I have to be honest. I’m dealing with some fears, I’m desiring more faith, and I’m yearning for fulfillment in the areas that God has mapped out for me to do in this life.

A few days ago I confessed to a friend that although I felt that my prayer time was “great” I knew that I wasn’t taking the time to read my Bible like I should. The word, “should”, can mean something different for everyone but for me I understood that it meant that there was a hole that only God’s Word can fill and it did not depend upon the amount of time or how much I read but that I would simply make it more of a priority.

Since I am going through somewhat of a wilderness journey right now I decided to do a study on some wilderness experiences in the Bible. My first step into this process brought me to 1 Kings chapter 17. In the first seven verses we see a new leader come on to the season by the name of Elijah. After a brief encounter with a bad king named Ahab, God instructs Elijah to go and rest by a brook where he would drink and eat until he could hold nothing more. This lasted for awhile until God tells him to get up and go to another town. It’s here, in this town, or at least in the context of this story, where God spoke to me.

⁸ Then the word of the Lord came to him: ⁹ “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” ¹⁰ 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 may have a drink?” ¹¹ As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

¹² “As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”

¹³ 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 something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴ For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘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.’”

¹⁵ 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. ¹⁶ For 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.

Initially, there are three things that stand out to me:
1. FEAR. The widow was afraid to give up the very thing that would sustain her and her family. She found security in that food and rightfully so. What are you afraid to give up? Where is it that you place your sense of security? I’m afraid to step out into the unknown because it does not feel very secure. I have no idea where my feet will land and that is quite scary. Like the widow, I feel the security when I can see the flour and oil and when I can touch it with my own hands. Knowing that it’s there and it’s guaranteed makes the fear go away.

2. FAITH. It took GREAT faith for this woman to give up something to a complete stranger based upon some promise that she could not see. What is it that God is asking you to give up? Is God asking you to give up something for someone you don’t know or perhaps to someone you do know? Is He asking you to give it to Him? It takes great faith to place our faith in a God that we cannot see for promises that have yet to be fulfilled. But, where there is no risk there is no reward. Faith is risky.

3. FULFILLMENT. We all want fulfillment out of life but some of us aren’t really sure what truly fulfills us. Perhaps we are looking to WHAT can fulfill us and not to the WHO. I’ve often felt that a certain position in ministry would do the trick only to find out that it never does. It’s not in the POSITION but in the PERSON that I can find true fulfillment. Not only did God fulfill his promise to the widow but the widow’s jars of oil and flour stayed FULL and FILLED throughout the drought. Think about it.

What am I afraid of?

Where am I lacking in faith?

Who am I looking to for fulfillment?

I need to overcome some fears, respond in faith, and then watch God fulfill His promises. May I would challenge you to do the same?