9 Famine Banquets

I’m a person who likes to believe that I am spontaneous but really, I like to plan out the variables that occur when doing spontaneous things, and have action plans for each variable, down to the 3rd or 4th generation of it… OK, so, not so spontaneous.

But I “LOOK” spontaneous, because I’m easy-going about it – well… until someone messes with my 2:00pm naptime, that is. Then the world falls apart, a little…

So, what’s that about?

The Back Story (1 Kings 17:7-16)

When the brook dried up, Elijah spontaneously got his next set of marching orders (just the next step, not the whole plan) …to go to a poverty-stricken widow’s place and ask for food, in the middle of a drought. She had been scrimping and saving her food, trying to stretch it out as long as she could. But today, was the day that she had so little, that she was going to make her and her son their last meal and then together…starve to death. Pause. Think of her devastation. The heart of a mama is to give life, not… this…

Oddly, enough, God let her know that she was to share her food with Elijah, but I’m sure she still had some misgivings about that. It was the last motherly thing she could do for her son. The last gift she could give him before dying…

Elijah knew how hard this was, but he still makes the request. Yes, go make food for you and your son, but make some for me first. (He’s not being selfish here, no, he’s putting the spiritual in order to start a miracle, that is duplicated by his protégé Elisha 2 Kings 4:42-44 and that Jesus himself perpetuates… twice! Mark 6:30-44, 8:1-10)

He tells the widow that the flour and oil will not be used up until the day that it starts to rain. The shocking thing about that is, in truth, “the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry in keeping with the word of the LORD spoken by Elijah” (vs 16).

Thoughts

Control – now if the widow would have had the same propensity for supremacy and dominance over her flour and oil supply that perhaps I do over… nap time (?), then, (well, yeah, duh) she would not have the opportunity to see her son grow up… and eat during a famine.

What about you? Are there things that you are holding on to, with all your might, thinking that you’ll die without them? I won’t even hazard a guess as to what that is (for goodness sake, I held on to a blanket that was in tatters, literally – yes in my 30’s, until a “loving” friend found it and threw it out, oh, sure… there was a time of grieving… LOL – so, no, no judgement here -just saying) But seriously, what does God say about what you are holding on to? Take some time and ask Him about it.

Do you ever feel like you’ve already given all you have and will die? Or perhaps someone else has taken the last of your _________ (fill in the blank) and NOW you will die? I understand. What life does God want to put into your deep heart? WARNING: It may be painful to allow life to spring up. Here’s the thing about plants, when the seed geminates and opens up so that the plant can grow roots and a stem, both those parts PUSH STUFF OUT OF THE WAY. The roots push down and the stem pushes up – either way – something has to move. That movement is exciting, but yet sometimes painful. Try hard not to despise the pain of growth. If it’s hard, please have compassion on yourself and try to figure out what exactly is painful -where does it hurt. If you can figure that out, you can bring that to Jesus and he can take a look at it with you. He is compassionate and kind. Don’t be afraid.

Spiritual Order – “A house divided against itself will fall”. Matt. 12:25. This is important, my darling. Sometimes bad stuff happens (like emotional droughts, or a very real hard look at the face of death) and things get a little off balance. I am realizing that I had a friendship growing up that was like that. My friend asked me to do hard things that were meant for her to do, not me. (not like giving her the answers to a math test – I could NEVER do that – they’d be all wrong, ha!) No, she gave me things like, doing her emotional homework, taking on the stuff she didn’t want to deal with in her life- she oozed and blamed their pain all over me. Boundaries are important, and in my attempt to help, I lacked.

This is why Elijah needed to put the house in order. The owner/mother of the house had to be in agreement so that the miracle would have a soft place to land and take root. What is shifting in your life, in your heart? Is there something that God is making clearer for you? Does it involve some sacrifice? I’m so sorry if it does – sometimes that hurts, but don’t fear, God wastes nothing.

I know that may not sound great, because sometimes we don’t give money or service but tears. But from where I stand and where my pain hits me (I can’t move or get out of it) I have to know that there is a reason behind what is causing the death of me. Because in death, there is life. A plant dies so a seed can be born. What part is the plant dying in you and what part is the seed – the potential, the hope that God has placed in you?

Good News – The flour and oil did not get empty – in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah”. God’s word does not come up empty (Is. 55:11) What this means is, that if He says something, He means it. His word is his promise. There are a few things that can stop or delay a word of God, mind you,

1. Rejection – if you don’t want it, you can reject it and God (most times) will honor that and not do what He said he would.

2. Timing – Just because you want the word NOW, doesn’t mean it’s meant for now. SO, it’s not a stop, it’s a delay. Hang tight – it’s on its way.

3. Sin – sometimes deliberate rebellion/sin can cause a shift and God’s word is blocked by our own issues.

Now if all those things check out okay, then there is an open path to having the word of God come to pass. With Elijah, the oil and flour did not run dry. I sometimes wonder if she made extra once in a while. It says there was food for the woman and her family, was that just her son, or did that include her mom and dad? Now, I’m sure she didn’t advertise her blessing or open a bakery, but I wonder about her generosity. The reason I wonder is that God’s word blesses the one it’s meant to bless, but it usually spills over and blesses more than just the one. Did she scrimp and save in the middle of her blessing, or did she make as much as she needed – and start gaining weight back, taking her away from death’s door?

God’s Power – Some people would have died during that drought. That is very, very sad. In this case, the widow and son gained greater health and deeper security than before, during the SAME drought! Listen, my darling, you are not alone. Jesus is right with you! It was because the spiritual brought into right alignment and the calling of God on that lady’s life, her son and the life of Elijah. Her heart was soft and willing, even in the face of doing something unconventional – giving away her last meal.

If she wouldn’t have been willing, God would have found another place ready to take the prophet. God’s blessings follow an belief in God’s word. Elijah spoke the word and blessings followed. God’s ultimate goals will not be stopped. Death by starvation can be reversed and be made into a banquet and famine can result in plenty. What word is God giving you about your tough circumstance? Is it unbelievable? (so is plenty in the middle of a famine).

SPECIAL NOTE: Now, I’m not talking pie-in-the-sky kind of belief, like “I believe, I’ll trip over a million dollars in my cow pasture”, no, I KNOW what I’d be stepping in, in the back 40, and it sure doesn’t smell like a million bucks… What I’m really talking about is a Word-tested, heart-believed word of God. THAT kind of word… the one that hits deep…it matters. Those ones are decided in the Courts of Heaven between The Father, Holy Spirit and Jesus, all for the sake blessings for those who love Him and walk in His ways. These tender gifts are for you, your heart, and your situation that is painful.

If you are not sure if you can trust God. I understand. Perhaps you don’t know who he is. He has so many names to describe him and it’s hard to know… maybe this will help…

Can you trust someone like that? Not enough for you? I understand. Maybe you need something here and now: