Have you ever faced what you considered a hopeless situation? Are you facing one now? The last couple of weeks, we have looked at the role of economic hardship as a means either to scare you off your purpose or to refine you along the way. This week I want to continue that theme and look at a woman who had given up hope, who was ready to go home and give up. If you are about to give up, read on. If you aren't facing that scenario yet, read on anyway, for you may face that kind of hopelessness one day.
A FEW STICKS
The Lord sent the prophet Elijah to a woman in 1 Kings 17 during a famine. The woman did not know it yet, but she was going to feed Elijah during the drought and, in feeding Elijah, she would feed her family as well. Sometimes God wants you to be generous when everything in you says that isn't possible.
So Elijah came face to face with the woman and asked her for a drink. We know that she was generous at heart, for she gave the man some water even though there was a severe drought. Then Elijah asked her for some bread. When he did, this is what she said:
"As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die" (1 Kings 17:12).
This woman was saying, "It's over. Things could not possibly get any worse. Death is the next step." Yet Elijah told her that she had seen the worst and things were going to get better:
Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land'" (1 Kings 17:13-14).
And that is exactly what happened. That woman went from having a few sticks and a piece of bread to an endless supply for her, her son and the prophet.
SCARCITY MENTALITY
When things have been tough, you naturally switch into survival mode. This woman was just trying to survive and she had run out of hope for that. The thought of prosperity was out of the question. Yet her breakthrough was just a moment away. What's more, your breakthrough may be only a chance meeting, a phone call or an idea away as well.
Notice that Elijah told the woman what Moses told the Israelites in last week's lesson: Don't be afraid! Fear will cripple you in a crisis and you need all your creativity and hope to make it through the tough times. Tough times come to prove that God is faithful and to make you resilient and hopeful, but hopeful not in your own efforts or ideas, but rather in God.
If you aren't facing this kind of hopelessness, then perhaps you know someone who is. You may want to forward this Memo to them. If you are, I am not advising that you ignore the severity of your situation. I am urging you, however, not to lose hope even when your reason for hope is totally obscured. Say what Job said, "Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him" (Job 13:15). And then keep on keeping on. Then one day I hope you will write your story and send it to me so that others may be encouraged who feel that all they have is a few sticks between then and utter failure. Have a great week!
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OPERATION: PETTICOAT: I had a great meeting with the folks who went with me to Kenya a few weeks ago. They all shared what the Lord has been doing and saying to them since we came home. Then we talked about what we can do to keep the momentum going to provide help to our friends and family over there.
We decided to keep raising money for the Sophia Fund and we also launched Operation: Petticoat, which is a project to purchase underwear for young girls who have none, consequently missing school and living in embarrassment as they enter their teen years. I am going back to Kenya in May, so we set April 30 as our deadline to raise money to purchase underwear here and take it over there. You may not be passionate about underwear, but two separate ministries asked for help with this.
You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA 15221. Just let me know if your contribution is to be used for food or underwear and I promise to apply it where you direct.
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