“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.”
1 Kings 17:16
God blesses those who trust in Him.
The story of Elijah and the widow of Zarephath give us many insights into how God blesses us. First of all, Elijah was affected by the drought in the same way as his peers. Our godly filiation does not exempt us from the afflictions that befall our fellow human beings.
God commanded ravens to feed Elijah. God never forgets His own and has many ways of helping them. Nothing is impossible for Him.
God ordered the widow to feed Elijah (v. 9). He often calls on humans to help us. The Creator provides humankind with the resources they need to survive, but it is humankind who is responsible for their distribution. Unfortunately, the sharing of these resources is often unfair. Let us remember that God expects us to use the goods at our disposal wisely and fairly. The widow’s example shows us that no one is too poor or too weak to do good.
Elijah’s request to the widow seemed exorbitant. But the widow complied, and was saved. God asks us to follow His law. Let us do it, even if keeping the commandments only makes our situation worse at first. He asks us to forgive, reconcile and respond to evil with good. Let us strive to do this, even if it seems impossible at first. God will bless us!
God blessed the widow by providing her with enough to survive until the famine was over. God’s blessing is above all spiritual—He gives us eternal life. He provides us with the strength we need to remain faithful to Him, whatever happens.
God gives us this blessing:
- directly — He sanctifies us;
- through the apostolate and ordained ministers—in preaching, the absolution and the sacraments;
- in the fellowship of the faithful—to be saved, Elijah had to come out of his isolation and go to the widow’s house…
God asked the widow to give up some of what she had. He asks us to give up:
- what we could only obtain by sinning (Mt 6:33);
- taking advantage of our merits—it is by grace that we will be saved (Lk 18:10-14);
- our character traits that are incompatible with our goal of becoming Christlike.
Let us not hesitate to respond to His request: they who lose their life for Christ’s sake will find it (Mt 16:25).
God blesses His own. He wants to do good to others through us. His blessing is eternal life. We give up everything that could prevent us from attaining it.