You want me to do what?

1 Kings 17:7-16 says, “⁷And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. ⁸Then the word of the LORD came to him, ⁹"Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you." ¹⁰So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink." ¹¹And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, "Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand." ¹²And she said, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die." ¹³And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. ¹⁴For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, '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.'" ¹⁵And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. ¹⁶The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD that he spoke by Elijah.

This morning I felt kind of like the widow. I think, “Lord, I'm not really sure why you ask me to make you bread, I haven't even had time to get groceries! The dishes are piling up, the pool is still not fixed, I tried to get the laundry started but it is a monster all of its own. I have an internship, teach 3 classes, teach 2 voice students, sell Scentsy, have a lot of church obligations, I'm a wife who doesn't have much time for her husband, a daughter who never calls her family (again, not much time), a friend who still hasn't returned a phone call from last week, and I'm going to grad school full time. And you want me to make something from nothing?"

I'm almost certain this widow's attitude was much better than mine. After I read this passage I think, "She is just confused as to how she's going to feed Elijah-she doesn't even have enough for her and her son." It's a simple dilemma-I haven't made any bread yet (it takes a while by the way) and I have very little flour and oil. My attitude on the other hand is more like, "You want me to do what?!" And yet, Elijah's response to this widow speaks volumes to me, "Go and make bread-first for me and then for you and your son. Oh and by the way, God will never let your flour or oil run dry." Wow. So not only is God reminding me that he must come first, I also have to trust him for the things I need. And how easy is it to just say, "How? How God, are you going to make this happen? I don't see how." And cue worship song...

Our God is greater, Our God is stronger, God you are higher than any other...

Yes, my God is greater and stronger, and higher than anyone, anything I could fathom. Today Lord I will trust in you. Today I will put you first. Today I will see how you provide for me, regardless of how defeated or beat down I feel. Today I'm relying on your truth.