The Bowl

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eminders and evidence of God’s faithfulness are everywhere.  The rising and setting of the sun, the rain that falls on the earth, the wind that blows through the trees, and the moon and stars in the night sky are constant testimonials to the fact that our God is faithful. 

God’s faithfulness has always amazed me.  No matter what circumstances I have encountered in life, one thing holds true—God is faithful to me regardless of my situation, regardless of my feelings, and regardless of my faithfulness to him. In all the changes of life, in all of its trials, in all of its conflicts, in all of its challenges, and in all of its joys, God has never failed me.  He has always remained true to his word and his promises are a solid foundation in a world of shifting sand!

I was reminded of this great truth just last evening.  As I dried and put away the day’s dishes, God took the opportunity to teach me a lesson about his faithfulness.  In my hand, I held a bowl.  It is not a very attractive bowl but it is my bowl nonetheless.  I purchased this bowl just after arriving at seminary.  Since I didn’t have much space in my dorm room for dishes, I used that bowl for just about everything.  I ate cereal from it in the morning, I had soup in it when I was sick, I used it for popcorn as a snack, and I ate stew from it for my evening meals.  When I finished with the bowl, I washed it and placed it back on the shelf until the next meal.

Although my life changed drastically after coming to seminary, one thing remained constant, that bowl always had something in it for me to eat.  I never went hungry, I never went without clothing, and I always had enough money to pay my bills and cover my necessities.  But every time I visited the kitchen, God always had something to place in that bowl. He always made sure I had something to eat and something to drink.  He never forgot but showed up at every meal, right on time. 

Sometimes he used others to fill that bowl.  Someone would send me money from home and I’d buy groceries or sometimes someone would invite me to dinner and pay for my meal.  Whatever the form, God always saw to it that I had something to eat and he always took care of me, even when I wasn’t sure how he was going to do it.

1 Kings 17:14 gives us the story of another bowl.  This bowl belonged to a widow who lived in the village of Zerephath with her only son.  Times were very hard for this woman. She had very little to eat.  In fact, she was gathering firewood to prepare her last meal for herself and her son. Just at that moment the prophet Elijah asked her to bring him some bread and water.  The widow told him of her plight, that she had only enough flour in the bowl for one last loaf of bread for her and her son.  What Elijah told her next is the focal point of our study today.

"For thus says the LORD God of Israel, 'The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.'"  Do you see God’s faithfulness and his love in this passage?  Just when this widow thought it was all over, just when she believed there was no way out, and just when she reached the end of her resources, God stepped in.  Even though there was a drought and although there was no way to buy more flour or oil, God promised that her supply would never run out.

This is always God’s way.  When we have exhausted our resources and come to the end of our ropes, that’s when God steps in.  At that point we become totally dependent on him for all our needs.  When our relationship becomes one of total dependence on God, we experience and understand God’s faithfulness to his children. So, what’s in your bowl today?