Journey Of Significance

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”

‭‭Ephesians‬ ‭4‬:‭11‬-‭16‬ ‭NLT‬‬

Leaders and shepherds are gifts from God to the church. Gifts are just that: gifts. They should never garner more attention than the “Gifter” (God). Sadly, this happens sometimes. Occasionally, these “gifts” prop themselves up, make names for themselves, and gather admiration from equally “immature” Christian audiences. You might come across posters advertising Christian conferences where the picture or name of a renowned speaker takes center stage. On the side of the church members, there is a danger of giving more honor to God’s servants than to God Himself. I once witnessed a congregant scrambling to a front-row seat to have a better view of a visiting renowned speaker and to experience a closer range of anointing from him. When people start to “treasure” the gifts above the Gifter, it becomes idolatry.

Paul clearly spelled out the responsibility of church leaders: equipping and building. When you think about equipping and building, what comes to mind? Is it training sessions and an increasing congregation size? Is that what God wants for the church—a community that buzzes about attending Christian courses and works hard to bring people to church to enhance the numbers? No, there is something more vital: the church should “be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ.” God is not seeking a big church filled with “baby” believers but a congregation of mature disciples who portray Christ-likeness.

Then Paul singled out the marks or symptoms of immaturity. Perhaps it is easier to see the negative before understanding the positive traits of maturity. The signs of immaturity are when people are “tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching” and “are influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” A clear mark of immaturity is not the absence of service in a church, but rather when people go or serve solely where the attraction lies, be it “feel-good” sermons or “spine-chilling” supernatural experiences. This is a dangerous path to tread, particularly in the end times when false teaching becomes rampant and commonplace. Paul stressed that we can only be mature when we grow “in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son.” Personal knowledge and a daily relationship with the Lord Jesus are the only ways to spiritual maturity. Maturity cannot be attained by attending ad hoc Christian conferences or undergoing numerous training courses. It doesn’t work that way! In fact, one of the sure signs of maturity is the demonstration of love, as Paul mentioned: “As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.” The mark of discipleship is love, not head knowledge or even having an abundance of spiritual gifts.

Reflection Pointers:

1. This passage is not meant for you to judge the leadership in your church. It is to help you evaluate your prime motivation in Christian service and ensure Jesus is always the centre of all you do in serving a church

2. If you are a church leader, it’s time to reflect on the prime go in helping others go in Christ and whether your emphasis, your work of building up others are consistent with truly biblical objective to produce matured disciples in life and character and not simply knowledge-filled or talented individuals. 

And he was teaching them many things in parables, and in his teaching he said to them: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And as he sowed, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it. Other seed fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil, and immediately it sprang up, since it had no depth of soil. And when the sun rose, it was scorched, and since it had no root, it withered away. Other seed fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no grain. And other seeds fell into good soil and produced grain, growing up and increasing and yielding thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold.” And he said, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear.” 

‭‭Mark‬ ‭4‬:‭2‬-‭9‬ ‭ESV‬‬

This parable speaks of 4 types of ground on which seeds are sown and how the ground’s condition affect the process of growth of the seeds.

The ground represents people’s heart condition and response to the the Word and the “people” can represent both the believers and non-believers. We can probably see the parable from a different light.

The path or wayside. This is a boundary-free open space where everyone walks on. A place where people advocate open attitudes towards faiths. Everything goes for them, truth or falsehood. They seek compromises and middle grounds, therefore do not put up a stand on a conviction – which perhaps they may not have one. They can’t distinguish between the true and the false. Truths spoken to them are “taken away” by the “birds” of liberal theologies and false teachings.

The stoney ground. Stones do not provide the environment for seeds to grow roots though they may still germinate into a young shoot. Seem promising at first. But there is no anchor point for the root to sink into. You probably see initially excited believers caught in the frenzy of “doing church” through joining many programmes and social interactions but are not built up on the Word to grow as intentional disciples. Everything seems good until the storms and winds of life’s circumstances set in, and these fall away. Or it may that, like stones which are cold, a church could have a cold environment of legalistic rituals and traditions that does not display love and acceptance of people. This also lead to a fall away.

The thorny ground. A choking environment. While the shoots wants to sprout and grow, this environment’s focus on the cares of the world and the world’s way of doing things stifle them. Christian movements that pursue consumerism spread the “feel-good” gospel and set people to pursue the wrong things in life. False teachings, like thorns, stifle real growth and they can be very subtle – people are brought to believe they are doing the right thing when they are not. On another note, false teachings can be packaged in attractive camouflage that emphasise on spiritual “fantasies” instead of faith; sights and feelings instead of discipleship. Has not the Bible spoken about such deceptions becoming more and more rampant in the end times?

