1 Kings 17:8-24

            {Prayer}

            Have you ever been driving and seen the low fuel light come on? For some of us, it happens more than we’d care to admit.

            I will admit, I’ve had the light come on a few times. But with our newer vehicles that tell us how far we can go before we run out, sometimes the running low on fuel is strategic. Back before cars told us exactly how far we could go, I was driving in northwest Ohio in the middle of the night with the fuel needle solidly on “E.” To top this off, there were no lights of oncoming traffic or any signs that there was a town ahead. Needless to say, I was a bit anxious. Thoughts of “how far is the next town?” “Am I going to make it?” “Does the next town even have a gas station?” “Will it be open?” “What am I going to do if I run out of gas?”

            When we’re running low, whether in our cars or in our lives, it’s a signal, a reminder that we need something beyond ourselves to keep going. Just like a car can’t keep going without fuel, we can’t endure life’s hardships on our own strength.

When we are spiritually running on “E”, we may feel as if we are just going through the motions of worship and struggle to find meaning or joy. Or maybe doubts begin to creep into our minds leaving us questioning where God is when we’re running on fumes.

Emotionally running on “E”, we feel overwhelmed, anxious, or alone. We’ve pushed forward as long and as hard as we can, but it feels like we’re not getting anywhere. We push on though, hoping and praying that we don’t run out run out of gas.

            The drought-stricken widow of our Old Testament reading was running on empty. She was out of food, she had nothing to hope for, and she was out of options. Elijah meets her at the town gate as she is gathering some sticks. He asks her for some water to drink. As she is leaving to get the water, Elijah kindly asks her for a piece of bread as well.

            At this, the widow stops, turns around, and says, “As surely as the LORD your God lives, I don’t have any bread – only a handful of flour in a jar and a little oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it – and die” (1 Kings 17:12). This widow is running on fumes and knows that she, and her son, aren’t going to make it much longer before the tank totally runs out.

            Now try to imagine this. We live in the land of plenty. Even in our hardest, our roughest times … we may be running low, we may be close to running on “E”, but there is still a little bit left in the tank to keep us going. And if there isn’t much to supplement what we have on our own, there are resources available to us to help make sure the tank doesn’t run totally dry. This widow in our reading, she is living in the midst of a drought. And not just any drought, it hasn’t rained in 3 years!!! She has gone through absolutely everything she has. There is nothing left. There is no welfare system, no food stamps, no local church to help her out. Her life needle is solidly resting on “E.”

            And what is Elijah’s response to her saying that she doesn’t have anything and that her and her son are going to eat their final meal? “Don’t be afraid.” That’s easy for him to say, he’s had something to eat recently! He’s been provided for throughout this drought! “Don’t be afraid!” Didn’t he hear the part where this woman said she is about to make her final meal for her and her son? “Don’t be afraid. Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small cake of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son” (1 Kings 17:13). The audacity of Elijah! This woman is rolling into the gas station on fumes and what little bit the station has, Elijah wants for himself. Really? And if this isn’t bad enough, Elijah isn’t done yet. He goes on to say, “For this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the LORD gives rain on the land’” (17:14).

            Wait a minute. What did he say? Even though it seems that Elijah is being selfish, Elijah is really testing her faith. And how did the widow respond? She went home and she did exactly what Elijah had said. She made the small cake for him and she and her son were still able to eat. And not just eat Elijah’s scraps but eat and be filled up. They were filled up and continued to live, for the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry (17:16).

            This widow showed a tremendous amount of faith. A tremendous amount of faith in the words that Elijah spoke from God. And while we have heard this before in other accounts throughout Scripture, the thing to remember here is that this widow … she is living in enemy territory. Elijah is in a land where the people are considered foreigners to God’s chosen people. And while she is a foreigner to God’s chosen people … she and her son are not strangers to God. Despite who they are, God still provided for their physical needs.

            In the Lord’s Prayer we pray, “Give us this day our daily bread.” Luther’s explanation to this petition reminds us that “God certainly gives daily bread to everyone without our prayers”, revealing His boundless grace and generosity to all, whether they know Him or not. Daily bread includes “everything that has to do with the support and needs of the body,” showing us that God provides for us physically.

             God also provides for us spiritually. Just when it seemed that the woman’s faith had sustained her in the miracle of the flour and oil, a deeper crisis struck. The woman’s son fell ill and died, intensifying her despair and rocking her faith. Crying out she said, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?” (17:17-18). It’s a fair complaint from a terrible situation. All the woman can see in the death of her son is the judgment of God. Elijah looks at her and says, “Give me your son” (17:19).

            Elijah then takes her son and hides him away in the upper room where he was staying. Elijah cries out to God, stretching himself over the boy three times as if to cover his living body over and against this dead son. Elijah begs God in the midst of death for life. “O LORD my God, let this boy’s life return to him!” (17:21). God hears the prayer and answers it by returning life to the boy. Elijah comes out of that room and reveals the boy to his mother. Elijah went away with her dead son and now he comes back with her resurrected son.

            Through the resurrection of her son, this woman’s spiritual tank is refueled as she says, “Now I know that you are a man of God and the word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth” (17:24). This woman, this foreigner, through this miracle she truly knows that God’s Word is true and that God is true. She believes, not because the jar of flour or the jug of oil never ran out, but because of the resurrection of her son. This is what true faith looks like. And it comes not on account of Elijah or this widow’s raised son, but as a product of something that only God can do.

            Just as we refuel our vehicles … God provides for our needs. Sometimes it isn’t a lot … but it’s enough to keep us going. God also provides for our spiritual needs. Just as a car can’t run on an empty tank, God refuels our souls through His Word, prayer, and the Sacraments, sustaining us spiritually when we feel low. So like a gas station in a remote place, like the one I found that one night, God provides us with a spiritual lifeline.

            Elijah was the widow’s lifeline, bringing God’s Word to her in her darkest moment. In the same way, Christ meets us in our own valleys, where we are physically, spiritually, and emotionally drained, and renews us with His compassion. As we look up from our emptiness, like the psalmist, we can say, “My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth” (Psalm 121:2). Through Christ alone, we are refueled by His grace, mercy, and the promises that He will never leave us.

            Refueled in Christ, we’re called to help others running on “E,” by bringing them God’s hope as Elijah did. Each of us has the opportunity to share God’s love and encouragement with those around us who feel empty or drained. Simple gestures … checking in, praying together, or just being present … can be the fuel someone needs to keep going. The list of things you can do is endless. And you can do it, you can because God never lets His people truly run dry.

Even when we feel empty, God’s refueling grace is always available to us. We don’t journey alone. We travel in His strength, constantly renewed by His love, grace, and never-ending presence. Amen.

            The peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord, now and forever. Amen.