These are the Days of Elijah, Part 1

Sunday morning was awesome. First, the choir sang "Days of Elijah." This is one of my favorite songs that they sing. I have even heard them sing it on their mission trip to NYC last year! How cool is that. Then we went to Bible Fellowship (aka Sunday School), and our lesson was on Elijah. As I listened to and read some of Elijah's stories again I was astonished by how God really spoke to me about this prophet and his life. In 1 Kings 17:7-24 Elijah is instructed by God to go to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. When he arrives Elijah is instructed by God to ask the widow to feed him. The widow only has enough to make one small cake for her son and herself and then they plan to lay down and die due to the drought and famine in the land. However, she does as God has instructed. God then provided for them for as long as they needed. How often does God ask us to give from what little we have? Do we do as he asks? One area of my life I have really felt convicted about in the last year has been in my giving through tithes and of my time. God gives me so much yet I always struggled to give Him back even the smallest bit. As I reflected on these verses yesterday I realized that since I have been more obedient in giving as God instructs He has blessed me and given me a peace about what He has provided to me. Yes, there have been several occasions where I would rather have paid extra on a bill or gone out to eat a little nicer, but I knew that if I did not give to God what was rightfully His (after all, it is really all His and He could take it away at any time!) that the meal wouldn't taste as great and other bills would probably come up with more urgency. I also realized when reading this passage that when the woman's son passes away she questions Elijah and his God as to why this happened. We all do this. We obey God's commands when the going is good with no questions asked, but as soon as God does something that isn't in our plans we are questioning Him and His logic. God's logic and reasoning are always perfect, and I pray that I along with my friends will rely on God knowing our best interests rather we have plenty or we are in want.