1 Kings 17:17-18
After this the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became ill. And his illness was so severe that there was no breath left in him. 18 And she said to Elijah, “What have you against me, O man of God? You have come to me to bring my sin to remembrance and to cause the death of my son!”
The old man lost his horse. So begins a famous Chinese story. The man lost his horse and it returned with many other horses but he fell off one of them, breaking his leg…and so on. The point is that it illustrates that good or bad things in life are all up to the capricious whims of “fate” or “fortune”. It is famous; and false. Elijah had just facilitated the provident rescue of a starving widow and her son. Then the son died. It is beginning to sound like the Chinese story, except Elijah remained calm, faithful, and obedient to God’s calling to show God’s power.
In the end, the son was alive and the woman praised the God of Abraham for using Elijah. The key elements of seeing God’s power were faithfulness, obedience, and perseverance. Anyone can do that but, for so many in our little church, the third one, perseverance, can be the hardest. I am pleased to report that their perseverance is showing through in these trials and tribulations. There will be more but, unlike the Chinese story, we are not subject to the fickleness of chance but the beautiful and steadfast faithfulness of God. The new man found his Savior!
O Heavenly Father, you are in control of all things and your love and faithfulness are steadfast. May our faith in your promises help us persevere. In Jesus’ name. Amen.