The woman slowly made her way up the hill. She stumbled, fatigue and hunger etched clearly on her face. In her mind, she clearly saw her young son standing hopefully in the doorway of their small home. His stomach already distended, his arms and legs pathetic in their skeletal appearance. It would not be long now. She only hoped to find a few overlooked dry branches to start a small fire, cooking their last bit of flour and meal into their last bread for their last meal. The last until they died. A solitary tear made its way down her dusty cheek, leaving a track behind.
She heard the voice in her head again. “Give,” the voice said. Every day for the last seven days she had heard the voice. Every day she tried to dismiss it as a product of her hunger induced delirium. Every day she thought,”I have nothing to give- nothing! Who could ask this of me?”
Then the word of the LORD came to him: “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 1 Kings 17:8-9
Do you ever feel that too much is being asked of you? Have you ever thought, “If people knew the stress load I am carrying, they wouldn’t ask more of me.” Or “They know what a tough time I’m having. How could they justify asking anything of me?”
Have you heard a voice saying, “Give?” In what areas of your life have you been recently challenged to give?
Father, why do You ask me to give when what I really need is to get?