Ten Minute Bible Talks Devotional Bible Study - Why You Should Trust God | Historical Books | 1 Kings 17:8-16

Episode Date: September 9, 2025

Are you desperate? Where do you turn when life feels hopeless? Why should you keep trusting God? In today's episode, Tanya shares how 1 Kings 17:8-16 reminds us that God's promises remain true and his presence remains certain. If you're listening on Spotify, tell us about yourself and where you're listening from! Read the Bible with us in 2025! This year, we’re exploring the Historical Books—Joshua, Judges, 1 & 2 Samuel, and 1 & 2 Kings. Download your reading plan now. Your support makes TMBT possible. Ten Minute Bible Talks is a crowd-funded project. Join the TMBTeam to reach more people with the Bible. Give now. Like this content? Make sure to leave us a rating and share it so that others can find it, too. Use #asktmbt to connect with us, ask questions, and suggest topics. We'd love to hear from you! To learn more, visit our website and follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter @TenMinuteBibleTalks. Don't forget to subscribe to the TMBT Newsletter here. Passages: 1 Kings 17:8-16

Welcome to 10-minute Bible Talks, where we connect the Bible to your life. In the time it takes to get to work. I'm Tanya Wilmuth. Hi, friends. Today we're still in First Kings. Today we're in Chapter 17. And this is actually a story that I can remember from my childhood. My grandparents had a Bible story book on the shelf in their living room, and my grandpa would read the story to me. So this brings back some really great memories. I'm excited to share it with you today. But before we get into it, first I just want to ask a question.

Is there a situation in your life that feels like? hopeless. Maybe it's something that you just can't see the way out of, or maybe you can actually see it, but you know that the road ahead is going to get harder before it gets easier if it ever does. In moments like that, the question comes, why should you trust God in this situation? Why should you keep trusting him with your time, with your thoughts, with your faith, when the future feels so uncertain? That is the question at the heart of 1st King 17. In this chapter, God provides for Elijah in ways, no one would expect. First, he uses ravens, birds that were considered unclean, to bring food to the prophet. And then when the brook dried up and the ravens had to leave, God sent him to a poor widow.

She wasn't wealthy. She wasn't powerful. She wasn't even an Israelite. She was a foreigner from Jezebel's homeland, but she was the one God chose to care for Elijah. God's help often comes from unexpected places. When Elijah arrived at the town gate where the widow lived, he found the widow gathering sticks. So he asked her for a little water and then for a piece of bread. Her response to Elijah tells us the problem with this situation. It tells us her desperation. She says, As surely as the Lord your God lives, I don't have any bread, only a handful of flour in a jar and a little olive oil in a jug. I'm gathering a few sticks to take home and make a meal for myself and my son that we may eat it and die. Now that is hopelessness. There is no backup

plan to solve this famine. There are no extra resources for this widow, just the last meal before the end. Maybe you've felt something like that kind of desperation at some point, not necessarily about food, but maybe about your future, your relationship, maybe even your faith. Maybe you've come to the end of your resources, and all you can see is hopelessness. Now, this is where the story shifts. See, the difference between Elijah and the widow is this. Elijah had heard from the Lord. He wasn't guessing. He wasn't trying to manipulate her. He wasn't tricking her. He was obeying what God had told him. So Elijah says to her, don't be afraid. Now, that's not just encouragement. It's actually a command angered in God's promise. He tells her to first make a small loaf of bread for him and then something for herself and her son. And then he shares God's word. He says, 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 sins reign on the land. Elijah wasn't speaking, wishful thinking, or empty words of encouragement. His faith was word filled. It was anchored in what God had spoken. And now that same

word was shared with the widow. The question, would she trust it? Well, verse 15 says, she went away and did, as Elijah had told her. So there was food every day for Elijah and for the woman and her son, 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. Her response shows that she believed God's promise more than she believed her circumstances, and that changed her future. So what does this mean for us? Well, we also have the word of the Lord.

We don't have to wonder if God has spoken, he has. His word is written down so that we know what he has done. We know what he promises to do. We do not have an empty faith either. Our faith is anchored in the risen Jesus. if we believe that God could raise Christ from the dead, why would we not believe that he could fill up this oil jar and this sack of flour for the widow?

Why would we not believe then that he could provide for us in our times of need? Why would we not trust him to sustain us when we come to the end of ourselves? God's care for us does not run dry. We may run out of energy, of patience, resources, but he never runs out of grace and love for us. for us. And the cross proves this. Every one of our sins, past, present, and future was dealt with there. So in our moments of need, we know that God does not abandon us. Where then do we turn when life feels hopeless, when we feel desperate? Well, first, we can turn to God's word for clarity

about his promises. We can turn to God's people for comfort and care. We can turn to God Himself for peace that only he can give. Paul prayed this prayer in first, Sassalonians 523. He said, Now may the God of peace himself sanctify you completely, and may your whole spirit

and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. This isn't just a prayer for the absence of problems to bring us peace. This is a prayer for the presence of God himself to deliver peace.

The God who makes us whole, the God who guards our hearts, the God who keeps us until the day of Christ. The same God who sustained a widow with nothing but a handful of flour and a little oil is the God who sustains you. His promises are true. His presence is certain.