Memorise:
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Psalms 46:1b
Read: 1 Kings 17:12-16
12 And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.
13 And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son.
14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sendeth rain upon the earth.
15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days.
16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.
Message
Bible writers under the influence of the Holy Ghost, wittily qualified or limited significant nouns common to human experiences. For example, in Psalm 103:4 when the Psalmist decided to qualify the kindness and mercies of God upon his life he wrote:
“Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies".
In other words, the kindness he received from God was not ordinary but the loving type. Also, the mercies were not the harsh type but the tender ones. My prayer for you is that this will be your own experience too in Jesus’ Name.
In our memory verse for today, we read about an attribute of God that is noteworthy for our advantage; “The very present help in trouble". Going by this testimony of the Psalmist, God is help personified, and He is never a belated help; He is always on time. But for this attribute of God, the widow of Zarephath in today’s reading would have eaten up her last meal before the messenger of the God of multiplication arrived.
“And she said, as the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die.”
1 Kings 17:12
As I always tell my congregation in the Redeemed Christian Church of God, I strongly believe that the woman was saying that she was going to prepare the last meal, eat it with her household and then commit suicide but help came for her just on time. However, before the Present Help can come to your aid, you need to have the same spiritual conviction of the widow in our Bible reading for today. One of the virtues of this widow is that she believed in the God of Prophet Elijah. Another thing about this widow is that she believed that the God of Elijah was alive. This helped her to respond positively to the instruction of the prophet by going ahead to do what the prophet said, and there came the miracle of multiplication. The Bible says in 2 Chronicles 20:20
“Believe in the Lord your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”
Beloved, if you believe in God as your Present Help, it will show in your way of life. For example, you will not live in doubt of His promises and so you will respond in faith to his directives. You will not cut corners in order to achieve your desires, because you know that the Present Help shall always be there for you. This woman in our Bible reading had faith in the God of Israel and this she showed by according respect to the man of God. Do you have regard for God? It will show in how you regard you pastor and his words. May the Present Help be there for us always in Jesus’ Name.
Prayer Point
O, Present Help, please help me today to solve all my problems.
BIBLE IN ONE YEAR : Acts 16:16-18:17 and Song of Solomon 4:9-5:1
Author : Pastor E. A. Adeboye
HYMN 6: WHAT A FRIEND WE HAVE IN JESUS.
What a friend we have in Jesus,
all our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
everything to God in prayer!
O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
all because we do not carry
everything to God in prayer.
Have we trials and temptations?
Is there trouble anywhere?
We should never be discouraged;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Can we find a friend so faithful
who will all our sorrows share?
Jesus knows our every weakness;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Are we weak and heavy laden,
cumbered with a load of care?
Precious Savior, still our refuge;
take it to the Lord in prayer.
Do thy friends despise, forsake thee?
Take it to the Lord in prayer!
In his arms he'll take and shield thee
thou wilt find a solace there..
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