1 Kings 17: 21 – 22 Then he stretched himself out on the boy three times and cried to the Lord, “O Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” The Lord heard Elijah’s cry, and the boy’s life returned to him and he lived.”

Scripture has a way of blowing my mind often. What about you? Let us look at 1 Kings 17, for example. In the opening verses we read that several circumstances had developed which were detrimental to the well-being of the Prophet Elijah and he had no solutions for them. He had dared to stand before King Ahab and call for a drought which would last for years. As a result he had to leave town, but God gave him specific instructions where to go and what to expect. When one source of sustenance dried up God provided another.

The effects of the drought he had predicted caught up with him as the brook from which he had been drinking dried up. The Lord sent him next to the home of a woman who had a situation: she had lost her husband, was dirt poor and was now a single parent to boot. Can you relate? What does your situation look like? Elijah showed up at her house while she was outside gathering firewood. He not only asked her for water but he said “and bring me, please, a piece of bread.” She confessed she had no bread but just enough flour and a little oil with which she would make a meal for herself and her son to eat and then die together. Elijah encouraged 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, then make something for yourself and your son.” Can you imagine her facial expression in that moment? But Elijah continued, “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 obeyed and, indeed, for a while she no longer had to worry about where their next meal would come from.

You would think her act of obedience would insulate her from any future trouble. But no, her next trial was greater – her son died. That’s so true to the way life is sometimes. But for the believer there is always hope in God, and we see that in this case God used another believer to bring relief. Follow the thread in both lives and you will see that it is God who was orchestrating every stage of this drama for his glory. That’s the whole point! It is all about God’s glory! Elijah had no capacity to raise the dead! That’s why he prayed “Lord my God, let this boy’s life return to him.”

“For it is the Lord God who determines who lives and who dies. And for those whom he determines life, he is able to restore health and vitality. Only he requires that faith in Him is displayed; that he be acknowledged to be the Eternal God who has the forces of life and death in his hands. God is righteous and men must learn that he is sovereign and dictates the outcome of events in their lives. For thus says the Lord, I will honor faith.”