Appointed

When we willingly give God the little we have to offer, He will increase it!

In I Kings 17:8-15 we read of a widow gathering firewood who had enough to bake a small meal for her son. This will be their last meal, but then prophet Elijah appears. It says the Lord “instructed” or “commanded” this woman to feed him.

The word command also means “appoint”.

God has appointed or chosen us. The widow was a Gentile and so considered an outcast by the Jews, yet a Jewish prophet comes to her home. As a widow she was left with little or no financial support.

But God appoints us in our littleness. Why? To demonstrate He alone has the power to do what only He can do. It’s not within our ability to change, provide or make any difference in our lives or the lives of others without His help.

God will have us surrender the little we have in our possession before He increases it. Elijah boldly asks to be fed first, but promises the widow and her son will be fed until the famine is over. Little did she know in giving away her last small hot meal she was about to receive provision for three and half years! (James 5:17)

He then tells her to gather as many jars and containers, to shut the door and pour the little oil she has left in the house (2 Kings 4:1-7). She did as commanded and every container was filled to overflowing. She was able to sell the oil for food.

Out of empty vessels fresh oil flowed! When we obey God, how much more will He make a way for us! Out of what appears like a dried up and withered life, God’s power will flow!

What is the little that you can offer him? Remember the boy with the loaves and fishes. You may think that there's nothing left to offer Him. You say, "I’m bound by an addiction." Or "I don’t have a job or money." You may even argue, "You don't know what I've done. Why would God visit me in my desperate hour and call me to serve Him?"

Jesus says in Matthew 17:20, “… if you have faith as a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible for you.” It takes a little seed to make a great mustard tree. God's glory is known more in our littleness than our greatness.

Despite her hunger and poverty, the widow believed God’s word enough to feed a Jewish prophet what could have been her last meal - even taking the bread away from her son. And God made a supernatural provision out of nothing all!