The good ground. An environment of growth where roots can grow and get deep into the ground, receiving the nutrients they need. There is a personal pursue to know the Word instead of just been fed. Just like the Berea Christians who dig into the word to check “whether what is thought is true”. (Acts 17:11) This is the antidote against deception of false teachings. No more depending on the pulpit messages or Christian conferences to boost personal growth although these have their place to assist growth. Good grounds are not found in conferences but in your closet when you meet with God!

Reflection Pointers:

1. Take sometime to evaluate the conviction of your faith. Is it based purely on the emphasis of some revolutionary Christian movement or on a personal relationship with Jesus on a daily basis?

2. Do you live on “borrowed” faith such as depending solely on weekly pulpit messages or Christian conferences to boost your faith and belief? If your answer is yes, it is time to follow the example of the Berea Christians to dig deep into the Word personally on a daily basis.

“Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. 

And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, “Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid.” And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭6‬:‭45‬-‭52‬ ‭ESV‬‬

After the feeding of the 5000, Jesus instructed His disciples to get into a boat and proceed to Bethsaida while He dismissed the crowd and stayed on the mountain to pray. While alone on land, His concern was still on his disciples who are out at sea. In fact He was watching them and “saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them.’ Can you see a Masters’ love for His followers? 

You can be sure while many of us are struggling in our progress in any sphere of life – be it a stagnating career, a sickness that does not seem to be healing, a slow difficult process to restore a strained relationship, a recurring financial struggle to keeps ends meet – Jesus is watching – that’s is how personal Jesus was! Thus do not despair when things don’t seem to be moving in your life, He watches, and He knows and He understands! We also read that He later showed up walking on the sea, came into the disciples’ boat and immediately the winds ceased. Yes, when it is the right timing, He will get into your boat as well and calm the winds and waves of circumstances! So keep rowing, and don’t give up!

Jesus walked on the sea and then got into the disciples’ boat. See, He came to resolve their slow progress and it was a 180 degree change – the winds suddenly stopped and they reach the other side speedily. When Jesus step into your boat, transformation will happen!

If you have Jesus as your personal Lord and Saviour, there is no need to fear! He is always on top of your seas, your winds and your waves and will come into your boat of life to smoothen your journey!

Reflection Pointers

1. Perhaps unknown to you, Jesus is watching over you life even in those “not seeing light at the end of the tunnel” moments and is all willing to walk over to step into your boat of life to turn everything around.

2. While keep rowing and not giving up, take a moment to move your eyes from the oars, winds and waves to look towards Jesus who could be already walking on the sea coming over to you quickly. Prayers, prayers and prayers change things!

“He went on from there and entered their synagogue. And a man was there with a withered hand. And they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse him. He said to them, “Which one of you who has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep! So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And the man stretched it out, and it was restored, healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭12:9-14‬ ‭ESV‬‬

In the synagogue, among religious leaders and worshippers, there was a man with a withered hand. This man had probably been attending the “church” for some time. The leaders obviously had noticed him. The other “church members” also probably knew him. But it seemed none had brought him to Jesus for healing all this while. He was a left-alone handicapped person in the church. Are there many such similar “abandoned” members in today’s church? Worship Services after Worship Services, programmes after programmes, trainings after trainings, ceremonies after ceremonies come and go. It becomes almost something routine and non-event every week where this man with a need in the church was neglected. Are there ignored needs in the church today? Sometimes, programs and activities blind people from seeing real needs. Has the church lost its first love in the midst of lots of activities going on? (like the Ephesus Church in Rev 2)

The moment Jesus stept in, He immediately noticed this man for the first time. Then suddenly out of the blue, the religious leaders’ attention turned to the handicapped man as well as Jesus. Not to show concern. Not to get Jesus to heal the man. Their motive was to frame Jesus for violating the Sabbath knowingly that Jesus was likely to heal the man. They cornered Jesus by the question “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” See, this synagogue (or church) was only interested in observance of the law but not on the needs of its members. Is this happening in the modern church where church “preliminaries” or “traditional norms” or “corporate policies” displace the meeting of needs? 

