“Make me thereof a little cake first.”
1 Kings 17:13
Perhaps you are familiar with the story of Elijah and how the Lord sent him to the widow of Zarephath. There was a terrible drought in the land, and everyone was starving. This widowed mother was down to her last pinch of meal and drop of oil. Most of us don’t have any idea what those extremities feel like. Elijah told the widow to make him a cake first, before preparing for her starving boy. She had to grasp in faith that the oil and meal would not fail, as promised.
Let’s never look after ourselves first and then give the Lord the “second cake.” We can learn practical lessons from this. We can rise early enough that we have time to meet the Lord of glory before we begin our day. We can forego a pleasure to visit someone who is in need of encouragement or the gospel. And our children can learn the joy of giving up their own bedroom to a visitor, including Grandma. (We who benefit from this kind of sharing can leave a small treat at the bedside to show we noticed and were thankful.)