On the Verge of a Miracle

Little did she know how her life was about to change, and that she stood on the verge of a miracle. As she prepared her last meal for herself and her son, all the widow woman knew was that, owing to the on-going drought, they were soon to face death. She had reached the end of the road … there was nowhere else to go, no-one else to ask. Sometimes in life it can seem that all natural ways of help are exhausted, and all usual ways of escape are blocked and there is no way out. We have done all we can … and so has everyone else!

But God, whose eye is on the sparrow, knew her situation, and had already prepared a prophet of Israel to visit her home. Help was already on the way – but she wasn’t aware of it. Suddenly, and as if to make things a little harder than they were already, the prophet arrived apparently from nowhere and asked her for a drink. But there was one more thing she was asked to do – to make a meal for him, first out of what she had, and then to use the rest to make a final meal for herself and her son. One final act of obedience would make the difference between starvation and death, and the joy of life. Her obedience to the word of the Lord through the prophet, would make all the difference.

Elijah said to her, ‘Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: “The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD sends rain on the land”’ (1 Kings 17:13-14).

Without further ado, she went away and did exactly as the prophet asked. The final key of obedience turned in the lock and she entered into the realm of the miraculous, needed for her situation. Instead of death … she, and her son, entered into life.

Do you need a miracle today? Have you been asking God … how long? God will make a way, where there seems to be no way. He may ask of us one more request. Sometimes there’s one final act of obedience to the Lord, which will finally open the door to the miracle we’re waiting for.

The faithfulness of God is unfathomable, and we can rest assured that He will never leave us nor forsake us. “For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11).