8th Sep 2025

James 1:2–4 (ESV)

“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

In a time of severe famine, when food and water were scarcely available, God still had a plan to feed His people. He instructed the prophet Elijah to go and live in the village of Zarephath, assuring him that a widow there would provide for him.

As Elijah entered the city gate, he saw a widow gathering sticks. He asked her for some water, and as she went to get it, he also asked for a piece of bread. The widow explained her desperate condition—she had only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. She was preparing a final meal for herself and her son, after which they expected to die.

Elijah told her, “Make a small loaf for me first, and then make some for yourself and your son. For the Lord says: The flour will not be used up, and the jar of oil will not run dry until He sends rain on the earth.” She obeyed, and as God promised, the flour and oil never ran out. They ate and were satisfied for many days.

It is striking that God chose this particular widow to sustain Elijah during famine. The Lord could have sent him to a wealthy home with plenty stored away, but instead He went to a house where there was no man to provide, no field to work, and nothing left for tomorrow. In those days, widows often survived only on the kindness of others. Yet God chose her home to reveal His power.

This widow believed she and her son would die after their last meal. Yet God asked her to give to a stranger from her very little. Humanly speaking, it sounds unreasonable—almost impossible. But when she obeyed, she discovered that her little became endless in the hands of God.

This shows us something powerful: God often selects people for blessing long before they realize it. He saw this woman in her hopelessness, her affliction, and her insecurity, and He set her apart for a miracle. The same is true for us. God may send someone into your life with a genuine need—or someone who tests your patience, time, and resources—so that through the stretching, His goodness and provision are unveiled.

What Elijah asked of the widow may have sounded ruthless, but it was the doorway to her breakthrough. Not everyone who enters your life comes with bad intentions. Some are sent by God so that through the pressing and the breaking, you will begin to produce fresh oil. We are handpicked, tested, and tried so that we may be made complete in Him.

This widow, in her darkest moment, chose to believe the promise of God. She obeyed and gave her last portion, and in return, she saw an overflowing blessing. God delights in blessing those who surrender everything to Him. He asked for her “nothing” so He could give her “more than enough.”

Give to God—even the least you have—and you will see His faithfulness take its full course in your life.

As promised, you will lack nothing:

1 Kings 17:14 (ESV)

“‘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.’”

Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You that even in seasons of famine, You are the God of abundance. Strengthen our faith to give, to serve, and to trust You fully, so that we may see Your overflowing provision and goodness in our lives. In Jesus’ name, Amen.