God Provides

Jesus continued: “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown. I tell you for sure that there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah. And there had been no rain for three and a half years. There wasn’t enough food to eat anywhere in the land. But Elijah was not sent to any of those widows. Instead, he was sent to a widow in Zarephath near Sidon. And there were many in Israel who had skin diseases in the days of Elisha the prophet. But not one of them was healed except Naaman the Syrian.”
-Luke 4:24-27

The example of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath in I Kings 17 is one of the examples Jesus used to explain why he was unable to perform the same miracles in Nazareth, his hometown, as he did in other nearby cities.  “A prophet is not accepted in his hometown.” Jesus says.  This example wounded their hearts and offended his neighbors. “All the people in the synagogue were very angry when they heard that. They got up and ran Jesus out of town. They took him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They planned to throw him off the cliff.  But Jesus walked right through the crowd and went on his way.” (Luke 4:28-30)

The stories of Elijah are fiery and dramatic.  (Remember his competition with the priests of Baal and the fire coming from heaven in I Kings 19.)  Elijah was not afraid to speak truth to power.  Elijah was filled with the spirit of God and called upon the Lord to perform mighty miracles.  This week we will look at how Elijah trusted God to provide for his needs and for those of a widow and her son living in Zarephath.

Are there situations in your life that you need God to provide encouragement, sustenance, hope, endurance, friendship, protection, or provision?  Just like Elijah, when we put our trust in God, God provides.  Let’s tell our own stories of how God is providing in your life, with someone this week.

Please join us in worship this summer as we explore some perhaps unfamiliar stories from the Old Testament. They may bring insight and challenge our understanding of God’s work in the world… There’s trouble brewing in the Old West-ament.

Lord Jesus Christ, you used your hands to heal; to lift up; to bless; to sow kindness and tenderness in desolate lives.
Forgive us when we keep our hands at our sides when we could be reaching out in love.
Lord Jesus Christ, you used your hands to bear the burdens of others and to feed the hungry.
Forgive us when we use our hands to take care of ourselves without any thought for those who are hungry or overwhelmed with adversity.
Lord Jesus Christ, open our hands and our hearts to love as you loved and to care as you cared.  Lord Jesus Christ, help us to accept people as you accept them, as people made in the image of God, and precious to God.  We pray this prayer in your name. Amen