Helping Others

In 1 Kings 17 Elijah gave King Ahab a warning from God. Elijah said, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (1 Kings 17:1). After proclaiming this message to Ahab, Elijah was then instructed by the Lord to depart and go to the brook of Cherith. It was there that Elijah would drink from the brook and receive food from the Ravens. But soon, as God had warned through Elijah “the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land” (1 Kings 17:7).

            As Elijah left the brook, he was told by God to go to Zarephath and there would be a widow there who could feed Elijah. Sure enough, as Elijah arrived in Zarephath he found a widow gathering sticks. Elijah then asked the widow for some water and a morsel of bread. The widow replied by saying “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” (1 Kings 17:12). Elijah then told the widow that if she were to do as he said the Lord would provide flour and oil for them until the drought was over. What’s amazing about this story is the widow listened to Elijah and as a result would eat for many days without her flour or oil running empty.

            That poor widow hardly had anything left. She had already accepted that she and her son were going to die because of their lack of food. Despite her concerns, she still prepared a meal for Elijah. If the poor widow from Zarephath could help Elijah even in her desperate state, what is our excuse when we do not step up to help? Many of our societal and economic situations are much better than this widow yet we often neglect helping others with our abundance. If we truly strive to be Christ-like, then we should be zealously searching for ways to help our brethren.  

Luke Veyon