Little Is Much When God Is Involved
So the Lord asked him , “ What are you holding ?” “ A walking stick ,” he answered . The Lord said , “ Throw it on the ground .” When Moses threw it down , it turned into a snake , and he ran away from it . Then the Lord said to Moses , “ Reach down and pick it up by the tail .” So Moses reached down and caught it , and it became a walking stick again . The Lord said , “ Do this to prove to the Israelites that the Lord , the God of their ancestors , the God of Abraham , Isaac , and Jacob , has appeared to you .” Exodus 4:2 - 5 GNT
When God called Moses and gave him an assignment to go to Egypt and lead the children of Israel out , he was hesitant . He was feeling inadequate and was convinced that he was not the right man for that kind of job . One of his major concerns was what would happen if the Israelites didn ' t believe that God had revealed Himself to him . At this point , God asked Moses what he was holding . Moses had something in his hand and it was just a simple walking stick or a staff . He was using this staff to take care of Jethro ' s sheep and goats . Yet it ' s this same staff that God used to perform miracles and wonders in Egypt . If you were to ask Moses , he would tell you that it ' s just a walking stick , what can it do ? But when God got involved , it became such a powerful instrument that Moses used in his entire calling and life to accomplish God ' s plans and purposes .
The Lord directed Elijah to go to the town of Zarephath and stay there . He had commanded a widow there to take care of him . When he found her , he asked for water and some bread . But she answered ;
“ By the living Lord your God I swear that I haven ' t got any bread . All I have is a handful of flour in a bowl and a drop of olive oil in a jar . I came here to gather some firewood to take back home and prepare what little I have for my son and me . That will be our last meal , and then we will starve to death ” ~ 1 Kings 17:12
Elijah told her not to worry about it for this is what the Lord , the God of Israel , says :
‘ the bowl will not run out of flour or the jar run out of oil before the day that I , the Lord , send rain .’
The widow did as Elijah instructed and all of them had enough food for many days . As the Lord had promised through Elijah , the bowl did not run out of flour nor did the jar run out of oil .
The widow of a member of a group of prophets went to Elisha and said , “ Sir , my husband has died ! As you know , he was a God-fearing man , but now a man he owed money to has come to take away my two sons as slaves in payment for my husband ' s debt .” Elisha asked her what she had at home and she answered , “ Nothing at all , except a small jar of olive oil .” He then instructed her to go to her neighbours and borrow as many empty jars as she can .
“ Then you and your sons go into the house , close the door and start pouring oil into the jars . Set each one aside as soon as it is full ” ~ 2 Kings 4:3- 4 .
She did as she was instructed until the last one was full . She went back to Elisha , the prophet , who said to her ,
“ Sell the olive oil and pay all your debts , and there will be enough money left over for you and your sons to live on ” ~ 2 Kings 4:7
A large crowd followed Jesus and when he looked around and saw that many were coming to him , he asked Phillip , “ Where can we buy enough food to feed all these people ?” Phillip answered , “ For everyone to have even a little , it would take more than two hundred silver coins to buy enough bread .” Another of his disciples , Andrew , who was Simon Peter ' s brother , said , “ There is a boy here who has five loaves of barley bread and two fish . But they will certainly not be enough for all these people ” ~ John 6:5-9 .
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