Missed Blessings (Part 2)

After years with no rain, the brook by which Elijah had been living had dried up. There was no longer any water to drink and the ravens were no longer bringing meat for the prophet to eat. God instructed Elijah to move along…and so he did.

When he arrived in town, Elijah found a poor widow woman preparing the last meal that she and her son were ever going to eat. She and her son were going to enjoy one last meal and then they were fully prepared to sit down and starve to death. When Elijah found this woman, he apparently had an appetite because he instructed her to prepare the meal for him rather than for her son.

By any reasoning, the woman should have refused. Who was this man to ask her to sacrifice the food that belonged to her starving son? And yet, for some reason she decides to oblige and prepare the food for Elijah. She refused to make her decision based on her circumstances. She simply did what she believed was right.

As a result of her decision to honor the man of God, we know that the needs of the widow woman were always met. She and her son never did starve. Every day there was enough food to provide for them for one more day. Can you imagine the monumental blessings that she would have missed had she not obeyed the man of God? I am afraid that if it had been you or I, we probably would have starved to death long ago!


A few months ago, a student at the college that I just graduated from was expelled for possessing an alcoholic beverage. He then went on to run away with another young lady from the college. They began drinking together, sleeping together, and doing several other things together that are very ungodly.

People from the church begged them to turn away from their sin and to give their lives back to Christ. Christ would have gladly taken them back into His blessed arms of fellowship and love. Instead, however, they only moved further into their sin.

She soon became pregnant and they began to plan a family together. They were probably quite excited about the prospect of being parents. That is, of course, until yesterday.

On January 1, 2007, the dawn of a beautiful new year, their lives were changed forever. On the road in front of a school in Kentucky, this young man was involved in a tragic car accident. Two vehicles collided resulting in the deaths of each of the drivers. This young man was one of those two drivers. You can select the image on the left to read the article and watch a news clip about the accident.

Fortunately, the young lady was not in the vehicle at the time. Her life was spared…but left in a catastrophe. She is now pregnant and the father of her child is dead. She will be forced to raise the child as a single mother. How sad.

Of course, our hearts break. I had worked on a bus route with this young man during my time at the college. I had been in the same classes as these two young people. I had brushed past both of them every day that I attended college. I knew them and their situation very personally. How can we even begin to imagine the pain that she is experiencing at this time? How can we begin to understand the heartache that this young lady now posesses? I am, however, forced to wonder if it might have been avoided had they been giving their hearts to Christ.

I do not believe for one moment that Christ desired for this to happen to them. I believe, based on the Word of God, that he would have happily placed his arm of protection around them. I believe, however, that he was limited from doing so by their lifestyle of rebellion. I can almost hear God echoing the words of the 81st Psalm, “Oh that my people had hearkened unto me…”