Ch4: Episode 4: Faith, Flour, and Miracles: The Widow of Zarephath's Story

0:00 Hello and welcome back to the Diary of a Black Woman podcast. I'm your host Connie Morris and today we're examining the story of the widow at Zarephath from the book of 1 Kings chapter 17 verses 8 to 16. We are still in chapter 4, What is in Your Hands? From the Simple to the Supernatural. And this episode will teach us about faith, obedience, and the miraculous provision. So if you have your Bible, you can go with me to 1 Kings 17. And we're going to read from probably verse 7 through verse 16, just to hear the story in its entirety.

0:47 And then, like always, we'll just kind of go through and just get an understanding of the emotional situation of what this woman was going through and how this is going to affect our life. So let's go. I'm reading from the NIV, and it says, Sometime later the brook dried up because there has been no rain in the land. So we're in a state of famine in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him. It came to Elijah. It says, Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.

1:32 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I can have a drink? As she was going to get it, he called, and bring me, please, a piece of bread. As surely as the Lord your God lives, she replies, I don't have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. And I'm gathering a fruit sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat and die. eye.

2:15 Elijah said to her, 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 some 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 The jug of oil would not run dry until the day of the Lord's sin rained on the land. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family.

3:00 For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. In keeping the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. Sometime later, okay, we're going to stop there. So we see here that there was some more instructions. We see here that the prophet Elijah encountered a widow at Zarephath during a severe famine. Despite her own dire circumstances, she followed Elijah's instructions to first make a small loaf of bread for her from her last bit of flour and oil.

3:42 Her active faith led to a miraculous, unending supply of flour and oil, sustaining her family and Elijah. This is a powerful story because God sent her there, but God already has spoken to her heart that the prophet is going to come and this is what I want you to do. But her first reply was like I'll get you some water Hope this ain't the man God's talking about Wanting me to make him some bread And lo and behold It was that same guy That prophet That prophet did want to make some bread Wanted him to do a miracle With this flour and this water So flour and water Don't make bread So it was probably with some other ingredients And a little oven back there cooking up some stuff.

4:37 And when she did that first, and there was more flour left, think what that did to her heart. That this God that told her that this prophet was coming to her house, because the Bible says there was more widows. There was more widows at the house. There was more people in the world than just this one, but God sent the prophet to her house. How powerful is that? So let's read a little cultural background. How does she get to have this miraculous, supernatural happening at her house over just a little flour and a little bit of oil and the prophet is hanging out at her house? Think of how powerful that was. I'd be like, I'm feeding the prophet.

5:20 Well, I got a lot of questions, Mr. Prophet. So I'm gonna feed you some... I'm going to feed you. What do you need? You want some, what else you want with this bread? We got a lot to talk about. I got a lot of questions. And so the region of Zarephath was in Sidon, outside of Israel, indicating that God's provisions extends beyond national and ethnic boundaries. That's powerful. I love that. that when God's provisions extends beyond ethnic boundaries. So God doesn't really have any type of racial issues.

6:02 Ding dong, ding dong, that God can provide for you, no matter what your racial, what's your ethnicity, where you at. If you have faith, God is with you all the way. I like it. Famine mentioned in the story Reflects a period of severe drought Leading to widespread hunger and scarcity So we see here Famine means there's a lack of everything in the land But when God blesses your house It means there is no lack of scarcity That means that flour won't run out That water, that oil won't run out You're going to have flour and oil and whatever else you need to make that bread and whatever else whatever excuse me whatever else you need to make that bread oh so i love that god doesn't care about your race he doesn't care about your ethnicity if you have faith he's with you and if you are in a severe drought if there's There's a full famine in your land if he's got you. He's a provider.

7:15 Famine often symbolizes a time of testing and reliance on divine provision. The story of the widow of Zarephath highlights God's ability to provide in the midst of extreme scarcity. God is a provider. And so if he's going to provide, isn't it best he provides when it's scarcity? So we don't have any fear. No, we hear on the news, you need to get, you got to buy, get some gold, get stacked up on some food, all these fear things that people are telling you to do. And you're saying, I don't have money to even buy grocery. And you're telling me I have to stack up. Just trust God that whatever you have is going to be enough to provide for you in the event of whatever is going to happen in this world.

8:08 Either famine or feast that God will provide for you. This is a great story and a great timing to have this to hold on to. So trust that God's ability to provide in the midst of extreme scarcity. I mean, it's good to have a little extra, but we go out and buy all this food and nothing happens. What you going to do with all that extra stuff? Because it has an expiration date. It's not going to last forever unless you're stacking up on that super food that said last for 10 years. Who's going to eat that food anyway? I don't even want to know what that tastes like. It's probably tasting like the food that's been on the shelves in our stores anyway, I guess.

