A man came from Baal Shalishah, bringing the man of God twenty loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain, along with some heads of new grain. “Give it to the people to eat,” Elisha said.
“How can I set this before a hundred men?” his servant asked.
But Elisha answered, “Give it to the people to eat. For this is what the LORD says: ‘They will eat and have some left over.’” Then he set it before them, and they ate and had some left over, according to the word of the LORD. (2 Kings 4:42-44)
Elisha, the “man of God” in this passage, had just returned to Gilgal where there was a famine had broken out (2 Kings 4:38). A man from Baal Shalishah graciously brought Elisha 20 loaves of barley bread baked from the first ripe grain of his harvest, along with some heads of new grain. In this story, we see that these two people demonstrated faith and obedience.
First, the man from Baal Shalishah displayed tremendous faith by offering the best of his produce his first ripe grain, not knowing if another harvest would follow after this batch. Second, Elisha obeyed God and did not withhold the bread for himself in spite of the famine. Instead, he trusted in God’s promise that there would be more than sufficient bread to feed for a hundred 100 men. And it was fulfilled according to the word of the Lord.
When my friend’s Mom learned that I was moving to the U.S., she said, “But the States are experiencing an economic downturn. It’ll be hard to find a job.” During my job search, I remember being close to getting one of the positions where I interviewed for. Though I didn’t receive an offer, in that experience, I felt God say to me, “Look, If I want you to have a job, I will make it happen.” So I waited on God. As I waited on Him, and as I thought about what I would do next, God placed in my heart a desire to work for a company that was missions-minded, and one that would be like a church.
After two years of waiting for a job opening, I was given the opportunity to join Presence, and God spoke to me in this time through the Scripture passage mentioned above. I was initially offered a volunteer position so I asked God to grant me the faith to serve without the possibility of an income. I said to God, if it was His will for me, I would be faithful and obedient. I declare God’s sovereignty in my life and desire to walk in step with Him, allowing Him to use me as His instrument for working miracles. In the process, I experienced once again that God is faithful as I became part of the staff, and not one pay period has been missed.
Everything we have belongs to God. God doesn’t actually need our portion, rather, He looks into our hearts. It is when we first take a step of faith in response to God that we may experience God firsthand.
Reflection Questions:
- What is God calling you to do that requires a step of faith?
- Do you trust that God will provide and that He is in control of your situation?
- Ask God for faith and to help you not be overwhelmed by your ‘famine-like’ situation, but be able to take the step of faith.
