Flour and Oil

Merriam-Webster defines stewardship as "the activity or job of protecting and being responsible for something." Who of us isn’t responsible for something? More and more these days when I think about responsibility and stewardship, I find myself thinking about the widow of Zerephath…

God had used the prophet Elijah to bring a drought in Israel in order to get the attention of King Ahab and give a wake-up call to God’s people. Survival got to be a challenge in the land. But God provided for and supported His servant Elijah through various means. One way was through a person who was struggling to survive herself – a widow in the coastal town of Zerephath.

The fact that the woman was a widow suggests that she had no one else to rely on. What’s more, she had a son. Not only was she trying to feed herself and keep a roof over her own head. She also had to do the same for her household. Things had gotten pretty bleak for her during the drought. And in the midst of this, God commanded the woman to take care of His servant Elijah, whom God was sending her way.

Well, aside from being startled that God had communicated with her, the widow was struck with disbelief that she could handle another mouth to feed. And when Elijah showed up, she told him as much. This woman planned to take the last of her flour and her oil and make a little bread for her and her son—a last meal of sorts. After that, she fully expected that she and her son would starve to death.

But Elijah had seen what God could do, and assured the woman: If she made Elijah her first priority, the bowl of flour would not be exhausted, nor would the jar of oil be empty, until the day the LORD ended the drought by sending the rain. And that is just what happened.

Now, the stewardship application: Though I have seen God work in my own life, I confess that, at times, I still find myself wondering what the next day will bring. And I’m sure I’m not alone in that.

But if God has called us to be a part of, and a supporter of, His work through His church, making Him our first priority, then I believe God will enable us to do just that. And though, like the widow, our flour and our oil seem to be nearly gone, God will stretch them, in amazing ways, to see us through the drought until He once again sends the rains.

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