Widow's tale shows us we must never give up hope

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 23: The world is in a crisis because of the recession.

Recession is basically a result of a poor flow of money needed to satisfy all sectors or classes of people.

Recession has nothing to do with there being a lack of money.

No, recession has to do with there being a lack of money for you.

Indeed, this week I listened to a report that recounted how a major baseball player had just signed a 100 million dollar contract for the next 10 years. Surely, he knows of no recession.

So we must understand that the hardship of a recession depends on where you find yourself in the ship.

Are you in the penthouse suite or are you near the bottom, next to the boiler room? Recessions are a constant state of eventual reality.

Look at the woman in our text. She was experiencing a recession so horrific that she was resigned to sharing a last meagre meal with her son. She was depressed and in dire straits.

1 Kings 17:10-12

10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.

11 And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand.

12 And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.

All of this and yet, God had already chosen her, before the recession hit, to be the one who would sustain the Prophet Elijah.

Isn’t it amazing, that when she had resigned herself to death, God had pre-assigned her to life abundantly?

She saw death; God saw divine purpose. She saw a last meal; God saw a lasting meal. She was about to sentence her son to death; God was about to show her son how to live in the overflow. She was no longer looking for answers; God had arranged a solution.

Let me encourage someone reading this today. God has a plan for your life and it is not death. God is about to turn your life around and use you as a showcase for His glory. What you are going through, you will get through.

Do not give up on the very brink of your miracle.

1 Kings 17: 15-16

15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.

16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah.

The widow woman made crucial moves that I want you to make today.

1. She stopped what she was doing.

You cannot have it both ways. You cannot do what you want and obtain what God has for you. You have to make your choice today. Your future and the future of your family depend on what you are going to decide to do.

2. She listened to the man of God.

She had another choice. You do too. You can choose to listen to the advice in this column or not. Oh, the power of your choice. Who are you listening to now and where has it gotten you thus far?

3. She obeyed the instructions of God.

Obedience results in blessings. When you give yourself 100 per cent to God, then you will change your mind, your environment, and your future.

The widow in out text thought she had next to nothing. Yet God showed her that her little in His hands was more than enough. This mother had to change first so that her son would see change, participate in change, and then become changed himself.

Because of obedience, this woman began to experience blessings that abound even during harsh conditions of a famine.

Hence, there is always plenty, because God owns all. Yet, it was not until she fully obeyed God and walked in His ways that she experienced those blessings.

Bermuda, when parents change, the children will change. When children see different parents and experience a different home, then their future will be blessed.

Bermuda has financial blessings that have resulted in a lust for money by so many; Bermuda needs to experience Godly blessings.

It is time for Bermuda to experience financial blessings that result in a love for people and therefore a compassion to help those in need. Respice finem.