Do not be afraid, says the Lord!

1 Kings 17:  13  -  “Do not be afraid."

So more than one angel in Scripture said when they encountered people, because the presence of an angel must be a terrifying experience for mere humans like us.

“Do not be afraid.” So also said Elijah, a messenger of God, well known for his doom announcements. Indeed, Elijah’s message to the sinful leaders of Israel was usually the opposite of what he said that day to a poor widow. He was known to say to these leaders: “Be afraid! Be very afraid!”  Ahab the King, in the next chapter, did not call him, “you troubler of Israel” for nothing.

So it is surprising that when Elijah said, “Do not be afraid,”  it was not to the Israelites  suffering from a drought that he prophesied, but to an unnamed widow of Zarephath who was not from the people of God!

Easy for you to say, she might have thought. You are not the one preparing to cook one last meal for yourself and your son before you die. You are not the one who has watched your beloved little boy slowly grow thinner.  Drought and famine have no mercy.

The widow of Zarephath spoke of the fear that is the result of scarcity.  Yet the prophet of God spoke of abundance.   And he did this because he took the Word of God seriously -

“Do not be afraid … For thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: The jar of meal will not be emptied and the jug of oil will not fail until the day that the LORD sends rain on the earth” (17:13, 14).

Elijah spoke a word of promise, a word of abundance, because God promised that abundance to him, to the widow and to her little boy:  “There is enough, more than enough.”

The word of God freed the widow from her fear and enabled her to step out in faith, trusting the God of Israel who sent his Word to her.

Out of faith the widow submitted. And God did not let her down. She was miraculously fed. Every day the widow saw the power of God at work in her home.  The miracle was a sign that the Almighty God was present in the widow's home with his protecting hand. Every day that she was fed was proof of a divine protection that went beyond all human power.  The widow was secure in the shadow of the Almighty and in the Word of his promise.

Given to us in the power of the risen Christ – receive the Word of God today:

Do not be afraid. God has enough, more than enough, to free you from your fears and provide for all your needs.

He has more than enough love, grace and power!

Take him on his Word today:  Do not be afraid!