Zarephath is a city that existed in 800 B.C., located just south of Sidon, Lebanon, then Syria. God sent Elijah to a widow who lived there during a great famine. He found her picking up sticks and asked her for a drink of water and some bread. “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she said, “I don’t have any bread–only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.”
Elijah said, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land'” (1 Kings 17). And as Elijah said, in 3 1/2 years the widow’s jar of flour did not go empty and the jug of oil did not dry up.
Has there been a time in your life when you lost all hope? You didn’t know how you would feed your family or pay your bills. Maybe you lost your job or your home. Your despair was very much like the widow from Zarephath. Robert Schuller once said, “Tough times don’t last. Tough people do.” God provided for the widow in this Bible story. He provided for me too, during times of financial hardship. Friend, God will get you through whatever trouble you experience when you trust Him with all your heart.
Prayer: Father God, I pray for those today who are displaced due to storms or loss of home or work. I pray that they look to you and experience your great love for them; that you provide for their needs. O Lord, give them abundant life as they look to you for help. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
A Closer Walk with God 