Giving Your 'Nearly 'Nothing'ናሙና

Commanded Or Divinely Appointed?

Have you ever been asked to give more than what you felt you had left to give? Maybe you didn’t have the energy to give to the task that you were required to, or maybe you felt too poor in resources to give.

During the next week, we will look at four different stories where people were asked to give more than they had.

Our first story is about a widow who was asked by Elijah to give more than she felt she had to give.

1 Kings 17:8-12 NKJV
Elijah and the Widow

8 Then the word of the Lord came to him, saying, 9 “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink.” 11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.”12 So she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”

At first, it sounds like all is going to plan, as God has told Elijah that a widow would provide for him. When he enters the city lo and behold, there is a widow!

It also sounds like God has already had a chat with her and told her that if a man came asking for refreshments, she would be prepared and know just what to do.

However, on Elijah’s request for these provisions that God had promised, it seems as though the widow is not so prepared. She is willing to stop her stick gathering to get the water for a stranger, but as to the bread, she has ‘nearly nothing’. In fact, she is gathering sticks to use the last of the flour and oil to make her and her son their last meal before they die! Pay careful attention to how much she left. Only a HANDFUL of flour and a LITTLE oil in a jar. Nearly nothing.

But hadn’t God commanded her to provide for Elijah?? In the NIV version, the word ‘directed’ is used. When we look into the words ‘commanded’ or ‘directed’, ‘appoint’ or ‘ordain’ can also be used, which could lead us to believe that God had made this appointment but not necessarily told her about it. He has ordained this meeting and it wasn’t just for the purpose of giving Elijah a meal.

Our thought for today is to consider the ways God has ordained or appointed circumstances in our lives to challenge us but also to give us an opportunity to realise what we are willing to give.