8:53 So don't get worried. Don't get him fat to start putting that start thinking, talking to God right now. What do you have in your hand? Well, where's your plans for me? Start getting your faith together, your obedience, right? Lord, how are you going to provide for me when blankety blank break loose? Or not. Just be ready, right? So trust that God has the ability to provide in the midst of whatever the world is trying to show us. And turn off the TV, right? You start believing. You're getting your faith in what they're saying. And you listen. They've been saying that for like, I don't watch TV. But what I gather, for the last three or four years, they've been scaring you. and you probably got food stacked up to your ears already.

9:43 You think, is that going to be enough? Is that going to be enough? Trust God's ability to provide in the midst of whatever they got going on. Amen. Elijah's presence in Zarephath, a foreign land, emphasizes God's concern for all people, not just the Israelites. Isn't that powerful? That God loves all people. Somebody needs to tell the news people that, right? Somebody needs to tell Black Lives Matter that all lives matter, right? So somebody needs to pass that on, that God is concerned for all people, not just the special people that we call special.

10:27 God loves all people. Don't get me preaching. Don't get me preaching. All right, let's move on. So what's the role of the prophets like Elijah? Prophets like Elijah are instrumental in conveying God's message and performing miracles to demonstrate God's power and care. So we have, there's false prophets out there. If you have a pastor and he's a good pastor, pay attention to what he's saying. God's going to give him instructions for you. If you always want to hear everybody's profit, you're going to get twisted and you're going to end up, you're going to get some stuff, you're going to get some stuff wrong.

11:07 Pay attention to what your pastor is saying at this hour. If he's a good pastor, if he has not led you wrong before, then you need to pay attention to what he is saying right now so that you can be on cue for what he has for your church. Because God is speaking to him, right? For his body, all right? So you listen to a whole bunch of stuff, you're gonna be running around like a, what you call those things with the head cut off? Yes, uh-huh. And so pay attention to what God has for you. Speaking to your head of the church, and also pay attention to your head of your household.

11:48 And if you're the head of your household, God's talking to you about what you need to do in a time of famine and how to build your faith up for what is to come, what might to come, or whatever is to come. And so prophets like Elijah are instrumental because remember God speaks to the prophet about what to come. He doesn't do anything unless he speaks to the prophet's first, First, so make sure you're paying attention to what your prophet is saying to you. Elijah's interaction with the widow showcases the prophet's role in facilitating divine intervention and provision. Oh, my gosh. And so when you're paying attention to what's happening in your neck of the woods, come on now.

12:34 God's going to make sure that there is intervention and there is provision for you. What has your pastor been preaching on lately? What's been going on in your church ladies he's been talking about provision he's talking about God's going to provide for you he's talking about your your breakthrough is coming what's going on at your church right because I know the news got things a little twisted things are a little off a lot of things going on sometimes we have to pay attention to what God is saying to us. I don't know why I'm going on this tangent, but let's just pay attention to what God is saying to us. Okay, so God is a provider. He is the divine. What do you have in your hands, right?

13:21 God will provide for you. He will protect you. And I want to say this again. It says, Elijah, Elijah interaction with the widow. I love that. His role is facilitating. I love that word. for facilitating divine intervention and provision. So Elijah just showed up and his test was, can you get me some water? Then he says, while you at it, can you get me some bread? Simple test, yeah, I'll get you some water. Bread, I don't know, we're gonna lay here and die. He said, no, you're not, just make me some bread first and then you're gonna have enough bread to last. And so her test was to do what? Make that bread first. Now, she could have made some bread first, ate it, and said, sorry, there was no more bread.

14:09 And that would have been the end of her story. But she followed instructions. I love that. Let's go back to that scripture because I want to show you how she followed instructions. I love it. I love it. Let's go back here. I love it because his job was to facilitate this. And I just want to give you enough faith to know that When your prophet, your pastor tells you to do something and you do it, He's facilitating your divine intervention and provision.

14:51 And I want to read it We're going to start here at verse Verse. Let's start all over. Let's read it over. It says verse nine, go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. And I've directed a widow. So the widow had already had instructions there to supply you with food. So she already knew that, that Elijah was coming over and was going to ask some of these hard questions. So he went to Zarephath. He went right there where God God told him to go. When he came to the town gate, a widow was gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, would you bring me a little water in a jar so I can have a drink? That was the cue.

