Congrats, Kathy Blundell, winner of the $50 Amazon gift card!

Thanks to everyone who took time to participate in the September Newsletter Survey! Your answers will help shape the information I share in my future newsletters, Facebook, and blog posts.

Time is a treasure, an irretrievable resource we can only spend once. It’s my hope and prayer that whatever I write is worthy of your investment—not because I have anything special to say, but because the Great Giver asks us to share with others what we’ve been given.

Sharing the Treasure

A few weeks ago, the story of Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath illustrated how precious even a meager bit of treasure can be.

“Then the word of the Lord came to [Elijah]: ‘Go at once to Zarephath…and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food.’ 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?’ As she was going to get it, he called, ‘And bring me, please, a piece of bread.’  ‘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 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.’” 1 Kings 17:8-12

A Reluctant Giver

I was always a little miffed at Elijah’s persistence. I mean really—the nerve. Granted, he was obeying God, but this poor widow was really pathetic.

However, this time when I read the passage, I saw something totally different. God had already commanded the widow to supply Elijah with bread before he arrived in Zarephath. And, STILL, she was reluctant. No wonder Elijah pressed. He knew she needed to obey—for her own good. Suddenly, what I interpreted as Elijah’s pushy insistence is truly patient coaxing:

“Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. 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 gives rain on the land.’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.”    1 Kings 17:13-15

Time in a Jar and Jug

I don’t know about you, but I feel a little like the Widow of Zarephath when it comes to carving out time for the LORD. I know I need quiet time in His presence, meditation on His Word, and focused time in prayer. But I feel like I only have a few minutes in a jar, a moment or two in a jug…

• The kids will be home from school any minute.
• I need to finish this project for work, or my boss will kill me!
• I’m too tired to concentrate. I’ll fall asleep if I try to pray now.

Do any of these phrases sound like your excuses? Or perhaps you have other reasons to delay when the Holy Spirit taps your shoulder and asks to break bread?

The Spirit’s Promise Fulfilled

We know how the Widow’s story ends, don’t we? She obeyed Yahweh, fed Elijah, and Yahweh provided for her needs:

“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.”                       1 Kings 17:16

Notice, she wasn’t suddenly blessed with buckets of oil and heaps of flour. Just enough was provided for each day’s need. It’s a lesson I learn again and again…

Tweet-A-Licious:

• What is your favorite reason to delay when the Holy Spirit asks you to share your time?
• Time is a treasure, an irretrievable resource we can only spend once.

Today’s Question:

• How much time does it take you to read one chapter of Scripture? Time yourself. Can you commit to do that every day for one week? Let me know how it goes!