February 4 Daily Devotional

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 17:17–24

Bible Text:

"0 LORD my God, have you brought tragedy also upon this widow I am staying with ...?" (1 Kings 17:20).

Devotional:

The widow and her son lived happily and securely while Elijah stayed in the upper room of their house. They ate from an inexhaustible supply of flour and oil. But then disaster struck: The boy got sick, grew worse, and died.

The woman sensed immediately that her son's death was associated with Elijah's coming to her house. She feared Elijah's God, whose anger consumed his own people while Elijah sought refuge in her house. Daily she experienced the LORD'S power. Now she saw his holy anger.

Elijah too became frustrated. He cried to God, "Have you brought tragedy also upon this widow ...?" His cry implied other questions: Shouldn't this woman, who has believed the Word of God, be exempted from the general judgment? Must I always bring death and doom?

In his upper room, Elijah begged the LORD to return life to the woman's child, and the LORD answered his prophet's plea. Elijah carried the boy down to his mother. "Look, your son is alive!"

This is the first resurrection miracle in the Bible. God performed it for a woman of the Gentiles. The LORD dealt directly with the woman and her son. One might say that God provided flour and oil to keep Elijah alive and that the widow and her son were incidental. But God revealed his resurrection power to this woman. And she expressed a faith not found in Israel: "The word of the LORD from your mouth is the truth."

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.