"God Can Add"

Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Matthew 6:31-33

Putting God first. A principle that we all, as Christians, know is our ultimate hearts desire, but in the realities of our day to day life it is often challenged. I ran across the word 'first' while reading this morning and realized that it was tied up with someone who was setting the perfect example at putting God first and Him adding 'all these things' back to her.

We find this perfect example in the book of First Kings, chapter seventeen, verses eight through sixteen. This is where we find a widow who has reason to worry about food and drink. She has enough for one more meal. She knows that there is only enough for her and her son to eat one more time. She is gathering sticks so that she can prepare it when Elijah comes along and asks her to bring him a cup of water. As she sets her task aside to bring him the water, he also calls to her and asks for a 'morsel of bread.' How many of us would set the worries of our day aside long enough to fetch someone a cup of water? I love that she was willing to do that.

Her response to the request for the 'morsel of bread' also tells us the weight of her concern. "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread, only a hand full of flour in a bin, and a little oil in a jar; and see, I am gathering a couple of sticks that I may go and prepare it for myself and my son, that we may eat it, and die." Her words tell us that she knew how little she had left and that she knew she had no way of getting more. She felt like there was no way to provide more for her son.

Talk about putting God first! Personally I know that my first words in response to his request for bread would have been, "I don't have any! I have just enough for one more meal."  Did you see the difference? Her first words, "As the Lord your God lives, I do not have bread," In today's words we would say, "God knows, I don't have any bread." Her first words in response to Elijah's request acknowledged that God knew her situation.

Next Elijah tells her to not fear and to go and prepare him a small cake first and afterward to go make some for herself and her son.  Again she does as she is asked and puts serving the man of God first. I have always thought of this in terms of, she prepared it and gave him the first portion, but that isn't what happened. She went and used her flour and oil, prepared his first, fed him, and second, went back to fix for herself and her son. Why would she do it this way just because Elijah said to? She did it this way because she trusted in the word of God that Elijah spoke.

Along with his instructions He also said, "For thus says the Lord God of Israel: 'The bin of flour shall not be used up, nor shall the jar of oil run dry, until the day the Lord sends rain on the earth." Following Elijah's instructions was based on trusting in the Lord her God and the words that He spoke to her. She had put Him first in words and deeds and He kept adding back to her.

You and I need to remember His words to us are: "For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.