After the man was healed, the first thing the religious leaders did was “they went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.” They did not rejoice at the healing of the man. In fact they were indignant that they were not able to win Jesus at the dialogue. All in their heart was how to tear Him down. When you carry a wrong agenda in serving, people getting saved or healed doesn’t make you praise God. 

Reflection Pointers

1. If you are a church leader or someone who decide to serve in a church, evaluate the motivation of your calling or rather your response to the calling. Jesus’ ministry always focus on people, not programmes, activities or traditions. What are yours?

2. On a whole, the church’s mission is to meet needs. A heartening scene Jesus hopes to see in His church is people meeting each others’ needs, people encouraging each other and people loving each other genuinely through practical act of kindness. The call of the end time is that believers will not lose their first love and that their love for each other will not grow cold!

“And immediately he left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. Now Simon’s mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them. 

Mark 1:29-31 ESV

Peter & Andrew brought Jesus to their house where Peter’s mother-in-law was lying sick with a fever. After Jesus came to know about it, He took hold of her hand and lifted her up. Immediately the fever left her. You see, Peter and Andrew didn’t hesitate to bring Jesus to their home after pledging to follow Him. Neither did Peter ran back to tidy the house before Jesus came in. Discipleship begins with inviting Jesus to your “home” just as it is – the home is the place where you will likely let your hair down, and behaving as your true self, conducting your relationship with people at home as usual. No pretense. No cover-up. No camouflage. Genuine conversion and discipleship began when someone comes to Jesus “just as I am” and open his/her life(home) to Him. In Rev 3:20, while Jesus stands at the door and knock there would some(including believers) who hesitate to open the door because they are busily tidying up their house, hide their garbages and put up a neat nice front before inviting Him in. Let’s not belong to this group of believers!

On another note, when you follow Jesus, open your household to Him as well. Introduce each member to Jesus. Jesus doesn’t recruit “secret” followers but people who openly identify with Him not only in the open community or church but in the home. And the next miracle that can happen is that your entire household will be saved! Acts 16:31 tells us that “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household”

The record of the healing of Peter’s mother-in-law shows us that when Jesus comes into your life and family, healing will be released to anyone needing it. Being healed enabled Peter’s mother-in-law to function well to serve Jesus and the household. The moment Jesus release healing to you, he restored your capacity and remove your limitations to serve!

Reflection Pointers:

1. Genuine discipleship calls for a life of transparency before Jesus. Come in your true self with all your natural weaknesses and limitations. There is no need to pretend or ensure that you are good enough neither should you think you are not good enough to be accepted by Jesus. 
2. If you are praying for salvation of your family, introduce Jesus to your family, and your family to Jesus and allow Him to do a salvation miracle in your household!
3. If there are challenges in your life that limit your capacity to serve, invite Jesus into your challenges, and wait for the miracle that restores that capacity to serve! 

“Then one of the twelve, whose name was Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What will you give me if I deliver him over to you?” And they paid him thirty pieces of silver. And from that moment he sought an opportunity to betray him.”

Matthew 26:14-16 ESV

These 3 verses described the time when everything went wrong in Judas Iscariot’s life.

Firstly it was wrong associations. He went to the chief priest instead of faithfully stayed in the company of Jesus and the other disciples. He was in the wrong association. How many of us go the wrong way due to bad company? We need to be mindful of the company we associated with. On another note, it is the church’s responsibility as well to protect their members from getting into wrong company even within Christendom as there are those that promote false teachings and heresies especially in the end times. The Bible say says:

“Do not be deceived: “Bad company ruins good morals.””

1 Corinthians 15:33 ESV

The second wrong was wrong motivation. It seemed that Jesus’ teaching on eternal values did not sink in to Judas Iscariot. He went for visible earthly gains. Do Christians today switch sides because of the want of earthly attractive gains?There are also branches of the Christian community that entice you just with that – for example, the prosperity gospel. They don’t teach discipleship and persecution as prophesied by Jesus but dwell on “feel-good” promises of wealth and health. Such enticing doctrine will be rampant preceding the end times – and beware, it is now!

Thirdly it was wrong occupation – what that filled Judah’s mind and life was to look out for opportunity to betray Jesus. His desire and purpose in life was not longer feeding the hungry and healing the sick as part of Jesus’ ministry. In the secret compartment of his heart was this drive to plot the betrayal. A man who lost his first love has the course of his life run awry. And it was the wrong course with no return. Stop and ask ourselves what is the main occupation in our earthly life. We may not plot to betray Jesus but an intentional nonchalance to Him and His word is a quiet form of betrayal. 

