This episode (1 Kin. 17:8–16) teaches us to invite God to work by His unlimited power within our limited circumstances and resources. Two important principles are illustrated here.
First, we must give something out of our need. That is the kind of giving that involves our faith. This woman had a need for herself and her family, but she gave to sustain the life of God’s prophet Elijah. Then God multiplied her giving back to her.
Second, the widow gave first, before seeking to meet her own needs. Her giving resulted in the miracle supply of God flowing back into her life. For perhaps as long as three years God multiplied her seed sown.
When we give out of our need and to help others first, we place ourselves in the flow of how God has made life to work for us and not against us. We have sown in our faith, and we reap the harvest of the faithfulness of God.
Sow! Give God something to multiply.
