VIP Treatment

1 Kings 17:11

He called to the LORD and said, "O LORD my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?"

When I arranged for my parents’ visit in Cebu, one of the main concerns was how to literally transport my dad here. For a handful of years now, he’s been having difficulty standing and walking for long periods of time. He even has a standby high chair in church when he’s preaching.  It was a relief to know that the airline has a wheelchair service at request. And so I made the call. Next issue was to convince my dad to sit there. Good thing my brother’s coming with them. His down syndrome could be my dad’s excuse if his pride creeps in.  When they finally got here, my parents told me how glad they were for that wheelchair. They felt like VIPs skipping all check-in lines and being assisted to their seats. Now I doubt if my dad will ever resist taking that service again :>

Taking in a prophet in her house could be her wisest step of faith ever. This widow of Zarephath was assisting God’s VIP and so was receiving unlimited provisions by just being near him.  Famine was throughout Israel’s land, stretching even in Sidon, and her house could be the only place where fear was not found. I imagine her more accommodating than ever, kinder than ever to Elijah. I’m sure her thought-balloon was for him to stay in her upper room forever :> All of a sudden, his son became ill and grew worse and worse and finally stopped breathing. That was unexpected. With her faith and kindness and Elijah there, shouldn’t she be immuned from any harm? She was understandably disoriented and disappointed. Elijah had no answers for her either. But he did not attempt to give her any just for comfort’s sake.  All he knew was God has His reasons. And only to God he directly asked and pleaded.

We all tried to delight ourselves in the Lord and seek first His kingdom in the hope that He will give the desires of our hearts and the ‘…all these things shall be added unto you’.  We hold on to His word that obedience has His blessings and service has its rewards. And so we pursue it. Then comes the storm and suffering and we wonder why. ‘Was it my past sins Lord?’ ‘Have I done something to harm Your people?’. Exactly the words of the widow. And sometimes we won’t have logical answers. God’s operating process is unlike any human equations. Even His prophets were not exempt from famines and pains. Most of the time, their paths even leads there. But it doesn’t mean He discredited their faithfulness. It was more because it will bring more glory to Him. Imagine if God only looked upon the widow’s cry or Mary and Martha’s or the disciples’? Isn’t raising people from the dead worth more rejoicing and praising God than plain healing? Let go of that VIP treatment expectation. Isn’t knowing and soon being with the ultimate VIP far outweighs them all?  

My Last Bread?

1 Kings 17:11

As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread."

Friday nights are family nights for us. I usually cook a more special dinner, meaning no easy fried or instant thing-ies, haha :> Next stop is what we call ‘Jesus time’. Tris will draw the kids’ ‘thank You Jesus’ items on the whiteboard, we'll read from the kid’s bible and have some bite-sized application, then we’ll close with our prayer requests. Kids know that next is a surprise from their dad before our movietime. Ice cream is the crowd-pleaser here. They’d yell competing for that first spoon. When the who’s-turn has been decided, their noise shifts to having a bigger scoop. But when the pint’s getting close to empty, they’d loudly hope having that last bite. There’s always a loser to this. What’s funny is that they discovered a way of beating it: ‘Dad, chips?’ And we’re back to square one, haha :>

At the height of Israel’s famine, the word of the Lord came to Elijah and asked him to move from the empty brook to a Gentile town, Zarephath. Sidon is the home country of Ahab’s wife and it’s just so out-of-the box to house Elijah there. We all know she’d soon flare up and pursue to kill him. But God’s ways are higher and wiser. He can choose to prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies and still be protected. Add to that, He can choose an empty table for us and still be provided! What is more amazing is when we move to the widow’s side and hear these words: You have an empty table and I can still provide THROUGH you. Woah! Considering she’s a widow with a son, that’s so faith-stretching. When Elijah first asked her for a drink, we saw her kindheartedness and amidst life’s difficulty, she willingly took that step to help another. Maybe she was really a generous person, but because of scarcity, the most she can offer is her service. Not bad right. But Elijah pushed it, ‘and bread please?’.  I would have cried in  self-pity and Elijah’s seemingly insensitivity here. It was their last meal in this famine. A mother would sacrifice her last for his son but not to a stranger. God knew fears and assured her of His provision. And so she went home and took that step of faith.

For my children, it’s easier to accept not having that last ice cream spoon because they know there’s still chips to look forward to. For this widow, she was willing to give up her final meal because she heard God’s promise to take care of them. They may not have the provisions yet, but faith already saw it coming. The Bible calls us to generosity and sacrifices and it doesn’t have the qualifier that it’s only when we’re full and overflowing. Blessings are from the Lord and not from our hands. When He asks us to give and help, we have to look at His unlimited riches to provide. It is for His glory that thousands are fed from just five loaves and the two fish. The widow’s flour and oil went unlimited too. Let go of your two mites. It may be small. It may be your all. But know that Jesus sees your giving and sure He can open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it :>