by sue a allen
Do you feel like you are in a situation that is way over your head? Maybe you’ve thought there have to be other people who can do this. Much more accomplished and smarter and more gifted people than I. Why in the world am I being asked?
Or maybe you are wondering,”WHAT IN THE WORLD!” This challenge. This problem. This pain is a great task. Certainly, God has given me the wrong assignment. It is way too much to ask.
Make no mistake, we all at sometime or another will struggle to have faith. We may think that life seems pretty impossible. Something may be rocking your world. Even today…right now, as we speak.
And maybe you think…my situation is unchangeable. There is no way that God could turn it around. A crumbling marriage. A rebellious child. A terminal illness. I mean seriously…don’t you think it’s too late?
In the midst of IMPOSSIBLE, we must ask God to strengthen our faith
In 1 Kings 17, the prophet Elijah asks a widow to make him some bread. It doesn’t sound like an extraordinary task until you consider that this woman has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING and is preparing for death. Her husband has died and she is left destitute. She is found picking up sticks along with her son when she hears someone holler, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.”
She listens when she is utterly broken.
She puts others needs in front of herself.
And while she is serving, she receives one more request, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” But, she has no bread to offer. She has no food in her house. She has a scant of flour and a speck of oil. That’s it. She had nothing to give.
And this is where I find myself pondering. Why her? Wasn’t there someone else?
This woman had nothing and yet, she gave her everything. She went. She did. And maybe you feel like you can relate. God often stretches us beyond our limits…because it is there in our weakness that we experience His greatness. When we feel like we have nothing to give. Nothing to offer. And we are in way over our heads.
For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain upon the earth.’” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. 1 Kings 17:14-15
May we be encouraged today to take the first step. To be bold in our faith and obey…
When God calls us to do something that seems way too big
When we cannot imagine how our situation will change
When we don’t have all the answers
When it seems like a ridiculous request
If God is calling you to do something, what is holding you back?
