Nov 16 Devotion: A Respect For God

A Respect For God

1 Kings 17:10-16

So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. [11] And as she was going to fetch it , he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. [12] And she said, As the Lord thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. [13] And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. [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 sendeth rain upon the earth. [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 spake by Elijah.

I’m sure we all know the story here and how the barrel never ran out! There are so many things we could look at here. Today I want us to focus on why this lady did what Elijah had told her. She had respect for not only the man of God, but also the things of God. What about us today? How much do we respect the things of God?

– God’s man

She listened to what Elijah told her to do because she had a respect for the man of God. Whether it be our pastor, or someone called to preach, how much of our respect do they get? Do we follow the instructions they gave us from the pulpit included in the message from God? Do we reverence them and talk to them with respect, or do we treat them like they are just another guy?

-God’s Word

Scripture tells us that we are to study, and it tells us that all scripture is profitable, but do we treat it as such? How often do we spend studying God‘s word? How often is it the first place that we turn when faced with hard times? Do we treat it with the respect that it deserves, or is it just another book that gathers dust in our house? If we have a favorite author who comes out with a new book we will jump at the chance to purchase it and read it. Why then is reading God’s Word such a burden?

-God’s house

The sanctuary is to be God‘s house not our house. We come into the sanctuary at times expecting the same comfort that we enjoy at home. We will bring food and drink in, and leave our crumbs or trash lying around. We don’t give a second thought to our worldly conversation that we will carry on inside. I wonder at times if we was to go into someone else’s living room would we show it more respect than we do in the sanctuary at the church house.

This woman was about to prepare her last meal and her and her son were going to eat and die. Not only did that not take place then at that moment, but she was blessed with a barrel that always supplied. All she did was believe in the Word that God had sent to her thru Elijah and the respect she showed for the things of God.

How much respect do you show the things of God?

God bless you today!

Bro. Josh Richardson