Super Hero Mom

Alright moms… don’t be shy… I need all moms in the house to stand so we can recognize you with applause and thanksgiving! Church… will you help me say thank you to all the moms in the house and watching online today?

I can honestly say this morning… I DO NOT KNOW HOW YOU DO IT!

We had fun playing a game that gave us a glimpse of what a moment as mom might look like. I think I’m going to need to get some of these guys a spa day and some aroma therapy candles to help them wind down a bit...

The video highlighted some more of mom’s super hero abilities that seem to never stop… no matter how crazy a day might be, busy a season might be, or jumbled up a schedule might be. Moms just seem like they have the ability… to do it all!

We’ve laughed this morning and we have shared a fun moment together… but we know that life isn’t all fun and games. We know that what moms do is serious stuff.

You do FAR more than just manage a house or organize a schedule.

You care for… nurture… guide… hold… love on… educate… and prepare your family for what they might experience in the minutes and hours to come each and every day.

What you do is amazing… and we are thankful for your hard work.

But this morning we are going to shift gears just a bit… I want us to look at a passage of Scripture today that isn’t very happy to begin with. It isn’t a moment in mom life that one of the characters in the story was looking for… nor did she have an answer for.

Imagine for a moment… not having anything left to give. Imagine for a moment… that all your resources had dried up. Imagine for a moment that a drought came to the land and decimated everything. No more food. No more means of growing any more food. No more finances to go out and to buy any more food.

And while these physical resources are very important for the well-being of any household… there were other “resources” that had dried up in the drought as well. Resources like… hope, peace, and assurance had all but dried up.

Now, I cannot imagine what it would feel like to go to a cabinet to see only but enough resource to make one last meal for my family… knowing there was NOTHING i could do to replenish that resource. I imagine, our hope might have looked like the mother’s hope, who was also a widow, in 1 Kings 17:12. She was gathering a few stick to take home to make a final meal for herself and her son… “that we may it it - and die.”

That was it. She was finished. There was nothing else she could do. She was spent… her resources were spent. No rain had come. The brook was dried up. She had nothing left to give.

And this might seem like a strange direction to take this Mother’s Day… but God laid this passage on my heart and I couldn’t shake it. Moms… we see all that you do and in no way are we questioning your super hero like abilities… we see what is going on on the outside… but only God can see what is going on on the inside. And he wants you to know that He sees you.

God sees you in the emotional struggle. God sees you when you have little to nothing left to give. God sees you in the fight, in the battle each and every day. He knows your weariness… He knows your concerns. And yes… our world gives us much to be concerned about.

Moms… maybe you are listening today and you can relate to the position the widow found herself in… nothing left to give… tired… and ready to give up. The weight of this season is real. The hopelessness of this world is real. The emotional toll it takes on your soul and Spirit is real. But never forget something today… the everlasting power of our God is real and He wants to give you a new hope today!

Moms, dads, everyone in this room… I want you to hear my words and take them to heart. Yes… you might find yourself living in what you would describe as a season of drought. you might be going through a dry spell today… but God is in this place and He is ready to renew and refresh not just a part of you… but ALL of you with His Word, Spirit, and love.

This morning there is one point for us to consider before we move to a time of prayer. We will be looking at 1 Kings and I want you to see the one thing that turned the mother’s situation completely around. The widow… did something remarkable. She gave all that she had to give… to God.

Give ALL to God.

The prophet Elijah was traveling as the Lord commanded him to go. God instructed him to go to Zarephath where he would meet a widow who would supply him with food… the SAME widow who had nothing left to give.

1 Kings 17:7–16 NIV

7 Some time later the brook dried up because there had been no rain in the land. 8 Then the word of the Lord came to him: 9 “Go at once to Zarephath in the region of Sidon and stay there. I have directed a widow there to supply you with food.” 10 So he went to Zarephath. When he came to the town gate, a widow was there gathering sticks. He called to her and asked, “Would you bring me a little water in a jar so I may have a drink?” 11 As she was going to get it, he called, “And bring me, please, a piece of bread.” 12 “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.” 13 Elijah said to her, “Don’t be afraid. 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. 14 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.’ ” 15 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. 16 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.

This is truly an amazing story and I want us to pay close attention to some of the amazing details. The mother’s situation is turned completely around… but not before she made the choice to give everything she had… to God.

The first thing I want you to see is that the encounter is NOT an accident. God sent Elijah to this place. This encounter was orchestrated by God.

God saw the need of both Elijah and the the mother. God’s answer to this need would be nothing less than miraculous. But consider this… the miracle happened on the heels of both the widow and Elijah responding to the Given Word of God.

