Evening, February 28
Go To Morning Reading
“The barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail,
according to the word of the Lord, which he spake by Elijah.”
1 Kings 17:16
See the faithfulness of divine love. You observe that this woman had
daily necessities. She had herself and her son to feed in a time of
famine; and now, in addition, the prophet Elijah was to be fed too.
But though the need was threefold, yet the supply of meal wasted not,
for she had a constant supply . Each day she made calls upon the barrel, but yet each day it remained
the same. You, dear reader, have daily necessities, and because they
come so frequently, you are apt to fear that the barrel of meal will
one day be empty, and the cruse of oil will fail you. Rest assured
that, according to the Word of God, this shall not be the case. Each
day, though it bring its trouble, shall bring its help; and though
you should live to outnumber the years of Methuselah, and though your
needs should be as many as the sands of the seashore, yet shall God’s grace and mercy last through all your necessities, and you shall
never know a real lack. For three long years, in this widow’s days, the heavens never saw a cloud, and the stars never wept a
holy tear of dew upon the wicked earth: famine, and desolation, and
death, made the land a howling wilderness, but this woman never was
hungry, but always joyful in abundance. So shall it be with you. You
shall see the sinner’s hope perish, for he trusts his native strength; you shall see the
proud Pharisee’s confidence totter, for he builds his hope upon the sand; you shall
see even your own schemes blasted and withered, but you yourself shall
find that your place of defence shall be the munition of rocks: “Your bread shall be given you, and your water shall be sure.” Better have God for your guardian, than the Bank of England for your
possession. You might spend the wealth of the Indies, but the infinite
riches of God you can never exhaust.