Faithful In Times of Adversity. Part [11] 09/15/2025 (Morning thought)

1st Kings 17:15 And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. 16 And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the Lord, which he spoke by Elijah.

Again, because we are living at a time of increasing adversity and financial hardship, there will be strong temptations to withhold that which belongs to God and His cause. Poverty, and desperation should not drive the Christian to deviate from principle, for if we do we become the sport of circumstances. In the New Testament there was another widow who also decided to be faithful in times of adversity.

Like the widow in Elijah’s day, she too had been in a bare-bones situation, and as she got dressed to go to church, she realized that all she had remaining was two mites. The logical thing to do may seem to be her keeping her pennies and trying to stretch them ever so far. But logic and common sense are often the diabolical enemies of faith, and so she takes her two mites to church in obedience to the command of God.

What follows next is worthy of note, because God does not assess situations and motives the way we do. Being faithful is not so much about quantity, as it is about quality, for God loves and approves of the cheerful giver…. Luke 21:1 And he looked up, and saw the rich men casting their gifts into the treasury. 2 And he saw also a certain poor widow casting in thither two mites.

Luke 21:3 And he said, of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow hath cast in more than they all.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!

Faithful In Times of Adversity. Part [10] 09/15/2025 (Evening thought)

1st Kings 17:14 For thus saith the Lord God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.

Malachi 3:10 Bring ye all the tithes into the store- house, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it…. Haggai 1: 7 Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Consider your ways. 8 Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build the house; and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified, saith the Lord.

Haggai 2: 18 Consider now from this day and upward, from the four and twentieth day of the ninth month, even from the day that the foundation of the Lord's temple was laid, consider it….. [Education pp 126] Every command is a promise…. [MB pp 76] In every command or injunction that God gives there is a promise, the most positive, underlying the command.

Apparently, it always comes down to whether or not persons will believe God. This seems to be the crux of the problem, for God does not ask us to return to Him that which is His, without giving us the backing of His promises. And so said, so done, for after the widow woman Obeyed the command, after she made a deliberate choice to put God, and the interests of His kingdom first, the sacred record tells us that everyone in her household was well fed.

Haggai 2:19 Is the seed yet in the barn? yea, as yet the vine, and the fig tree, and the pomegranate, and the olive tree, hath not brought forth: from this day will I bless you.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!