By Every Word That Proceeds From the Mouth of the Lord

I Kings 17:8-16 (NKJV)
8 Then the word of the Lord came to (Elijah), saying,
9 "Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. See, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you."
10 So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, indeed a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, "Please bring me a little water in a cup, that I may drink."
11 And as she was going to get it, he called to her and said, "Please bring me a morsel of bread in your hand."
12 So she said, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a handful of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, 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."
13 And Elijah said to her, "Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make me a small cake from it first, and bring it to me; and afterward make some for yourself and your son.
14 "For 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.'"
15 So she went away and did according to the word of Elijah; and she and he and her household ate for many days.
16 The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry, according to the word of the Lord which He spoke by Elijah.

Now there was a great famine in the land because king Ahab had betrayed God and turned the nation of Israel to worship Baal, and so God had cursed the land to drought and famine by the prophet Elijah. As a result, Elijah went into hiding from Ahab under the guidance and protection of the Lord. Here in these verses Elijah comes to his second place of hiding, to a Gentile widow woman in Zarephath.

I see here that the Lord tells Elijah he "has" commanded this woman in Zarephath to provide for him. So when the prophet comes to her and requests her providence, she already has it on her heart that God wants her to provide for this man. When Elijah asks for water, she immediately goes to fetch some, but when he calls out for her to bring him some bread also, I can almost see her stop in her tracks, and her shoulders drop a little, as she turns to say, "You are asking for all that I have. To keep nothing back for my own providence and that of my family."

Wow! How often I have been this woman! At the tithe box, knowing that if I tithe as God has required, I will not have enough left to make ends meet. At the freeway exit, knowing that I don't have anything but that $20 bill to give that guy with the sign and knowing I don't have anything but that same $20 bill to buy groceries for the week.

I don't hesitate to give some. I don't hesitate to give a lot. But that's not what God wants. He wants everything! He wants me to leave nothing in reserve, and to trust Him to provide, whether I can see how that is possible or not.

I take notice that Elijah required the first cake, and for the widow to trust God's promise to provide for her and her son. He doesn't need that first cake to make sure "he gets his." He's speaking for God. He's asking this woman to take her trust out of that little bit of bread to sustain her, and to put that trust in His word. He's asking for her heart. The moment she gave that up, her life was changed forever.

Deuteronomy 8:3 (NKJV)
3 "So He humbled you, allowed you to hunger, and fed you with manna which you did not know nor did your fathers know, that He might make you know that man shall not live by bread alone; but man lives by every word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord."

An Ode to Relationship

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 (NKJV)
9 Two are better than one,
Because they have a good reward for their labor.
10 For if they fall, one will lift up his companion.
But woe to him who is alone when he falls,
For he has no one to help him up.
11 Again, if two lie down together, they will keep warm;
But how can one be warm alone?
12 Though one may be overpowered by another, two can withstand him.
And a threefold cord is not quickly broken.


I take a moment this evening to rejoice in the blessings of fellowship & friendship. In my time of need I knew what it was to be alone, because I had failed to tend the garden of my friendships. As old friendships have come to new life over the last few years, and as new friendships have taken root, I have known what it is to be held, and the wisdom of the preceding verses rings deep and true.

In my youth I took many of the Lord's gentle wisdoms lightly. In the storms that have followed I have learned that my Father's sweet whispers were and are just as substantial and imperative as His thundering proclamations and piercing convictions.

~

I often wonder why my kids don't listen & obey before I get to yelling. But wow have I been guilty of the very same with You Dad! Please! Mould me to be a more attentive listener, that I might obey before I get hurt.

Change my heart to honor our relationship; to trust and obey Your word, even when I don't understand, out of knowing and loving You.

I love You Dad.

I'll Rest When I'm Dead

Luke 12:13-21 (NKJV)
13 Then one from the crowd said to Him, "Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me."
14 But He said to him, "Man, who made Me a judge or an arbitrator over you?"
15 And He said to them, "Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one's life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses."
16 Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.
17 "And he thought within himself, saying, 'What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?'
18 "So he said, 'I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.
19 'And I will say to my soul, "Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry."'
20 "But God said to him, 'Fool! This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?'
21 "So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God."


So often, in the name of wise financial stewardship, I worry and pour over how to invest and or store up a financial "safety net" for emergencies and eventual retirement. I search for pennies to pinch and the occasional financial windfall is cause for hours of studious contemplation.

It is so easy to forget that God's definition of wise financial stewardship is ALWAYS generosity. Generosity toward God, generosity toward those in need. Undoubtedly, because He has the best seat in the house to see just how unsafe my safety net of money is, just how fragile, just how out of my control, and ultimately just how irrelevant. My life is eternal, yet I waste my short span on this earth worrying about how to provide for and enjoy my short span on this earth rather than its impact on my eternity and that of my loved ones.

No amount of effort on my part will ever make my financial safety net safe. Nothing I do can control what tomorrow will bring, be it wealth, poverty, or death. Thank God, He knows tomorrow and can provide for me in it.

What is worthy of my time and effort today is not planning for my retirement, but standing in awe of the God of the universe, Who cares enough about me, not just to provide for my eternity, but even to provide for my tomorrow.

Thank You Dad.

A Beginning

I'm inspired to begin this blog to share the insights I receive in my daily walk with Dad, aka God. I am just another Christian, walking with the Lord one day at a time. I am no theologian or man ordained pastor, but I do love my Dad, and seek Him daily. Usually I find Him in His word in my morning devotions, but just as often, He chooses to reveal Himself in any of the other moments in my day.

My relationship with Him is genuine, and that is all I am looking to share. I am not here to teach a lesson, though that may occur from time to time. I am not standing on a soap box, though I am passionate about my relationship with Dad and my convictions. I simply want to share my daily walk with others. In doing so, I hope to find a community of others looking to do the same.

I hope this will be a place of refreshing, encouragement, conviction, healing, and friendship for all of us.

God Bless!