Finally, it was the wrong moment. From the moment he received the bride money, his entire destiny changed from a righteous walk to an evil path. Moments are important – sometimes it decides life and death. Moments can also change destinies. People used to say “I did it in a moment of folly or anger” and mostly regret their action afterwards. Jesus had these moments when He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. If He just gave way at that moment, the entire Messianic mission would have failed. Don’t give way to such moments!

Reflection Pointers:

1. Evaluate your associations and determine which are the ones to develop further and which are ones to move a step back. 
2. While it is good to have aspirations and goals that you are passionate about to fulfil, it is always good to measure them against the yardstick of biblical principles and perspectives.
3. Watch out for the moments that come and go. Some brings you delight on a good decision made while others may end up with regrets for the impulse actions taken during that moment.

“And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. And behold, there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was passing by, they cried out, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!”  The crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more, “Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!” And stopping, Jesus called them and said, “What do you want me to do for you?” They said to him, “Lord, let our eyes be opened.” And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they recovered their sight and followed him.”

Matthew 20:29-34 ESV

There was a crowd that followed Jesus as He left Jericho. The 2 blind men could not be among the following because of their handicap. They probably had no friend or relative concerned enough to bring them to Jesus for healing. When they heard Jesus was coming their way, they desperately shouted out for Jesus, hoping they could get Jesus’ attention and mercy to heal them. The crowd rebuked them and tried silencing them. 

Jesus had a following whenever He went. There could be different kinds of people in the following crowd – those who were curious, those with a need to be healed, those who were engaged by the religious leaders to spied on Jesus. Today we also have people who called themselves followers of Jesus – believers who go to church, those that engaged in lots of church programs and activities, some with needs of healing, some looking for place to socialise and some aspiring to get something out of “doing” church. Of course, there are those who genuinely commit their lives to live as the disciples of Jesus.

A part of the following did something that was not consistent with the behaviour of someone who follow Jesus – they rebuked the two blind men and told them to keep quiet. What went in the minds of such following? They are just interested in keep moving with Jesus with the “activity” of following. Isn’t it familiar that churches and believers today just want to keep “doing” church every weekend oblivious to the needs around, not just in the unbelieving world but within church itself. Most churches do “out-reach” but neglect the “in-reach”.  A zeal to “keep moving” blinded them from the most vital ministry of meeting needs, spiritual or physical.

Jesus stopped. He stopped for the 2 blind men, attended to their needs and restored their sights. A demonstration of the good shepherd that went after one lost sheep, and stopped the journey with the other 99 sheep! Jesus was aware of needs in the midst of a busy journey. Busyness did not take away His concern for people. Are those of us who claimed to be Jesus’ followers doing the same? Has busyness, even in church programmes and activities obsess us so much that we do not understand the very essence of ministry is to “sniff” out needs around and attend to them in love? Jesus rebuked the church of Ephesus on its loss of first love – the love for God which is to be demonstrated in the love for people. It’s time to “stop” and evaluate on the agenda, mission and motivation of our individual or a church’s ministry. Don’t miss the point and be sincerely wrong! 

Reflection Pointers:

1. If you are someone who is determined to follow Jesus, take time to evaluate what it means. It is not just “doing” church and just got immersed in tons of “ministry” programs and activities. It is taking time to know people and their needs, pray with them and offer to help them in ways possible in love.
2. Or if you are a busy church leader who is engaged in a frenzy of activities, stop and examine the motivation and objective of your involvement whether it is in alignment with Jesus’ focus and emphasis to attend to needs. 

“Now when it was evening, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the day is now over; send the crowds away to go into the villages and buy food for themselves.” But Jesus said, “They need not go away; you give them something to eat.” They said to him, “We have only five loaves here and two fish.” And he said, “Bring them here to me.” Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass, and taking the five loaves and the two fish, he looked up to heaven and said a blessing. Then he broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds. And they all ate and were satisfied. And they took up twelve baskets full of the broken pieces left over. And those who ate were about five thousand men, besides women and children.”

Matthew 14:15-21 ESV

It could have been a tiring day for the disciples and it was approaching evening time. They suggested to Jesus to call it a day for the ministry and send the crowd away so that they could go and grab a bite on their own. 

