Source and Supply

“I have commanded a widow . . to provide for you.” 1 Kings 17:9 NKJV

“God is the origin of all that is good!”

My thoughts today are about “source and supply.”

You may not always know how or from where God chooses to supply your need, but you can be sure that God will. The promise to do so is clear, even though the process may be a surprise to you. “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19. There is only one source; God is the origin of all that is good! “Every good gift and every perfect gift comes from above, and comes down from the Father with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.“ James 1:17. The point of supply varies; the Source remains constant – “the same yesterday, today, and forever.” Hebrews 13:8.

Before you know there’s a problem, God has already made a plan. There was a lengthy famine in Israel that would eventually last three and a half years. God directed Elijah to go to the Brook Cherith, where “I have commanded the ravens to feed you there.” Read 1 Kings 17:8-24. Ravens? Are you kidding me? In a severe famine, God chose the most unlikely means of supplying Elijah’s needs. Can you imagine the level of trust it takes for such an act of Elijah’s obedience? Do what God tells you and go where He sends you; that’s when and where God provides for you. It would seem that often it is not as hard to trust God to meet your need as it might be to accept the way He chooses to supply.

The problem comes when you confuse Source and supply. “And it happened after a while that the brook dried up, because there had been no rain.” God’s provision now does not mean there will be no problems along the way. There still was a drought and the resulting famine, and then even the creek dried up. This is a critical time when you may be tempted to start looking out for yourself, as though God has not or will not provide for you. Circumstances change; God doesn’t. When your present supply runs out, don’t panic. Your Source remains the same! God is ever faithful.

“Then the word of the Lord came to him, ‘Arise; go to Zarephath and dwell there. I have commanded a widow there to provide for you. So he went to Zarephath.’” It’s a waste of time telling God how to provide for you. How God meets your need will rarely, if ever, be the way you want or forecast. Expect the unexpected every time! If not careful, you could miss God’s provision altogether.

God is the great economist. He used a widow to meet Elijah’s need in order for her act of faith and obedience to be His means of using Elijah to miraculously meet her need for the years of the famine. “She did according to the word of Elijah and she and her house ate for many days . . the flour was not used up according to the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.” Her faith may have exceeded Elijah’s. He heard God directly; she had to trust what Elijah told her. Again, let me remind you, do what God tells you and go where He sends you; that’s when and where God provides for you. While God is meeting your need, keep your eyes and heart open for ways God might use you to bless someone else in the process.

My prayer for you today is that you have confidence and certainty in God’s faithfulness to provide what you need.