First King 17:17-24 describe the second miracle that God performed through the hand of Elijah. It happened in the life of the same woman whom he had earlier rescued from starvation. She and her son would have died of hunger had God not intervened through Elijah. So from a little bowl of flour and a dab of oil, Elijah was able to turn into an endless supply of flour and oil for her. But now in these verses, she was encountering another quandary, one that was more severe and consequential. Her only son was sick to a point that he stopped breathing. In other words, he died.
With
her only son in the throes of death, that woman entertained the thought that it
was her sin that had brought such a predicament upon her son. So she confronted
Elijah thinking that her son’s death was due to her sin. She concluded that
Elijah was sent by God to execute the punishment. So she exclaimed, “What
do I have to do with you, O man of God? You have come to me to bring
my iniquity to remembrance and to put my son to death!” Silently, she
could even be entertaining the flawed thought that had Elijah not come, her son
would still be alive. Why save them from starvation only to take her son’s life
by sickness?
Thankfully,
Elijah’s faith in God was unfazed. This allowed God to use him to demonstrate
His power over death. Taking the son from the widow, Elijah took him to the
room where he was lodging and laid him on his bed. Stretching himself over the
child, he cried out to God saying, “O Lord my God, I pray You, let
this child’s life return to him.” The Lord heard the voice of the
prophet and life returned to the lad. Elijah then brought the live child downstairs
and gave him to his mother. In gratitude, the widow said to Elijah, “Now I
know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your
mouth is truth.”
Two lessons are evident. Firstly, we see that life comes with continual challenges. One victory in life does not mean that we will no longer have greater challenges. Every victory experienced serves to prepare us to trust God for tomorrow’s greater challenge. To experience continual breakthrough calls for consistent trust. Secondly, we learn that sufferings are not there to break us but to draw us to God. It is a timely reminder that apart from Him we can do nothing. When confronted with a tough time, hold fast knowing that God is not through with us yet. He is perfecting us!
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