Just as he entered the gate of the city, Elijah encountered the Widow of Zarephath whom God had commanded to care for his needs. However, the Widow, who was gathering sticks to prepare her last meal on earth for herself and her son, did not seem eager to inquire about the concerns of this stranger. Elijah must have thought to himself: Was this the right person? Would she be faithful? What would be the consequences for him if this woman chose to be disobedient? The man of God soon put her to the test by setting before her a simple task.

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Elijah’s first request seemed easy enough to comply with. Though the land of Israel had been ravaged by a punishing drought, the land of Sidon did not seem to be experiencing the same conditions. Therefore, the Widow did not hesitate to respond postively to an appeal for a cup of water. That would be easy enough. But just as she turned to comply, Elijah upped the ante and asked for something that seemed so small, but would require everything she had.

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Elijah asked for just a small bite of bread and added a phrase that made it personal: “in your hand.” Elijah asked her to literally be “hands on.” Direct action would be required on her part. She couldn’t “just mail it in.” The hands that had once held those of her husband, that caressed her beloved child, that had done so many mindless tasks daily, that were fixing to prepare the last meal she would ever have on earth, were now to be used for a different purpose: to hand over all that she had in service to the God of Elijah. She was being asked to give everything and with no holding back.

 

The Widow knew what was “in her hand.” It’s all she had thought about for days. She had saved and rationed and carefully doled out what little she had at hand for what must have seemed forever. And as she had watched her meager supply dwindle, she knew that it would never be enough. This seemingly simple thing Elijah was asking of her was impossible! Should she be obedient and comply? Or should she turn in understandable anger and frustration and unleash upon Elijah the truth about just how little was in her hands?

 

But God had already taken her inventory – and what she had was more than enough to meet her own needs as well as the needs of others around her. It only required that the little she had be used in the proper order and manner.

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So, what’s in your hands? Perhaps, like a small shepherd boy, there are only five smooth stones. Yet they are enough to topple a giant. Perhaps, like another young boy, there are only five loaves and two fishes. Yet they are more than enough to feed thousands. Perhaps it is just a shepherd’s staff. Yet it can be used by God to free thousands from bondage. Perhaps it is the jawbone of a donkey. Yet it is enough to slay the enemies of God. Because it’s not about the particular object that is in our hands. It’s about the willingness to hand over that object to serve its divine purpose.

 

As Ecclesiastes 9:10 instructs us: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.” (KJV) All we are going to do for the Lord, we will have to do in this short life. There is no time to waste. There is no time to question or argue or doubt or give excuses. There is no one else who can follow God’s Will for our lives. It is up to us to use what God has placed in our own hands. And it is literally now or never. The result is His, but the decision to be obedient is ours.

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We want to do great things, but we feel so small and inadequate. But the way we use the small things is a test to see if we can be entrusted with the bigger things. So, what’s in your hands? Are you willing to use those hands to work God’s will for your life?