and he never neglected us.
Just like my experience as well as that of Prophet Elijah and the widow, we can say that calamities and deaths are not signs of God’s absence in our lives. We may sometimes feel that when things are getting really tough, maybe God has abandoned us or maybe He has neglected us. Just like how most of us are feeling after this heavy typhoon left a big mess in our midst.
1. First, continue living our lives trusting on God’s provision.
We may have lost a lot but that doesn’t mean we cannot get up again and recover. And whatever you will use to start again, always acknowledge that all those things will be God’s provision. Let us not focus on what we have lost but on what we still have.
The Gentile widow who was left with a little flour and oil was about to give up on life. She was someone who did not worship God, yet God still knew what she needed, and He sent her help through prophet Elijah. He knew what she needed. He knows what you need too! Just trust Him, He is watching over you and He will provide all your needs.
2. Secondly, continue living our lives trusting on God’s promises.
It must be hard to think about how to move on after losing someone you love unexpectedly.
I have mentioned earlier how God raised up the widow’s child. And we realized how God cared for that mourning mother. Brothers and sisters, He cares for you too!
I am not saying that God will raise up your loved ones from the dead. But you know how He showed that He cares? Through His promise of eternal life. The life where there are no more calamities, no more grief, no more sorrows, no more distress. He promised this life to all who will believe in Him – and His promise is true. Trust Him brothers and sisters, He cares for you. He could have just let us rot in hell because we all deserve to die as sinful humans. But, He is gracious enough to send His only begotten Son, our Lord Jesus Christ… to suffer and die on the cross of Calvary so that we can be saved. He cares for you, my friend. He never neglected you.
3. Lastly, let us continue living our lives in prayer, trusting that God hears us.
Remember how Elijah cried out to God to bring the child back to life? It is also a reminder for us that when we feel hurt, we can talk to God and He will listen. He encourages all of us to tell Him whatever we are feeling. He wants us to converse with Him.
CONCLUSION:
Brothers and sisters, there are times when we just do not understand what is happening. Natural calamities and deaths are unavoidable. We may lose a lot of things. And it will always be a hurtful experience.
Today, I am not telling you to stop hurting. But I just want to remind all of us here that despite all the distress and uncertainty… take heart, trust God and always remember, God is watching over you and He cares for you more than you could ever imagine. Just trust in Him.
