A Bridge from Provision to Need
by Goran Andersson
This was a terrible situation, but not uncommon in those days, in a society without any security nets. Being poor was bad enough, but being a widow made things worse.
The widow’s husband had been a prophet, and had been doing holy service in the country. But death and tragedy doesn’t pass by the doorsteps of holy men. Even God’s elect and beloved are sometimes hit by unexplainable pain and sorrow. Even holy men and women sometimes cry out for help, because they see no way out of the circumstances.
The needs are sometimes obvious and easily discernable. No food, no home, no comfort, no freedom. These things are easy to see and describe. But sometimes the needs are never mentioned, as they’re hidden, in the depth of the soul and spirit. We meet people like that daily, but we seldom hear their cry.
The solution is difficult to find, but the good news for the widow was that, even if her need was unseen and unheard by people, God had made provision! What was needed was a bridge from God’s provision to her need, and that bridge was a prophet and some borrowed, empty jars. Without the jars the prophet could do nothing, and without a prophet the jars were of little use.
God is sovereign. He’s able to use anything for His purposes. But He usually needs something to be the bridge between provision and need. You may be it! If you don’t like the idea of being a prophet, think of yourself as a jar. And remember that the jar was as important as the prophet, when it was put to its right use.
As you go through this day, you will meet many needs, even among the brothers and sisters in the faith. The provision for them is from God, and you can be part of the bridge from Him to them! This day is a time when you can make a difference to someone’s situation. You can, as a simple jar, bring help to someone in deep need! You can receive the grace of being a vessel put to honourable use!
Prayer: Thank you, Lord, for showing me that you can use me as a bridge into someone else’s heart and life. Help me, Lord, to always be sensitive to the needs of others and look to you for wisdom as to what you want me to do about. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Goran Andersson , together with his wife Roswitha, worked as missionaries in Japan from 1967 – 1985. They then pastored a church before moving to Kåfalla Herrgård, Sweden where Goran became Director. They have worked with Ellel Ministries since 2004 and are now part of the team of Ellel Ministries in Sweden.
Please feel free to use this devotional to send on to your friends or share with your church fellowship. Provided full acknowledgement is made to Seeds of the Kingdom as the source, you are also welcome to use it in a non-commercial way and reproduce it in magazines or other Christian websites. The copyright for any commercial use of the material remains with Ellel Ministries International.