15:38 As she was going to get it, he called, test one, and bring me, please, a piece of bread. And here she goes. As surely as the Lord God lives, she replied, I don't have any bread. Didn't the Lord tell you that you were going to feed the prophet? I don't have any bread, only a handful of flour in the jar and a little oil in the jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home to make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat and die. Is that what the Lord told her? Look how Elijah is so calm. Elijah said, don't be afraid.

16:20 Go home and do as you have said. But make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me. So first, do what you're going to do, but make that first loaf of bread for me. And then make some for yourself and son. done. And then when you do that, for this is verse 14, for this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. Then he began to prophesy. 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.

17:02 And she said, okay, this is the right guy. She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry. And keeping the word of the Lord, what the Lord has spoken. Because she obeyed, she didn't run out of food. So I think that was her test too. She said, oh, he's prophesying. This is the right guy. And he said, do not fear.

17:45 And then she went and did that. So I read that twice so we can build our faith up on what the word of the Lord said to the prophet it that until it rains until it says any quiet until trying to find it again. He said, don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me and what you have and bring it to me and make something for yourself and son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel says. That's what she prophesied. He says that the jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day of the Lord sends rain in the land. Let's hold on to that.

18:37 That God's word will not return void. It will do what it was sent to do. I love that. The widow's desperation. The widow's situation was desperate and her son was facing intimate starvation. Her emotional state would have been one of hopelessness and fear. The impact of famine and loss. Nope. Hopeless and fear. Glory to God. So she, she, that fam, think about being in famine and all you have is that little piece of bread left, right? That oil.

19:18 But God has spoke to you that someone's coming, that you won't run out. But you still have that little bit of fear in you that no one wants to die. But she has said in her heart that if this guy don't come through, I've said in my heart to die. So desperation drove her to comply to Elijah's request. Despite apparent risks of her life, she says, I'm going to do this. This has to work. But think what happened when she did make that first cake. And then she realized there was enough left. And so we understand that the famine compounded her struggles, made her survival even more challenging. Right.

20:03 So she's like, here we go. But she trusted in what the word of the Lord said to her heart first, because she was expecting this to happen. He showed up and then her actions, then her faith without works is dead. So she had to do something. And when she did it, she saw the miraculous happen. She saw the supernatural happen. So let's go. Elijah question. Elijah requests for a small loaf of bread, test the widow's faith and willingness to give from her limited resources. There was limited because if, if, if God wasn't going to show up, Elijah was going to live and they were going to die.

20:47 And so when we get our super spiritual, guess what? Dang, Elijah, you're going to eat the last meal of this, this couple. And you looking at this, like this man going to eat our last meal for real. And think about the little boy saying, mama, you're going to give this to this man. We don't even know this man. You're going to eat our last meal. But then Let's just make the cake. You know, I'm going to trust God. And then watch the cake. And then he watched the flour fill up. He watched the oil fill up. We don't know what happened to that little boy, but I bet you he's some prophet in the land somewhere because he saw a miracle happen right before his eyes.

21:33 It highlights the principle that faith often requires us to act in obedience Even when it seems illogical or risky I said there ain't no shortcuts There isn't no shortcuts in this life called faith It will seem illogical or risky Didn't it seem illogical that Elijah would ask this single mother of a child To just feed him first? What? That was illogical. But she says, I'm going to trust the Lord because the Lord already told her. I've already spoken to a widow in Zarephath.

22:17 Because God's spoken to you doesn't take away that fear sometimes, right? And so, but when she began to do what she knew in her heart to do, even because the prophet was there and because he prophesied, that added to the faith that was in her heart. So the widow's act of giving her last bit of flower oil demonstrated that our willingness to offer what little we have can lead to God's miraculous provision. Wow. Could you do that? I don't know if I could. I know. It's like, I know my hariposa feed you. I was expecting you.

23:00 It's a famine in the land. I got my baby. We don't know how old the baby was. And you're getting everything set up to cook the final bread. But where's your faith with God? Okay, I'm going to do this. I'm just going to believe in the miraculous because I believe you sent this man here because I'm going to believe it. I'm just going to do it. Here we go. And if I die, I go to heaven, then I'll talk to Jesus when I get there about what just happened here, right? The small amount of flower or symbolizes the widow's remaining hope and sustenance. Her willingness to give it away in faith opens the door for God's abundant provision.

