When God is about to do something extraordinary, He wraps it up in the most unusual package. The bible tells us the story of Elijah the prophet in I Kings 17. Elijah had just made a bold declaration to Ahab the king. The Lord had given him a clear instruction to go to a brook. Picking up the story from verse 8 of 1Kings 17 we see
An Unusual Situation: God had told Elijah go to Zerephath, where a widow will sustain him throughout the period of drought. But upon meeting with the woman, her situation was not what one would have expected. There are several possibilities for Elijah. He could doubt God, he could doubt his ability to hear God, he could have questioned his calling as a prophet or he could have simply given up; But Elijah understood that when God is about to move in our lives he sometimes put us in an unusual situation.
An Unusual Instruction: In Verse 13 …Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
I don’t know about you, but if I were in the widow’s shoe I would have probably said to Elijah “what part of my story don’t you understand? I said I don’t have anything and you are telling me fear not”. Thank God that the widow did not respond in such a way. She understood that when God is about to visit us at the point of our need, He sometimes give us an unusual instructions.
An Unusual Promise: In verse 14, Elijah said …. 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 sends rain upon the earth.. When we correctly follow God’s unusual instructions, that is when the door of unusual promise will be opened.. The promise of supernatural provision did not come to the widow until she was ready to obey the unusual instruction. When God is about to do the supernatural He sometimes give us an unusual promises.
An Unusual Faith & Obedience: Vs. 15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah…..
The promise of God will do us very little good if we refuse to obey his instructions. Elijah said to the widow if you make the cake for me, you will have more than enough to last you though the period of the drought. The promise of God is contingent upon our obedience. The widow must first give Elijah his meal before she can see the miraculous provision. When God is about to bless us, He sometimes require a demonstration of an unusual faith and obedience.
An Unusual Manifestation: Vs 15b…and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. [16] And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah. Jeremiah 32:27 bible tells us …Behold, I am the Lord, the God of all flesh: is there anything too hard for me? This year God wants to begin something new in our lives, He wants to work with us in a new way. He wants to entrust his treasure into our care and grant our heart desires. But it all starts with our attitude and our response to him. The question is how will you respond to him this year?