Giving God First When You Feel Like You Have Nothing
Text: 1 Kings 17:7–16 — Elijah and the Widow at Zarephath
You know that feeling when you’re running on fumes—emotionally, financially, spiritually—and someone asks you for more?
That’s exactly where we meet the widow of Zarephath.
Her story is not just about generosity. It is about the kind of faith that looks impossible on paper and yet becomes a doorway into God’s provision—and ultimately, a picture of the gospel itself.
The Setting: A Famine Outside and a Famine Inside
Context
Israel is under judgment. A severe drought has come because of the nation’s idolatry under King Ahab. God sends Elijah, His prophet, first to the brook Cherith, and then—when the brook dries up—to a Gentile widow in Zarephath.
When Elijah meets her, she is gathering sticks. Not for a feast, but for a final meal.
She says:
“As surely as the Lord your God lives,” she replied, “I don’t have any bread—only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I am gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son, that we may eat it—and die.”
(1 Kings 17:12, NIV)
This is not drama.
This is desperation.
She has:
- A handful of flour
- A little oil
- A son to feed
- No visible future
The Shocking Ask: “Make Something for Me First”
Elijah responds:
“Don’t be afraid,” Elijah replied. “Go home and do as you have said. But first make a small loaf of bread for me from what you have and bring it to me, and then make something for yourself and your son. For this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says: ‘The jar of flour will not be used up and the jug of oil will not run dry until the day the Lord sends rain on the land.’”
(1 Kings 17:13–14, NIV)
Humanly speaking, this sounds insensitive—even cruel.
How could a man of God ask a starving widow to feed him first?
But Elijah is not asking without hope. He is pointing her to God’s promise.
The request is not:
“Give me your last.”
It is:
“Trust God with your first.”
The Heart of the Story: Trust, Not Surplus
The widow responds in faith:
“She went away and did as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her family. For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry, in keeping with the word of the Lord spoken by Elijah.”
(1 Kings 17:15–16, NIV)
She does not wait.
She does not negotiate.
She does not delay.
She gives from lack, not abundance.
Core Principle
Giving God first is not about how much you have.
It is about how much you trust.
She had little and gave first.
We often have much and give last.
God does not give her excess.
He gives her enough for each day.
Quiet. Faithful. Daily.
Like manna.
Like grace.
How This Story Points to the Gospel
This is more than a miracle.
It is a gospel picture.
1. A Desperate Situation We Cannot Fix
The widow is facing death. She has no resources.
So are we spiritually.
We are born into sin.
We cannot save ourselves.
Our efforts are not enough.
Her famine reflects our spiritual need.
2. God Sends a Messenger With a Promise
God sends Elijah.
In Christ, God sends more:
“In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets… but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son…”
(Hebrews 1:1–2, NIV)
Elijah brings provision.
Jesus brings salvation.
3. The Call to Trust Before You See
“Make something for me first” means trust before evidence.
The gospel says the same:
Believe before you see.
Trust before heaven.
Surrender before clarity.
Faith comes first.
4. Daily, Sustaining Grace
“The jar of flour was not used up…”
Not excess.
Not shortage.
Daily grace.
Jesus teaches:
“Give us today our daily bread.”
Dependence, not independence.
5. Life Comes Through Surrender
The widow thinks this is the end.
God makes it the beginning.
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
(Matthew 16:25, NIV)
Loss becomes life.
The cross looks like defeat.
It becomes victory.
Jesus and the Widow: God’s Heart for Outsiders
She is a Gentile.
Jesus says:
“There were many widows in Israel… yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath…”
(Luke 4:25–26, NIV)
God’s mercy reaches outsiders.
The gospel is for:
- The forgotten
- The overlooked
- The desperate
Personal Application: Where Is God Asking You to Trust Him First?
Ask yourself:
Where is God calling me to give Him “first” right now?
- Time
- Money
- Obedience
- Prayer
- Emotional energy
We often say:
“When I have more.”
God says:
“Trust Me now.”
Provision follows surrender.
How This Shapes How We See Jesus — Seeing Christ Through the Widow’s Story
• John 6:35
“Then Jesus declared, ‘I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.’”
(John 6:35, NIV)
Elijah asked for bread.
Jesus is the Bread.
• 1 Kings 17:16
“For the jar of flour was not used up and the jug of oil did not run dry…”
(1 Kings 17:16, NIV)
Her supply never failed.
Neither does His grace.
• John 1:16
“Out of his fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given.”
(John 1:16, NIV)
Grace upon grace.
Never empty.
• 1 Kings 17:12–13
“I don’t have any bread… that we may eat it—and die… ‘But first make a small loaf for me…’”
(1 Kings 17:12–13, NIV)
She gave her last.
• John 3:16
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…”
(John 3:16, NIV)
God gave His best first.
• John 10:27–28
“I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish…”
(John 10:27–28, NIV)
Trusting Christ sustains forever.
• Romans 8:32
“He who did not spare his own Son… how will he not also… graciously give us all things?”
(Romans 8:32, NIV)
The God who asks for your first
has already given His best.
Closing Reflection
This story is not about giving more.
It is about trusting deeper.
The widow trusted God with her last.
God entrusted her with life.
When we give Christ our first,
we discover He has already given us everything.