God Provides 上帝会供应

[Dexu Xia]

There was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. 1 Kings 17:15

Today's Scripture  1 Kings 17:7-16

God used Elijah to show Israel not to trust in other gods. Learn more by reading The God Who Bested Ba'al.

Today's Insights

The story of the Phoenician widow (1 Kings 17:7-24) appears in the middle of a series of contests between God (Yahweh) and the false god Baal. Yahweh closed the clouds and stopped the rain (v. 1)—a direct attack on Baal’s supposed control over agricultural fertility. Yahweh then sends Elijah to Zarephath and performs a series of miracles through the prophet (vv. 7-24). Yahweh, not Baal, provided food for the widow and her family and also showed that He has power over life itself. No matter how desperate the situation, God alone will care for His people.

Today's Devotional

My dear friend Sally wanted to give a birthday party for one of her friends. She knew her friend had been experiencing a tough time, and Sally desired to help lift her spirits. However, Sally was unemployed and didn’t have extra money to purchase food for a nice party. So she looked in her refrigerator and cabinets to see what was available. She then created a nice spread consisting of many items she’d previously purchased and had in her home.

When Sally shared with me the creative menu she had come up with, I thought about the story of Elijah and the widow (1 Kings 17:7-16). The widow didn’t have much. In fact, she told the prophet Elijah that she was going to prepare her final scraps of food for herself and her son “and [then] die” of starvation (v. 12). And she only had a small amount of flour and olive oil, just enough for their final meal.

But Elijah ensured the woman that her “jar of flour . . . and the jug of oil [would] not run dry” until God sent rain again (v. 14). By trusting in what God revealed through Elijah—even though she didn’t think she had enough—the woman found that God provided what she needed even though her kitchen was barren.

Just like my friend, the widow found what she needed. Following their examples, let’s live generously and rest in God’s provision for us.

Reflect & Pray

What’s causing you to resist sharing with others today? How can you give generously even when it seems like you’re lacking resources?

 Heavenly Father, please help me to share with the needy as I trust You to provide what I need.

Katara Patton

“以利亚、那妇人和她的家人每天都有食物。”列王纪上 17:15

今日经文：列王纪上 17章7-16 节

今日洞见 腓尼基寡妇的故事（列王纪上 17:7-24）发生在上帝（耶和华）与假神巴力之间一系列较量之中。耶和华使云闭塞，雨止住（1节），直接攻击巴力对农业丰饶的掌控。耶和华随后差遣以利亚前往撒勒法，并通过这位先知行了一系列神迹（7-24节）。是耶和华，而不是巴力，为寡妇和她的家人提供了食物，以此表明，祂拥有掌控生命的力量。无论情况多么危急，唯有上帝会眷顾祂的子民。

今日灵修  我亲爱的朋友莎莉想为她的一位朋友举办生日派对。她知道她的朋友最近正在经历一段艰难的日子，莎莉想帮她振作起来。然而，莎莉失业了，没有多余的钱来买食物来办一个盛大的派对。于是她翻遍了冰箱和橱柜，看看有什么可用的。然后，她用以前买的家里现有的许多食材，做了一顿丰盛的晚餐。

    当莎莉和我分享她精心设计的菜单时，我想起了以利亚和寡妇的故事（列王纪上 17:7-16）。这位寡妇的生活并不富裕。事实上，她告诉先知以利亚，她要为自己和儿子预备最后的食物，“然后饿死”（12节）。她只有一点面粉和橄榄油，刚好够他们吃最后一顿饭。但以利亚向这位妇人保证，她的“罐里的面粉……和瓶里的油必不短缺”，直到上帝再次降雨（14节）。尽管她认为自己拥有的并不充足，但她仍然肯信靠上帝。藉着以利亚的启示，这位妇人发现，即使她的厨房空空如也，上帝仍旧供应了她一切所需。

就像我的朋友一样，这位寡妇也找到了她所需要的。让我们效仿她们的榜样，慷慨地生活，并安息在上帝为我们预备的事物中。

反思与祷告 什么原因使你今天不愿与他人分享你拥有的？即使在看似资源匮乏的情况下，你如何才能慷慨地把自己拥有的给出去？

天父，请帮助我与有需要的人分享我拥有的，因为我相信您会提供我所需要的。

作者：卡塔拉·巴顿