2024_02_23 Insight Post- Kim Feld
This week’s reading- 1 Kings 17:8-24, Luke 4:25-26
Rusty, Emma, and I had an interesting discussion about the widow’s flour and oil when we recorded the Bible Study and Prayer Night, which will be available on Monday, February 26, 2024. Did the jars become full, or did the amount just never run out? Thinking of the implications, perhaps the amount in the containers appeared consistent. If an abundance were there, the widow might have been tempted to store some away, seeing God’s provision as a one-time event. The consistency of the amount would underscore her dependence on God to provide and potentially spark awe and wonder every time she discovered she had enough for another day.
“Just enough for the day” is reminiscent of the manna in the desert (See Exodus 16). When the Israelites wandered in the desert, God fed them with manna from heaven, but the people were only allowed to gather enough for the day. If they tried to store it up, it became full of maggots. The people were dependent on God to meet their needs.
The book of Lamentations gives us another example of “just enough for the day.” Take a look at these verses from Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT:
22 The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
His mercies never cease.
23 Great is his faithfulness;
his mercies begin afresh each morning.
A final example is found in the Lord’s Prayer. Take a look at Matthew 6:11, NIV:
11 Give us today our daily bread.
The Lord’s Prayer is what Jesus used to teach the disciples to pray. Many of us have memorized His words and use them in prayer, but they also give us an example of how we are to pray. God gives us what we need daily but wants us to stay close and connected to Him. His mercies are new and available to us each and every day. He desires us to soak in what we need from Him for this day, the next, and the next. We were meant to fill our tanks daily – not just once a week.
Replenishing the oil and flour are incredible examples of God’s faithfulness, grace, and mercy that never run out. He wants us to be so dependent on Him that we look to Him daily to meet our needs. This includes looking to Him for enough love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control for the day. These are the fruit that the Holy Spirit produces in our lives, but dependence on God causes them to grow. He is faithful in giving us just enough for the day, promising to refill us repeatedly.
Kim Feld
Executive Director of Education and Outreach