Devotions with Pastor Donny

Empty Cupboards/Full Hearts
1st Kings 17:12-16
She said, “As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, but only a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar. I am gathering two sticks, that I can go in and make it for me and my son, so we may eat it and die.” Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said, but make a little cake for me first, and bring it to me, and afterward, make some for your son and you, for thus says the Lord God of Israel: The barrel of meal will not run out, nor will the jar of oil empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” She went and did what Elijah told her to do, and she, he, and her household ate many days. The barrel of meal did not run out, nor did the jar of oil empty, according to the word of the Lord, which He spoke by Elijah.

There once was a meeting in the middle between a prophet and a widow. They both come together in the sharing of their strengths. They both come together in the shared vulnerability of their needs. The robe of this holy prophet has nothing but holey pockets. He is empty of material resources. Do not underestimate him though, for he carries with him the promise of his God.

The widow’s cupboard is too bare of meals to share. Do not underestimate her though, for she carries with her a mustard seed of faith enough to risk obedience. The widow places her trust in the word of the Lord from the lips of a stranger. They meet each other in the midst of their shared vulnerability like the broken bread of the sacrament. In the middle of this sacred moment……. God provides!

It is a beautiful foreshadowing picture of what the church of Jesus Christ will become. Each week we come and meet each other in the midst of both our strengths and our weaknesses. Out of our strengths we help to bear each other’s burdens. In confession of our weaknesses we peel the social distancing masks from our hearts. In the bearing and the sharing, God provides.

Pastor Donny