23:46 It reminds me of a story of the widow's might, which is found in Luke 21, 1-4, where the poor widow's tiny offering is valued highly by Jesus. The widow's act of giving in Zarephath reflects profound faith and trusting in God. And so we have to remember that. It's kind of like there's a breakthrough of our faith when we actually, we just have to do what God says and just wait, right? And we have to have a faith that God is with us and he has a way that he will provide for us.

24:29 And he said he never, I think it's a scripture, it is a scripture, never seen the righteous forsaken or his seed begging bread, which is in Psalms 37. That whole Psalm 37 is really rich And so you can say Well I've never seen his seed begging bread And so if you wanted God's children You don't have to worry about begging for bread I don't know why he always uses bread Bread can be used as food or money, And so we just have to trust him During this shaking time in the world Things are going to shake up, We hear that all the time So when things are shaking Our God is not shaking And if we are in his kingdom, we are not shaken either. Amen. Amen.

25:15 Despite the widow's faith is evident for her to follow Elijah's instructions. We've been covering that a lot. Despite her doubt situation, she still had to follow the instructions. Remember, you still have to follow instructions. Her act of obedience lead to continuous provisions. visions. She had to make the bread for Elijah first, period. She didn't have to make the bread for her kid and herself first. The instruction was make the bread for me first and then make the bread for you and your child. That was the faith act.

25:56 If she would have changed it up any kind of way, it wouldn't have worked. The story reinforces the principle that faith coupled with obedience can lead to miraculous outcome. God's honor and rewards our faith, even when they involve significant and personal sacrifice. There was a sacrifice, but there was no death. Yeah, it's probably a lot of sweating, crying and tears. Like when it comes to doing, wanting the miraculous, giving the simple, like the chapter four says, what do you have in your hands?

26:38 What do you have in your hands? What do you have in your hands? God can bless what you have in your hands. It might seem illogical. It might seem risky. It will require obedience, but you will be blessed. How do we apply this story to our lives? We must reflect on your resources. Take a moment to assess what you have, skills, talents, times, or even your financial resources. Nothing is too small for God to use. Nothing is too small for God to use. He talked about the oil. We talk about the flour, right?

27:22 We talk about the Queen of Sheba. She gave almost everything. And Moses' staff. What is it that you have in your hand? Can you sing? Can you dance? What skill? I know artists that can actually draw. People have that nice handwriting. I mean, you can create all kinds of things. What skill do you have in your hand? Create new things. Like the widow, step out in faith with what you have. Trust that God can multiply your humble offerings beyond your imaginations. You see that her faith affected her son's life.

28:05 It affected Elijah's life. Even though the prophet, think about the prophet, really depended on that widow woman to sustain him. You know? Wow. So it required not just the prophet's faith, but also that little woman's faith to sustain him. Okay, so reflect on your resources. Each of you could use whatever gift you have received to serve others as a faithful steward of God's grace in various forms. So the gifts that you have come from God. Whatever you have, how big, how small, they all come from God.

28:49 So make sure that you are faithful stewards with God's grace, whatever form it comes in, you are responsible for those. And act in faith. And we cover this. Now, faith is confidence in what we hope for and the assurance about what we do not see. I'm going to see if I can find another translation of that same verse. I like to look at different translations. Let's see how we can be encouraged with Hebrews 11.1 in the NIV. Let's see how we can be encouraged. NIV sounds familiar.

29:30 Give me a minute here. I'm just doing it live. Let's do an Amplified. Now, faith is the assurance, title deed, confirmation of things hoped for, divinely guaranteed, and the evidence of things not seen, the conviction of their reality. Faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses. Oh, I like that. Repeat that again. Again, now faith is assurance, in parentheses, title, deed, confirmation of things hoped for, parentheses, divinely guaranteed. And it says, and the evidence of things not seen, it says, the conviction of their reality, faith comprehends as fact what cannot be experienced by the physical senses.

30:24 And so faith requires you to move when you don't quite understand what you're moving with. Whoa, whoa, just move and trust in that God has your next step, right? Obedience brings blessing. The widow followed Elijah instructions precisely. Our obedience to God's guidance can unlock his supernatural provisions. So obey is better than sacrifice. So just follow the instructions. And finally, expect miracles. Anticipate that God will show up in miraculous ways when you act in faith.

31:06 The widow's flower and oil did not run out, demonstrating God's abundant provisions. You know, that's powerful. The widow's flower and oil did not run out, demonstrating God's abundant provisions. And God will meet all my needs according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4.19. what do you have in your house that has not run out think about it have we believed that fine advance do we always are we always so quick to run to the store because we know maybe we have the money to go get it we can believe for something to run out so I have this favorite lipstick and they don't make it anymore they don't make it anymore they just don't make it anymore and I searched around and around around and I just believe God said Lord I like this lipstick They don't make it anymore.

