FRESH START TODAY - DOES GOD MEET OUR NEEDS?

FRESH START TODAY – GOD MEETS OUR NEEDS? – 1-23-2014 Elijah had just proclaimed to the king Ahab that there would be no rain in the land until he said there would be and then the Lord told Elijah to leave. He said to turn eastward and hide in the Kerith Ravine, east of the Jordan. He told him to stay and the ravens would feed Elijah every day. Elijah must have been very exhausted, so he was obedient to the command of the Lord. Day after day, the ravens fed him the food that he needed. When the brook dried he received another message from God during this drought. We do not know how long he had stayed in the Kerith Ravine. 1 Kings 17:7-16, Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. Then the word of the Lord came to him: "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon and stay there. I have commanded a widow in that place to supply you with food." So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, "Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?" As she was going to get it, he called, "And bring me, please, a piece of bread." "As surely as the Lord your God lives," she replied, "I don't have any bread — only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it — and die." Elijah said to her, "Don't be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: 'The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord gives rain on the land.'" She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah. NIV How many times have believers say this same thing. “Oh, Lord, I have no money, or we have no food to eat.” The house payment is due and we do not have the full payment. The stress we put on ourselves as we cry out in desperation and do not ask God to provide for our needs, in His time and way! We attempt to take charge to find a way to get what we needed. Maybe we call a family member or a friend to borrow the money. We attempt to sell some valuable property or possession to meet that need. This does not seem to work until we are desperate enough to ask God. Do you think that possibly that God cares enough for you to meet your needs day by day? He may not supply all your wants, but He will supply for your needs. The first experience that my husband and I had, after becoming believers, was very similar. I had just started a temporary job to supplement our income. It was around Thanksgiving and our children’s birthday was close to that time. My first paycheck was on Wednesday before the long four-day weekend. The corporate office did not get my information until all the checks were cut. My boss called me in her office to tell me that there would not be a check for me this payday. I made a private phone call to my husband. He said to me that we had depended on my check for groceries for Thanksgiving and the children’s birthday party. In the mean time, the office somehow found out that I had not received a check, because at the end of the day there were bags of groceries in the back seat of the car. There was also an envelope, with $80.00 in it, and a scripture quoting Romans 8:28. The Lord works through His people to do His will. God is our provider and He is never late.