The widow of Zarephath teaches us several lessons.
One of these is that God can use the people you least expect to bless you and even save your life.
We see this from the fact that there was a drought in the land and the Brook Cherith from which Elijah had been drinking dried up.
God then told him, "Go to Zarephath because I have commanded a widow who lives there to provide for you." (1 Kings 17:9)
When Elijah arrived at Zarephath, he found a widow gathering sticks at the gate of the city. (1 Kings 17:10)
He asked her for water and bread and her response was that she just had a handful of flour in a bin and a little oil in a jar which she was going to use to prepare a meal for her son and herself so that they could eat it and die. (1 Kings 17:12)
Her response may have surprised a person who did not know the power of God because they would have expected God to send Elijah to a rich widow with so much food that she was even taking milk and honey baths.
However, understand that God can use anyone and even anything to solve your problems because prior to being sent to the widow He was using ravens to bring Elijah bread and meat twice a day. (1 Kings 17:6)
So if God sends you somewhere to get your problems solved, and on arrival you look around and wonder how your (food, money, etc) problems can be solved by people who cannot even solve their own (food, money, etc) problems, understand that they are not your solution.
Know that God is the solution to your problems and that He will work through them to solve your problems.
Then, combine your knowing with believing that God is able to do exceedingly and abundantly more than we can ever ask of think (Ephesians 3:20) and wait for Him.
We know that God did do exceedingly above what this widow thought because that Bin of flour was not used up and the jar of oil did not dry up according to God's word which He spoke through Elijah (1 Kings 17:16) even though she used it to feed Elijah, her son and herself.
Click on the link to read 1 Kings 17 Bible Study: The Widow of Zarephath and Elijah part 1
Click on the link to read 1 Kings 17 Bible Study: The Widow of Zarephath and Elijah part 2
Click on the link to read 1 Kings 17 Bible Study: The Widow of Zarephath and Elijah part 3
Click on the link to read 1 Kings 17 Bible Study: The Widow of Zarephath and Elijah part 4
