by Summer Kelley
Ravens will feed you.
He must have thought, "They will?"
Ravens were known for not even feeding their own young.
"Who provides food for the raven
when its young cry out to God
and wander about for lack of food?"
-Job 38:41-
But they brought Elijah meat and bread not once, but twice a day until the brooke dried up. Elijah was hiding out in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan river.
Elijah had informed the most evil of the Northern kings of Israel, King Ahab, that God was sending a drought on the land.
Ahab wanted to kill Elijah, so he hid in the Kerith Ravine.
When the brook dried up, God instructed Elijah to ask a widow for food.
A widow? How does a widow have any food in this drought?
The prompt is usually for us to care for the widows...not the other way around.
But Elijah did ask the widow for food. God promised her, through Elijah, that her flour and oil wouldn't run out until it rained again.
She did give him part of her last tiny cake. The few bites she was saving for her and her son's last meal.
The flour and oil was miraculously replenished with enough for the three of them every day until it rained. The widow and her son's lives were spared because they were the ones chosen to share with Elijah.
You can find this full story in 1 Kings 17.
A Counterintuitive Means of Provision
It struck me that God's means of providing for and blessing this widow was giving.
This mirrors a story ITMI Monthly recently shared from Charl van Wyk. God's means of causing Charl and his ministry to thrive was also giving.
But it's so counterintuitive. Giving doesn't seem like a means of God providing for me, it seems like a means of providing for someone else.
And yet, without having shared her last meal, this widow and her son would have starved.
How Does this Implicate Me?
I think it reminds us of God's goodness towards us.
It's another reminder that giving isn't something God wants from us, its something he wants for us. He isn't waiting to judge us because we haven't given enough.
He is waiting to bless us through our giving.
It's what ITMI wants for people, too.
We want to catalyze your joy and blessing through giving opportunities. We want you to be a part of the extraordinary things God is doing through and for His people around the world.
Because, after all, "the world is mine, and all that is in it," God says, and He doesn't need our gifts. (Psalm 50:10-12)
He wants us to be with Him where He is - on a mission to redeem and restore His creation.
He wants us to be with Him where He is - on a mission to redeem and restore His creation.
I bet you do know this secret.
I would venture to guess you've experienced it yourself. After all, the ITMI family is a dedicated band of generous givers. You're in the company of others like you, who are passionate about seeing Jesus change the world through His people.
I probably could have learned this from many of you, who could share rich and beautiful stories of God's provision through sacrifice and obedience.
Thanks for your dedication to Him.
Thanks for your sacrifice.
Thanks for your faithfulness.
About the Author
Summer Kelley is a writer and follower of Jesus living in Phoenix, Arizona with her husband and three kids. She’s had the honor and privilege of telling ITMI’s stories since 2006. Summer loves reading, the outdoors and Coca-Cola Classic.