The Widow at Zarephath
May 14, 2017
Highlights:
1.) F-A-I-T-H
F – Found
A – Assessment
I – Invitation
T – Trust
H – Heaven
2.) The application of faith is appropriate no matter what situation we find ourselves in.
3.) The door that leads to God’s provision is labeled “trust”.
4.) The blessing of the Lord is bottomless.
Discussion Questions:
1.) Elijah was put in an “awkward” situation when the Lord told him to go to Zaraphath, the hometown of evil Jezebel, to be taken care of in the drought that he prophesied was coming. What “awkward” situation has the Lord asked you to enter into, and maybe with hesitation, you said “Yes, Lord” to?
2.) There was an exchange of the natural for the supernatural when the widow baked her and her son’s last loaf of bread and gave it to Elijah. Share about an experience that you’ve had where you exchanged the natural for the supernatural. Did it require trust? How did you make the exchange? What did His provision look like?
3.) Faith is not an “all for nothing” proposition. It is an “all for everything” proposition. How do you unpack this quote when you look at your life as an offering?
Key Scriptures:
Then the Lord said to Elijah, Go and live in the village of Zarephath, near the city of Sidon. I have instructed a widow there to feed you. So he went to Zarephath. As he arrived at the gates of the village, he saw a widow gathering sticks, and he asked her, Would you please bring me a little water in a cup? As she was going to get it, he called to her, Bring me a bite of bread, too. But she said, I swear by the Lord your God that I dont have a single piece of bread in the house. And I have only a handful of flour left in the jar and a little cooking oil in the bottom of the jug. I was just gathering a few sticks to cook this last meal, and then my son and I will die. But Elijah said to her, Dont be afraid! Go ahead and do just what youve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use whats left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord , the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the Lord sends rain and the crops grow again! So she did as Elijah said, and she and Elijah and her family continued to eat for many days. There was always enough flour and olive oil left in the containers, just as the Lord had promised through Elijah.
1 Kings 17:8-16 NLT
Faith shows the reality of what we hope for; it is the evidence of things we cannot see.
Hebrews 11:1 NLT
For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord . They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11 NLT
Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do, says the Lord of Heavens Armies, I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you wont have enough room to take it in! Try it! Put me to the test!
Malachi 3:10 NLT
He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to give what he cannot lose. – Jim Elliot