A Sermon by Pastor Tom Lacey . . .

now that’s faith

1Kings 17:8-16, Preached at Congregational Church of Boca Raton, June 6, 2010

A Midwestern farmer had the good fortune to win the Power Ball Jackpot of more than $100 million. At the press conference announcing the winner, a reporter asked him what he planned to do with his winnings. He replied, “I think I’ll just keep on farming until it’s all gone.”

It’s tough to be a farmer today, and at other times, especially in times of drought. At various times in the course of our lives, we face some difficulties, and the way we deal with them can have an effect on their outcome. We may have a bill to pay, and we don't have enough money to pay it. Do we just ignore it? Or do we call up the people and explain our situation, offering to pay half now and the balance a little later? But what if our problems are worse than this? What if we didn't have any food to eat? What if our children didn't have any food to eat? What would we do? Could we believe that God still cares for us? When things are tough, stay strong, keep the faith, and give God a chance to do the next thing. As John Piper said, "In every situation, God is doing a thousand things that we cannot see and do not know."

Today’s passage comes from the beginning of the story of Elijah, right after he has been told by God to leave the land of Israel. Elijah is locked in a power struggle with Israel’s King Ahab. Ahab has been seduced into thinking that the Canaanite god Baal is the source of rain and life on Earth, while Elijah holds to the conviction that the God of Israel controls rain and life. Elijah gets in Ahab’s face and makes the bold claim, “As the LORD the God of Israel lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word” (v. 1). These are brave words, the kind that can get you killed. God knows that Ahab has a temper, so he advises Elijah to “Go from here and turn eastward, and hide yourself by the Wadi Cherith, which is east of the Jordan” (vv. 2-3). There God sustains Elijah with gifts of bread and meat, delivered by a flock of ravens (vv. 5-6), until of course the wadi, the brook, ran dry. And this is where we pick up the story.

God gives Elijah new marching orders to go to Zarephath in the region of Sidon, which was the home turf of the god Baal and the home of his soon-to-be archenemy Queen Jezebel, the pagan wife of Israel’s King Ahab. The prophet, in other words, has been ordered into enemy territory with no rations. There, God says, the prophet will take up residence for a time and will be fed by a widow.

          If Elijah was already living on the edge, this news couldn’t have been too encouraging. Not only was he in enemy territory, but the land was in the midst of a horrific drought, and food was scarce. Of all the people in Zarephath whom God could command to feed him, a widow would be the least likely to have any food to offer him because widows were among the most vulnerable and destitute people in ancient society, and this widow had a son to feed. So if you think your life stinks, take a look at Elijah's at this point: The king of Israel is his enemy. The wicked queen hates his guts. He’s on the run from the law. God sends him into enemy territory. For food, he’s at the mercy of the poorest of the poor. And yet Elijah never acts as if he is done for. He must know something most people have a tough time remembering. In the letter of James 1:2-4, we read what it means to have faith, real honest to God, when you're down on your fortune, faith: "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything."

Real faith is needed when real darkness is all that appears. When it doesn't look like there is any way out, faith is God's light to help you walk your way through the darkness. Someone with a lot of faith put it this way, "God in his providence has a thousand keys to open a thousand different doors in order to deliver his own, no matter how desperate the situation may have become. George MacDonald
          In World War II, a soldier got separated from his unit and was trapped behind enemy lines. The enemy knew he was there and he had little chance of escape. He found a cave and hid. He knew that it was just a matter of time before they found the cave, too. He prayed to God, “God if you can, please save me, but I trust your will. If I’m to die, let me die bravely, and take care of my family. Amen.” He lifted his head and saw a spider busily building a web over the opening of the cave. Back and forth she went. “Silly spider,” he thought. “We’re both going to be blasted to bits. I need a brick wall and I get a spider web?” He heard the crunch of boots and loud talking in a language he didn’t understand. But he did understand two words. “Spider web.” As the enemy soldiers walked away, he realized that because the mouth of the cave was covered with a spider web they thought no one was in the cave. The spider web had been as strong as a brick wall.

