Today’s Verse—Philippians 4:19
My God will meet all your needs. He will meet
them in keeping with his wonderful riches
that come to you because you belong to Christ Jesus.
Tears welled up in Stephanie’s eyes as she listened to a man talk about missions work he was doing in Guatemala. Her heart went out to the children there who were living in poverty. The man gave out an address in case anyone wanted to send money to the missionaries there. Stephanie pulled out her checkbook. She knew she couldn’t afford to give, but she began to write a check for twenty-five dollars.
Suddenly she felt in her heart that God was telling her to give more. She and her husband couldn’t afford twenty-five dollars, much less fifty, but still she felt compelled to give more. So she wrote a check for fifty dollars. They might have to skip a few meals.
Months later, a missionary from Guatemala visited their church. Stephanie had no idea who this person was, but the man told the story about how, months earlier, the brakes on their Jeep went out, and they couldn’t get supplies to the Guatemalan children. They prayed, and that very day, they received fifty dollars from a donor they had never met. They got the brakes fixed. The cost? Fifty dollars!
Not only had God provided for the Guatemalan children, but He had also provided for Stephanie and her family. They didn’t have to skip meals that week, nor have they ever had to since.
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In the book of 1 Kings, a widow in the town of Zarephath made her last meal for herself and her son. There was a famine in the land, and she had only enough flour for one more loaf of bread. She figured they would eat one last time, and die. But then a prophet of God named Elijah came to her and asked her for food. What nerve! The man was asking her to use her last bit of flour to feed him instead of her son? But he assured her that the flour wouldn’t run out. She believed this man of God and did as he asked. She made him the bread, and he ate. When she went back into the house, she discovered that the flour jar was full again. (See 1 Kings 17:7–16.)
Wandering with Wooton
After reading that story in the Bible about Elijah and the widow, I decided to try it myself. I used a bunch of flour and made bread. Then I prayed that I would have more flour in the morning. It didn’t work, but I kept on baking. After two weeks, I never got miracle flour, but I did get fourteen loaves of bread. So I took them to poor families in my neighborhood. I guess God blessed me after all!
How has God kept your “flour jar” filled to the brim? He will bless you in surprising ways when you trust Him.
Daily Challenge
Take a step of faith and give more than you think you can give this week. Give money, food, clothing, or toys to a charity or to someone you know who is in need. God will bless you.
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Giving Theme Memory Verse—Acts 20:35, by the apostle Paul
In everything I did, I showed you that we must work hard and help the weak. We must remember the words of the Lord Jesus. He said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”