Our Amazing God

The Bible reveals an unchanging, amazing God. One of my favorite Bible characters is Elijah. He shows up suddenly on the pages of Scripture, with no mention of his backstory, just a statement about where he was born. The book of James refers to him as a man like us. Ordinary. Yet, as we read about his ministry we see amazing works of God.

The first thing we read about him (1 Kings 17) is his confrontation with King Ahab, whom the Bible calls evil. Elijah says he serves God. He tells Ahab the land is about to experience a drought. (We learn in 1 Kings 18:18 the reason for the drought and other trouble in the land is the refusal of the king and his family to obey the commands of the Lord.) Of course the king was not pleased with Elijah or his message.

In the midst of the drought, God sent Elijah to hide from the king at a brook. The brook would provide water for Elijah, and God would send ravens to bring him food. So Elijah did as the Lord told him and camped beside Kerith Brook. Elijah trusted God and God provided.

If the ravens weren’t amazing enough, when the brook dried up, the Lord sent Elijah to another unlikely source. He told Elijah to go to a poor widow in Zerephath. God had instructed her to feed Elijah. Elijah trusted God and went.

Elijah asked her for food. The widow had nothing but a handful of flour and a little oil in the bottom of the jug. Elijah told her not to be afraid, God would provide oil and flour until the drought ended. She trusted what God said to her through Elijah and prepared bread for him with what she had. The oil and flour lasted, just as the Lord had promised.

God’s provision doesn’t end with the biblical record.

 

Our family recently celebrated the wedding of our granddaughter. Just as everything was about to begin, my daughter, Christie, came to me and said quietly, “Please pray. The caterer only sent half the amount of food we agreed upon.” When the significance of what she said registered in my mind I said, “Loaves and fishes.” She said, “Exactly! Pray!”

There was no panic in her demeanor, just an acknowledgment that there was only one solution to this problem–dependence on God.

There were only a few of us aware of the dilemma, but we were all praying fervently. My conversation with the Lord included a reminder that He did not let the wine run out at the wedding in Cana. We were counting on Him not to let the food run out at our event, either.

I continued my conversation with the Lord while we enjoyed the festivities. When it came time to serve the meal, I watched as the guests filed through the buffet line. I saw plates filled with generous servings. The line continued. And continued. Finally, at the end of the line, plates were still well covered. Then I noticed people going back for seconds. No one was disappointed.

At the end of the evening, when the guests had left and the clean-up began, the staff at the wedding venue who had been involved in serving the food said, “How did you do that? We have done a lot of weddings. Either there is too much food with a lot of leftovers, or there is not enough. You had exactly the right amount. How did you do that?”

We serve an amazing God.

So she did as Elijah said, and she and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.    1 Kings 17:15-16 NLT

 

What do you think? I would love to hear how God has amazed you. Please leave a comment below.

Blessings,
Phyllis

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Copyright 2023 Phyllis l. Farringer