Faith in a Famine
“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.’” 1 Kings 17:14
The bills mounted. With two kids in college, our budget was tight. Income generated by my freelance business was sporadic, and my husband was on an unpaid health-related leave of absence. We economized and we prayed. Daily I asked God, “What are we going to do?” In my head I knew God could provide, but the drumbeat of how, how, how reverberated in my mind.
The prophet Elijah may have heard that drumbeat after he announced to Ahab, the king of Israel, “There will be neither dew or rain in the next few years” (1 Kings 17:1). In that agricultural society, no rain meant famine. Famine meant death. God was disciplining his people because they had turned to idol worship.
But what about Elijah? He was faithful to God. Would he starve alongside those who had rebelled against God?
No.
God didn’t give Elijah a barn full of provision. He sent his prophet to a fresh-water brook, where ravens brought him food twice a day (1 Kings 17:6). God provided meal by meal, and Elijah learned to trust God hour by hour.
The drought continued, and the brook dried up. God then sent Elijah to a widow in Sidon—a Phoenician city 100 miles away from the brook. When the prophet asked for food, the widow had only had a “handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug” (1 Kings 17:12). She intended to make one final meal for her and her son “that we may eat it and die” (17:12).
At the brook, Elijah had learned that one meal was enough, and he shared that lesson with the widow. His confidence in God encouraged her to trust God too. She made the one meal, and afterward “there was food every day” (17:15).
My husband and I had a similar experience during our financial difficulty. God provided day by day through friends, family, and unexpected income. When a bill came due, there was always money to pay it.
Are you going through a period of famine right now—financial, physical, relational, or spiritual? Ask God to provide a meal-sized portion of faith for you—hour by hour if necessary. He will meet your need.
Dig Deeper
In biblical times, God often sent drought and famine to discipline his people. But he always promised restoration. What does God say about the purpose of difficulty and the reward of repentance in Ezekiel 36:22–37?
Read Luke 12:16–34. What is Jesus teaching the disciples (and us) about depending on God through the parable of the rich man and the examples of the ravens and lilies?
Read Psalm 145:13–20. What promises does God give us in this passage? Which of them is most meaningful to you at this point in your faith journey?
Denise K. Loock
This devotion is part of our series on Elijah and Elisha: Empowered by the Holy Spirit.