From Despair to Faith.

“And the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in your mouth is truth.’” (1 Kings 17:24 ESV)

By means of His prophet Elijah, the Lord gave the widow of Zarephath a blessing in providing for her daily needs. Things went well after that, as she was making it through the drought and  resulting famine. She had hope of a future in her son. But then he died she was thrown into despair. Her entire life was wrapped up in the boy, and now God had taken him. As long as she had a son, she would have someone to take care of her in her old age. As a result she was filled with loneliness, meaninglessness and hopelessness.

Did you ever feel that despair? Did you ever feel that hopelessness, that loneliness? Like the woman, in your anguish maybe you lashed out at God, at other people, at yourself. Maybe like her, you blamed your own sinfulness. This type of anguish brings us to the depths of great despair. Yet that is where the Lord can bless us as that is where He is our only hope. Look what he did for the widow. He gave her faith and new hope when he raised her son. She believed the word of the Lord. She believed that God is one who keeps His word to those He calls.

The Lord has given His chosen ones faith. He has given us hope. He provides for our needs and cares for us in our afflictions perhaps in not such a dramatic or miraculous way. He always provides the way through for us. Most importantly, He promises eternal life to those who repent and believe in Him. Because we are in Christ we have faith in God and His word. We know that because He has been true to His word in the past, we can be sure that He will always keep it. We can be sure that He has saved us from the punishment of sin by the blood of Jesus. We can be sure of eternal life in Him.