God may not give us what we want. What God gives us is enough. Make do with what you have right now. Use it to build what is best. Remember, our lives are a spiritual work in progress, with an almost infinite number of gifts of the Spirit that God wishes to bestow on us.

But you know, this story is really about the Zarephath widow, and her faith. Elijah sees this poor woman gathering some sticks to make a last meal for herself and her son and, in a way that seems a bit rude and demanding to modern readers, doesn’t ask but demands her to bring him a drink and “a morsel of bread in your hand.” (v. 11) But this isn't the widow Elijah was probably thinking God was going to use to help him. This widow is at the end of her rope, and her response to Elijah is as depressing as a funeral dirge, "As the LORD your God lives, I have nothing baked, only a handful of meal in a jar, and a little oil in a jug; I am now gathering a couple of sticks, so that I may go home and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die."

It’s a sad and poignant statement, sure enough. But Elijah will hear none of this gloomy talk. “Do not be afraid,” he counsels her, “go and do as you have said; but first make me a little cake of it and bring it to me, and afterwards make something for yourself and your son. For thus says the LORD the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth” (vv. 12-14).  She goes and does what Elijah says—a remarkable act of faith for a woman so down in the dumps, so depressed, so close to death. And sure enough, she and her son are able to eat for many days. The jar isn't emptied, and the jug doesn't fail.

Now, being afraid is normal; we can't see the future. We don't know where the path we're on leads. Will it lead to good, or for bad? How can the people in the Gulf see there way to a bright and clean future? Things have changed forever, or for at least a very long time for many people. The truth is, the only thing faith does for you is help you walk when you are paralyzed by fear, help you stand when you've fallen, help you breathe when you can't get a breath. But God can work with someone who is still breathing; the Lord can build up someone who is just standing; the Spirit can lead someone who is merely walking. You don't have to do it all, and you don't have to not be afraid; sometimes all you can do is just breathe another breath, stand up one more time, and take the next step. Trust in God, let his Word give you strength, and his Spirit be your own.

Travel to any developing country, and you will see the joy of Christians who have discovered that the Lord really does provide. At the Plan Escalon School in La Entrada, Honduras, the 400 young men and women who are students there gather for worship every Sunday, and they raise the roof with their spirited song and dance. They are thankful to God for the education they are receiving, even though their school is always desperate for textbooks and their kitchen serves little besides beans and rice. In a country in which many children have no hope of schooling beyond the primary level, the students of Plan Escalon are thankful that God has given them the chance to receive a high school education.

God sustains us in a time of drought, giving us what we need. The challenge for us is to discover that these gifts are sufficient, and they may be better for us than the next new thing.  God’s amazing gifts may last only as long as the need is present. In the story of Elijah and the widow, the offer is good until the rain returns. This is an important point for us today, because we live in a culture of excess in which nothing seems adequate except the next new thing. We want the latest and the greatest, whether we’re looking for clothes or cell phones, cars or computers. But God doesn’t promise to give us what we want, only what we need, which reminds me of a kid who called up his Mom one evening from college and asked for some money. Mom said, "Sure, sweetie. I'll send you some money. You also left your economics book here when you visited two weeks ago. Do you want me to send that up too?" "Uhh, oh yeah, O.K." he said. So Mom wrapped the book along with the checks in a package and went to the post office to mail the money and the book. When she got back, the husband asked, "Well how much did you give the boy this time?" "Oh, I wrote two checks, one for $20, and the other for $100." "That's $120." he yelled, "Why would you send him that much?" "Don't worry, hon," she said, "I taped the $20 check to the cover of his book, but I put the $100 one somewhere between the pages in chapter 15!"

Now that's faith. Faith makes the most of the least, the most joy from the least happiness, the best life from the smallest opportunities, the biggest heart from the littlest blessings. Believe, have faith, and be blessed by God's gifts.

Return to Sermons (table of contents)

Return to Homepage of the Congregational Church of Boca Raton