Jesus’ surprising reply came – “Leave them here. You guys will provide food for them.” Apparently, to Jesus, the job wasn’t done yet. His compassion for the people and their needs caused Him to decide to stay to minister. But He wasn’t dismissing the fact that the people needed physical food on top of spiritual ones. He was a balanced leader who understood the needs in the natural realm as well as in the spiritual realm. Likewise, ministering to others requires the consideration of their total needs, not just lopsided perspectives on the spiritual. Do not end up to be someone that is so heavenly minded that is of no earthly use!

To the disciples, the master’s assignment was probably a stressful one – how ever could they feed 5000 people when all they had with them then were 5 loafs and 2 fishes? Their responses were logically reasonable. At that juncture, Jesus told them to pass the food they had to Him. It was at this point that Jesus took over. Have you experienced a similar dilemma the disciples were experiencing – facing a mammoth task where your limited ability, capacities or resources make it impossible to fulfil it? Jesus is inviting you to hand over all these limitations to Him. Yes, when human logic and human limitation fails, Jesus offers to TAKE OVER!

The crowd was asked to sit on the ground and Jesus took the breads & the fish, looked up to heaven and gave thanks. Then He broke the bread and gave to the disciples to distribute to the masses. First, Jesus “took over the food”, now He “gave them back.” Jesus solved the limitation problem (unknowingly to them) and then let the disciples continue with their original assignment to provide food for the people. He did not take over their assignment. He wanted them to be a part of the miracle. Yes! Jesus always wants us to become a participant of His miracle, not just a bystander or spectator who just watch and not involved!

Distribution of food was a non-spectacular event. Almost a routine task – yet in the midst of that routine process, a miracle was in progress! No one realised the miracle until at the end of the cleaning up of the ground when there were 12 baskets of crumbs as well as filled stomachs! Miracles do not always manifest in dramatic, spectacular proportions, but some through quiet unfolding in the mundane facets of life. (You may also recall a similar quiet miracle of water turned into wine Jesus performed at the village of Cana). At times, all you need to do is to carry on with your routine simple tasks that you are supposed to do by simple obedience, and you will become a part of an unfolding miracle.

Reflection Pointers:

1. Are you encountering a humongous task as against your ability or adequacy of resources to perform? Come to Jesus and turn them over to Him. Just do what you need to do in small steps and you never know, the final outcome is a quiet victory!
2. While God is capable of performing spectacular signs and wonders, many of the miracles He performs come in quiet but powerful manifestations, perhaps only known to yourself or a few people. Give Him the prerogative to work in your life in His own ways.

And he said to his servant, “Go up now, look toward the sea.” And he went up and looked and said, “There is nothing.” And he said, “Go again,” seven times. And at the seventh time he said, “Behold, a little cloud like a man’s hand is rising from the sea.” And he said, “Go up, say to Ahab, ‘Prepare your chariot and go down, lest the rain stop you.’” And in a little while the heavens grew black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode and went to Jezreel.

1 Kings 18:43-45 ESV

One of the missions God gave Elijah was to address the drought situation in Israel. He was to communicate God’s intents to the Israel king, as well as to pray for rain on behalf of the nation. Now Elijah was back at the top of Mount Carmel again, this time, to persevere in the challenge of prayer and faith.

Elijah was definitely confident of God’s promise of rain. The question would be when and how much of it. He sent his servant to a high point of the peak to look out for any sign of rain across the ocean, not once, but 7 times! He was eagerly looking forward to God’s answers! The genuine praying man will always anticipate to see God’s answers. Are we one? Or do we often feel guilty of superficial prayer requests made on the behalf of others that are just lip service without looking forwards to their fulfilment?

The first time, the servant’s reply was “there is nothing” and that was the same repeated report for 6 times. Elijah did not give up or complain but just asked the servant to “Go again”. On many occasions, God’s answers to prayer may not come instantly – but when you know it will come eventually, you have just to wait patiently. For Elijah, it was 6 times over of no answer. Do not lose heart when nothing seems to happen 1 day, 1 month or even years after you have prayed for something. When you are certain it is God who promises, keep looking out and continue looking up through persevering prayers!

At the 7^th lookout, the servant reported that he saw a little cloud the size of a man’s palm. This can trigger different responses to different people. Some would talk down on it as a small insignificant observation. Some will regard it as a potential that start small but will bring big results later. Elijah gave the 2^nd response. He gave instruction to his servant to immediately inform Ahab to leave the mountain so that he would not be caught in the heavy rain. God’s miracles sometimes start to manifest in small increments, but slowly escalate to a blessing of tremendous size. You will never know until you finally are confronted with a surprise from God that make you drop off your chair! So do not despise small beginning of a breakthrough … a greater miracle is just around the corner, and we just simply need to stay focus to believe!

