February 3 Daily Devotional

February 3

Monthly Theme:

Elijah's name is his mission: "My God is the LORD." Elijah teaches us the meaning of repentance by the removal of idolatry. Unless we obey the Word, God's blessings don't descend. Instead, the land will experience a terrible drought.

Bible Reading:

1 Kings 17:7–16

Bible Text:

"The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry" (1 Kings 17:14).

Devotional:

When the brook dried up, the LORD said to Elijah, "Go at once to Zarephath of Sidon." That's the country from which Jezebel and her imported religion came.

"So he went to Zarephath." True servants obey God without ifs or buts.

At Zarephath Elijah saw a widow, the mother of one child, gathering wood to cook a final meal. She was the woman of God's choice. So Elijah asked her for water, and she granted his request. But when he asked her for food, she swore by Elijah's God that she had only enough food left to prepare one meal for herself and her son. After they ate it, she said, they would wait for death.

"Don't be afraid," Elijah said. Whenever God's messengers say that, they call their listeners to believe in the God they represent. But faith must be tested. First make a small loaf of bread for me, Elijah told the widow. Then you will experience the truth of God's Word: 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."

And she believed the Word!

We believe in God only when he is on top of our list. We seek his kingdom if we seek it first. We trust and honor God if we give him the firstfruits and the first income. If we don't do that, we still think we have to take care of ourselves. Then we don't really trust God. And we will never experience the great truth that God's supply lines never run dry.

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published in 1994. This edition is copyright by Faith Alive Christian Resources, from whom may be ordered Daylight, the predecessor of Twilight.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this edition of Twilight are from the New International Version

Be sure to read the "Preface" and the "Acknowledgments" by the author.