32:01 I just don't want it to run out because it's my favorite lipstick. And somehow, some way, I mean, I was looking all over the place for it and I couldn't find it. And somehow, some way, I don't know, that I was cleaning out my lipstick, my makeup thing, and I found two tubes of lipstick. Lipstick and I'm holding those on I'm like lord I don't want these to run out so I've had these lipsticks for the last six months and they haven't ran out and so hello I believe for the miraculous it's only lipstick y'all but I'm believing like they don't make it anymore and this is like my favorite lipstick and it's I ain't gonna tell you the name and then it's but.

32:50 They don't make it anymore. I've been searching for it. They even said they don't make it anymore. I'm looking on eBay for it. That's how bad I like it, but they don't make it anymore. But God, suddenly these showed up in a miraculous way at my home. And so I'm just going to believe, and I still have this one. I've been opening the other one and I'm using the same lipstick and I haven't ran out and it's been like six months. And so just the simple things, folks, just the simple things. So let's believe that we trust in the Lord. I know I say this a lot, but trust in the Lord with all is Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding and all your ways submit to him and he will make your path straight.

33:37 And so don't lean in your own understanding. What do you have in your hand? Trust in him, not your own understanding. And I think when I get into my own understanding, I mess things up. So I'd be like, Lord, help me, help me. Give me wisdom. Give me your understanding of it. Because every time I try to understand it, I mess it up. And also understand that faith without works is dead. You have to do something. God is not like a Santa Claus. You have to do something, right? Right. I mean, Santa Claus don't even exist, but we act like we can just close our eyes and like open our eyes and put a tree up and then wish that the gift is under the tree. That's not how it works.

34:20 You have to put your faith to work. You have to do what God says. Follow the instructions. So let's get to our decrees. Remember, if you have any stories that God is doing some supernatural things in your life, I would love to hear it. You know, you can send it to my email or you can just put it on on the podcast under the review or whatever they do with that. So the others can build their faith up. you know, anything that God has multiplied you, or if he gave you an unexpected, you have something that has not ran out, like some lipstick, some deodorant, some soap, your favorite soap, that God is still at work. I mean, my lipstick, six months, y'all.

35:07 Lipstick does not last six months. You know that, because they don't put enough in there the last six months, but it's last six months. I am so excited. All right, so let's do some decrees, and then we got to move on. Yes. So repeat after me. I decree that my faith and obedience, even in times of scarcity, will open the doors to God's endless provision. Let's do that one again. And I want to add something at the end. You might laugh, you know, but just do it with me. I decree that my faith and obedience, even in times of scarcity, I won't be scared.

35:53 I will use my faith and God will open the doors to his endless provision. vision. All right. I decree that my giving, even out of my need, will lead to God's abundant blessings. I decree that my faith and obedience will unlock God's supernatural provisions. I decree that I will expect and receive God's miraculous interventions in my life.

36:38 I like that. Okay, good job. So we see that our faith and obedience unlocks the supernatural. Okay? So remember that. And in scarcity, don't get scared to start to get your faith. Say, okay, Lord, just like you did it for the widow with the oil, just like you did it with the widow of Zarephath. You just start to believe. God wants to do that miracle. He wants to do that miracle in your life. He wants to take that simple to the supernatural. He wants you to brag on him. So don't feel like you're doing something like you feel like I feel stupid. Don't say that.

37:20 Because when he does the miraculous, you won't be feeling stupid. When you feed your neighborhood out of your oil and your flour, making all that bread and cake and all that good stuff. And you're like, and then they find out all you have was just one cup of flour and one cup of sugar, three eggs, however it takes to make a cake. And you're feeding the whole neighborhood because of your faith. Amen. So don't ever feel like you're doing anything stupid. When you're trusting God, it's going to be illogical. It's going to be risky, but it's going to be well worth it. Okay. Thank you again for listening to my podcast, Diary of a Black Woman.

38:02 This story of the widow of Zarephath is a powerful reminder of God's faithfulness. And God's willingness. Come on, he sent a prophet to a widow's house to preserve her, to give her instructions on how to survive during a famine. He will do the same for you. So join us next time as we explore the blessings of tithing from Malachi 3, 9 through 11. Say bless and keep on believing and God wants to do supernatural in your life.