God has given us His Word as a resource that WILL NEVER run dry. No matter what season of life you might find yourself in today, HIS WORD CAN AND WILL SUSTAIN YOU. His Word will guide and direct you. His Word will give you the strength you need to take the next step… when the next step feels impossible.

The Bible is far more than a self-help book or a motivational poster, the Word is truth. The Word brings life. The Word gives us strength to stand. Church… when all else fails… the Word WILL NOT FAIL.

Elijah found himself before a widow who had but just enough to feed herself and her son one last time. How could she care for his needs as well? Could Elijah really receive food that would literally take food off the table for either the widow or her son?

The widow found herself before Elijah… before one that was asking for food and provision. She knew her situation well. If she gave, either herself or her son would have NOTHING. Could the widow choose between having enough food for her family or feeding Elijah?

Verse 13 reveals the key.

First, the Word that is given speaks to the fear she was feeling. God, through Elijah meets her emotional need.

Second, the Word that is given speaks to the lack they were experiencing. God, through Elijah gives her hope.

The Word was delivered… but before the miracle could happen… the Word would have to be recieved. The mother would have to act, in faith, on what the Lord had instructed her to do.

The second detail to see is the mother is no longer acting in hopelessness or fear… she is now acting by faith ACCORDING to the Word that was given.

She takes what she has AND DOES WHAT THE LORD SAYS TO DO. Verse 15 says, “She went away and did as Elijah had told her.” Her faith in the Word led her to act against the hopelessness and fear she had been feeling.

She had very little left to give… and instead of doing what she thought she knew to do with what was left… she gave all that she had back to God.

Maybe you’ve been doing all you know to do to get by. Maybe you have been struggling, working hard, stretching resources, spending your energy with very little to show for your efforts. Maybe in your weariness you’ve lost hope. Maybe you have struggled to keep going.

Listen to me carefully this morning and hear the Word of God. Your breakthrough will NOT result from running yourself ragged and doing all that you can do. Your breakthrough will come when you decide to give all that you are back to the Lord.

Your breakthrough will come when you say to God, “Lord, I know I can’t… but I know YOU can!”

Faith is MORE than a thought or good intention. Faith requires action. Faith requires resolve enough to do… to act… to obey what God leads you to do.

By faith, the mother took action ACCORDING to the Word that was given to her and because of her faith… God turned her situation around.

The third detail to notice comes from verse 16. 1 Kings 17:16

1 Kings 17:16 NIV

16 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.

God delivered. Did you hear me today? God delivered! God did EXACTLY what had been promised. After she gave by faith, God delivered by miracle.

The mother’s hope had been restored. Her resources had been replenished. her situation had been COMPLETELY turned around. And take notice… her circumstance had not changed… the drought continued… but her dry spell had been transformed.

And if you keep reading, God delivers for her again. But the key in her continued deliverance is her continued faith in the Lord.

Her mom super powers had met their match. Her ability to overcome… was overwhelmed. But God saw her in this time of need and provided for her as only He could.

The jar did NOT run empty. The oil did NOT run dry. God sustained her and her family through the season of drought.

Closing

I don’t know what kind of season you might find yourself in today. I don’t know your level of hope… your level of peace… your level of assurance. I don’t know if you’re tired… if you’re weary… or if you can take another step.

Your circumstance may be heavy. Your ability to overcome might be failing. You’ve tried and you’ve tried and you’ve tried… and you’re tired.

You were not meant to carry this load on your own. You were not meant to face the difficulties of the day by yourself. GOD IS WITH YOU. God WILL sustain you. God wants to fill you with new hope, assurance and strength today.

He has given you His Word that you might hear His promise. He has given you His Word that you might find new strength and hope in Him. but you have to believe His Word to the point that you are willing to act on His Word. You have to be willing… to give Him everything.

In our story, the widow gave everything she had in obedience to the Word of God in hopes that a new door of provision would open.

God isn’t asking for your flour and oil today… He is asking for your heart. He gave ALL that He had to give through Jesus to deliver us from the hopelessness and despair of sin. Jesus gave it all that we might have the opportunity to have life more abundantly.

Through His giving… we have hope. Through His giving… we find peace. Through His giving we have assurance. Through His giving, we find breakthrough.

In response to what Jesus has done… are you willing to give all back to Him? More than your resources… your heart, your family, your emotions, your strength, your weaknesses, your struggles… ALL that you are?

God desires to refill and renew you today. God wants to transform you today. He wants to move you from a position of drought to a position of fullness and peace. If you need God to touch you in this way… it’s time to respond to His Word.

Take the step of faith. Call upon His name. Give everything to God right now.

PRAYER