Then it happened finally – the heavens were full of clouds, winds and a great downpour! Multiplied many times over the palm size cloud! Amaze at God when he multiplied His blessings many times than you can believe or imagine, as in Eph 3:20: “ Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, ….”

Reflection Pointers:

1. Are you frustrated over unanswered prayers and always feel God doesn’t seem to care? The truth is you may have focused more on the problem than the answer, and short of looking out for what He has already provided in small ways.
2. Do you despise the goodness of small favours and always want something bigger? Be assured God knows the vital statistics of your life and will right-size His providence accordingly instead of the immediate upsizing He reserved for us at His opportune time. 

“And after a while the brook dried up, because there was no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him, “Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and dwell there. Behold, I have commanded a widow there to feed you.” So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks. And he called to her and said, “Bring me a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” And as she was going to bring it, he called to her and said, “Bring me a morsel of bread in your hand.” And she said, “As the Lord your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. And now I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go in and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it and die.” And Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go and do as you have said. But first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterward make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, ‘The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.'” And she went and did as Elijah said. And she and he and her household ate for many days. The jar of flour was not spent, neither did the jug of oil become empty, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke by Elijah.”

1 Kings 17:7-16 ESV

Earlier to this passage, God instructed Elijah to seek refuge from King Ahab at a brook at Cherith where He would provide him with food, water and shelter miraculously. The brook subsequently dried up. The livelihood at Cherith Brook was no longer sustainable. God didn’t leave Elijah in the lurch. He instructed Elijah to move to Zarephath and to be fed by a widow. We see that when one door is closed, God opens another. In God, there are infinite possibilities – of sustenance, of provision, of healing, of protection, of salvation. Our dried-up brook could be a financial lack, a broken relationship, a stalled career path, a retrenchment or a health crisis. But God is always there to lead you to another open door! “O God, that is who you are!” – that part of the lyrics of the song “Way Maker” always lifts me up as I sang it! God’s character of love and tender care for His children will never change!

“So Elijah arose & went.” Simple obedience means not arguing with God or offer our own options! Elijah could have said, “why don’t you just cause the brook not to dry up and resume water supply miraculously and keep the ravens coming to provide me with room service. I am just comfortable here. Please, Lord?” How many times we pray to God based on our own will and refuse to accept change? Not recognizing that His thoughts are higher than ours, and His ways higher than ours? Miracles are all customized uniquely to each one of us. God is too creative to be boxed up by our whims and fancies! Status quo and comfort zones may not be the best places to be stuck in!

God revealed to Elijah that he was to be “fed by a widow”. What a most unlikely source of supply! Those days widows would be the poorest segment of society that needed others to take care of their needs. To live off a widow was seemingly something that was not possible nor ethical to do. Yet it was God’s setting for a miracle to take place! It is not a household of a wealthy or at least a family that can afford to feed another mouth. The truth is that God uses the “weak things of the world …” to stage His powerful miracles! He used a poor widow instead of a rich man!

When approached by Elijah asking her for food, the widow lamented that she was about to prepare the last meal for herself and her son with some remaining flour and oil. At this, Elijah prophesied “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” With this, he requested her to make a cake for him followed by doing it for her family. And it happened! The flour was not spent and the oil didn’t run dry. Not for one day but many days! A last meal became a many days’ sustenance! Plus having an extra mouth to feed! Not only did the miracle provide for Elijah’s meals, the widow and her son were spared of dying from starvation. When you start to give to others, much will be given back to you. By many folds!

The widow need not find different methods of doing the flour or adding the oil. No need to do rationing. She just did what she was doing everyday – and the bread just came out of the oven every day. It was a quiet miracle. No one except the widow, her son and Elijah knew. God’s miracles may not sometimes have to be “loud” – like dividing of the Red Sea, but it could be a “water turn into wine” occurrence. Let God have the last say! Never impose on others the same experience you have with God. Or be jealous of the ways how God blesses another and not you in the same way. 

Reflection Pointers:

1. In the seasons of life, we may come across pain-points where life comes to a standstill and many doors are closing. Do not dismay, God has prepared new doors to be opened, which can only be entered by sheer faith. 
2. Sometimes, the next destination God leads you in may be the most unlikely place to go to. We may need to move away from status quo and embrace a new journey.