March 14, 2021 Sis Michelle Harris
Just like we all have names, God has different names that help us understand what He is like. One of God’s names is Provider. We call God “Provider” because He always knows what we need and provides it for us. So say this with me: God Is My Provider
This story is about a prophet named Elijah. (Pronounced: Ee-lie-juh) God had a special message for Elijah to deliver. One day, God told Elijah to go to the valley near the Jordan River. Now, Elijah was feeling hungry and wondered how he was going to eat while he was there. God assured Elijah that he didn’t need to worry about his next meal because He had a special plan for that. So Elijah took off toward the Jordan River.
Every time Elijah needed to eat, God sent ravens to feed him. You heard that right, ravens … like the birds. If God was sending ravens to feed you, what kind of food would you want them to bring? Those things all sound delicious! Elijah had the food he needed, but there was one problem. It hadn’t rained for a very long time. Who knows what it’s called when it doesn’t rain for a long period of time? A drought
The drought was so bad that the river where Elijah was getting water dried up, and He was so thirsty. Do you think God had a plan to provide water for Elijah, too? Yes.
Elijah trusted that God would provide for him. God told Elijah to go to a town where he would meet a widow, and she would take care of him from there. Elijah obeyed God and went to the town where he found the widow gathering sticks. Elijah walked up to her and asked if she would bring him a jar of water. As she walked away to get his drink, Elijah asked her for a piece of bread, too. But the woman had sad news for Elijah. She didn’t have any bread. She only had a small bit of flour and a couple drops of oil. In fact, she was gathering sticks to go home and cook one final meal for herself and her son. After that, she was sure they were going to starve to death.
How do you think the widow was feeling at that time? Sad, discouraged, afraid, hopeless. I’m sure she was feeling lots of things. But Elijah let her know that God said she wouldn’t run out of flour and oil. He told her to go back home and make a loaf of bread for him. So the widow went back home and did what Elijah had said. Sure enough, God provided! Elijah had food to eat, and there was even enough for the widow and her son.
God provided for them so much that the jar of oil never ran out and the flour container never became empty! We can call God “Provider” because He knows exactly what we need, and He gives it to us!
What did Elijah and the widow need? Food. God could have given them what they needed in any way He wanted. Why do you think God chose to provide it by sending the ravens and multiplying the oil and flour?
Sometimes God does things in ways that only He can do them to show us how powerful He is and how much He loves us. God chose to provide for Elijah and the widow in a miraculous way, and in the same way, God provides everything we need!
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