Mensa Otabil - Unending Supply (11/05/2025)
This week we are looking at God’s provision. God knows how to provide for us when times are hard and there is scarcity, and there is so much to learn from the Bible as we consider God’s provision.
We look to First Kings chapter 17, verse 4: «Thus says the Lord God of Israel: The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth.» This is a very popular story of Elijah and the Widow of Zarephath. There is hardship; there’s scarcity in Samaria, and Elijah has to survive, so God sends him to this widow who is barely surviving. She lives in the town of Zarephath, which was known for oil and flour production.
In good times, they had them in abundance, but at this point in the life of Zarephath, the oil is drying up, and the flour is drying up. There is this widow, and widows in those days were at the bottom of the social ladder; they didn’t have anyone to provide for them, and they literally lived on leftovers. This is a woman who has a little oil and a little flour, trying to survive. Elijah comes to her and says, «Share your meal with me.» She decides to share her meal with Elijah, and then Elijah speaks these powerful prophetic words to her that the meal and the oil shall not dry up; the bin of flour shall not be used up.
The story tells us about God’s continuous provision for us. There will be hardship. What you have in your hands may seem tiny. For this woman, it was about the end of her resources; it’s like having your last 10 cedis or your last five cedis or your last piece of money or the last provisions you can eat from. God comes to you and says, «It seems to be small in your hand, but I’m going to provide for you and I’m going to take care of you.» Elijah says it will not end. He didn’t say it would be full; he didn’t say you would have abundance. It says the small thing you have in your hand will not run out. In other words, every day there will be something small in your hand. Every day there will be a meal of flour; every day there will be some oil. You may not have gallons of oil, but every day there will be sufficiency for you, and that’s how God takes care of us. We may not have everything in abundance; we may not know what tomorrow holds, but every day, God gives you your meal and he gives you your oil. I pray that every day when you wake up, a miracle will embrace you, and God will give you your daily bread, what is needed for the day.
Elijah says to her, «This is going to happen until the day the Lord brings rain on the land.» It’s a very important notation because it tells us God does not do that for us all the time. In times of extreme hardship, God supernaturally provides for his own, but when situations normalize, he expects us to work and he expects us to eat by the work of our hands. He says, «When the rains come back and the farming is ended, this miracle is going to end, so you have to go back to your normal way of living your life. You go to work, you farm your ground, and you live from the produce of your ground.» But whilst we are in extreme circumstances, God says, «The little you have in your hand will not dry up.» I don’t know what you have in your hand; it may be little, it may be small, but I pray the same prayer that Elijah prayed: that what you have in your hand will not run out and it will not dry up until the day the Lord brings abundance to the earth again. May that be your miracle, and may that be your testimony throughout this week and the weeks ahead.
Let’s pray. Say with me, «Heavenly Father, you are the God of more than enough. I trust you to sustain me throughout this season. In Jesus' name, amen and amen.»