The Proof is in the Pudding, or in this Case, the Bread

1 Kings 17:7-15 ~

Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to Elijah: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.”

“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 olive 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.”

Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf 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 sends rain on the land.’”

She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.

"God give me a sign that you are working." How often have we asked God to prove Himself before we step out in faith? Many times we want to see the evidence before we trust Him.

In this story in 1 Kings there is a famine in the land and the Lord tells Elijah to go find a widow who will supply him with food. The thing that struck me as I read this passage was when Elijah told her to make him a loaf of bread and bring it to him first, she trusted that what he said was true. She didn't say show me the full jar of flour and jug of oil, and then I'll do it. She went and did exactly what Elijah told her to do and exercised faith without proof. 

What faith she had! She obediently followed what Elijah said, and trusted that what God said was true. Are we so faithful? If God tells you to step out in faith are you quick to do it or do you doubt? Do you trust that what He promised is true? Do you want to see the proof first or are you quick to obey and take Him at His word?

I struggle with this at times, as I'm sure many of us do. Yet, as we continue to experience His faithfulness, we will find the proverbial saying to be true, "the proof is in the pudding." As He shows Himself to be faithful time and time again, we will begin to realize that we can take Him at His word. God will always do what He promises.