"The jar of flour was not used up, and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord." – 1 Kings 17:16
In 1923, George Müller, a Christian evangelist caring for orphans in England, faced an empty pantry. Immediately after George prayed, a baker unexpectedly delivered bread, and a milkman offered milk because his cart had broken down. God’s provision was timely and unmistakable. In a journal entry for February 12, 1842, he wrote:
“A brother in the Lord came to me this morning and, after a few minutes of conversation gave me two thousand pounds for furnishing the new Orphan House … Now I am able to meet all of the expenses. In all probability, I will even have several hundred pounds more than I need. The Lord not only gives as much as is absolutely necessary for his work, but he gives abundantly. This blessing filled me with inexplicable delight. He had given me the full answer to my thousands of prayers during the [past] 1,195 days.1”
Elijah’s encounter with a widow during a famine teaches us about God’s provision. When she trusted God with her last bit of oil and flour, He miraculously multiplied it. Even when we feel we have little to offer, God can turn it into more than enough.
Reflection:
- What “little” in your life can you offer to God today?
- How can you trust Him more with your resources?
- When has God surprised you with unexpected provision?
- Art: A sculpture at Sayn Abbey by Lothar Spurzem, CC BY-SA 2.0 DE https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/de/deed.en, via Wikimedia Commons
- Songs: “At The Altar (Acoustic)” by Elevation RHYTHM and “Oil and Offering” by SEU Worship
- The Autobiography of George Müller (Springdale, Pennsylvania: Whitaker House, 1984), ISBN 0-88368-159-5, p198, accessed at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_M%C3%BCller#cite_ref-13 ↩︎