Infectious Faith - Elijah

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid! Go ahead and do just what you’ve said, but make a little bread for me first. Then use what’s left to prepare a meal for yourself and your son. For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: There will always be flour and olive oil left in your containers until the time when the LORD sends rain and the crops grow again!”

1 Kings 17:13-14

Don’t you just hate it when you’re on your way to work and you hear a song on the radio that you can’t get out of your head? You might not even like the song, but somehow it just keeps rattling around in your brain.

An infectious tune like that has real staying power.

Faith is often like that. When you speak about it and demonstrate your faith openly, it is bound to infect others. That’s the kind of faith the prophet Elijah had.

At times, it seemed to Elijah that he was the only man of faith left in Israel. That didn’t stop him from speaking God’s Word to those who desperately needed to hear it. One of those people was a widow in a little village named Zarephath. God directed a hungry Elijah to visit her one day.

Times had grown harsh in Israel. Drought had led to famine and famine to desperation, especially for the poor. When God sent Elijah to Zarephath, the prophet probably assumed that he would meet a wealthy widow with a heart for service. The woman he met was so destitute that she was facing the likelihood of death.

As a man of faith, Elijah didn’t allow a little thing like this woman’s poverty to keep him from seeing God’s hand at work. Elijah looked at the woman’s desperation and saw someone who needed a boost of faith.

Elijah persuaded the woman to share what little she had with him. Because she did, faith won out that day. She never again lacked food for herself or her son.

God doesn’t give you faith so you can keep it to yourself. Faith isn’t real unless you put it to work. Don’t worry about running out—God will always give you more just when you need it.