HELP IS ON THE WAY

And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink. And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and do as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. And the barrel of meal wasted not, neither did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. – 1 Kings 17:8-16

I believe that the help you are expecting from the Almighty God will arrive today, in the name of Jesus. This is a story of a widow. A widow is someone who used to know joy; someone who always remembers the day of her wedding. This particular widow has a son. So she could also remember the day she had a baby

boy. But things had turned against her. Her husband had died, and financially, everything turned upside down. From this story, it is clear that whatever job she was doing had been lost. Whatever savings she had was finished. Little by little, everything she had dwindled until there was only one meal left.

So this widow sat and took a decision. Rather than sit down and watch her son die, she decided to prepare the last meal, eat it with her son, and they would commit suicide. Note that she did not say they would wait for death after the last meal. She said they would eat the last meal and die. That means suicide– finish the meal and end it all. So she went out to collect two sticks. You can imagine her situation that day. The agony of her life was too much; little wonder she was determined to end it all. She was not even a Jew or the people of God. So suicide meant nothing much.

However, unknown to her, help was on the way. The Almighty God already held a conference about her that instead of her to die, she would live; instead of her to die in poverty, she would live to know the meaning of abundance. You may be in a desperate situation, but I have come to announce to you that help is on the way!

Suddenly, a prophet arrived and asked for water. She gave him water despite the fact that there had been no rain. Water was scarce.

She shared the little she had with the prophet with the thought that she would not need water again after that day because she wanted to end it all. As she went to fetch the water, Elijah asked for bread also. In the widow’s reply to the prophet as seen in the key text above, we will learn a few deep things.

To Whom Will God Send Help?

1. He Who Knows That God is Alive – “…And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake…” She was saying that although she did not know much about the God of Elijah, she knows that He is alive. So the question I want to ask you is“, From whom will your help com” e?Knowing that God is alive will encourage you to know that he hears prayers. Dead gods do not hear prayers. There is nothing anyone can do to convince you to the contrary. Our God is alive! Our Redeemer lives! This has nothing to do with your present situation.

Psalm 65:2 says this about God;“O thou that hearest prayer, unto thee shall all flesh come”. Because God is alive, He hears prayers. Not only does He hear prayers, He also sees all that is going on. 2 Chronicles 16:9 says,

“For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strong on the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. ”

God sees it all, no matter what you are going through. Whatever is happening to you, God sees it all. Psalm 46:1 says that,“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in tro”ubHle. hears prayers. He sees, and is always ready to help.

• Someone Who Believes in God – If you do not believe that God is alive, you cannot believe what God’s prophet tells you. Elijah replied the widow in the name of the God who is alive; who the widow already believes in.

2 Chronicles 20:20 says,

“And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wilderness of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper.”

The one who will receive help is the one who not only believes in God, but also believes in God’s prophet. If you have faith in God, all things are possible (Mark 9:23).

In 1983, we held the first convention in the Redeemed Camp at Mowe, Ogun State. That area was the headquarters of armed robbery and all sorts of nefarious activities. I heard God clearly concerning holding the convention there that year. We had to construct a camp in three months. Resources were limited. I thank God I was not voted out as General Overseer that year. The whole idea sounded crazy.

To make matters worse, we dug countless wells and they were collapsing. This was because the ground on the camp site is muddy. This continued until we had a week to the convention. The level of complaints increased greatly. Some leaders were already suggesting we quickly move back to the old site, which was congested for that year’s convention. But I trusted my God and He proved to me that He is alive.

With one week left before the convention, something happened. On a Saturday, a man was passing by and drove in to see what we were doing. He asked us what was going on, and we told him we were constructing a camp site for our church. So he asked us what our greatest need was. I told him we needed water, since all the wells we dug collapsed. He exclaimed,“You don’t need a well here; what you need is a borehol”e . I responded by saying“, We know; but where is the money for that no”w?The man brought in his engineers and started digging water for us for free. Just two days before the convention, they struck water. We already started constructing the overhead tank for the borehole even when they were yet to strike water. On the eve of the convention, we linked the borehole to the overhead tank! It was a helpless situation, but God sent help to me. In your critical moment, may God send help to you, in the mighty name of Jesus!

• One who is willing to Surrender All to God – When the widow agreed to give all she had to the prophet, she surrendered all. She was ready to die with her son after their last meal. Now it appears they will not be having any last meal before their death. She surrendered all. She was willing to put God first. If you will receive God’s help you must show Him that He is the number one in your life.

Romans 12:1 says,

I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

Anyone who will receive help from God must be willing to put down his life on the altar of God. When we read Proverbs 3:9-10, we are to give first fruits to

honour God. It is not because God is hungry. Honour God and leave the rest to Him.

When we talk about putting God first, surrendering all to God, we must take it seriously. Years ago when I became the General Overseer of our Church, the income of the church was very small. By the time the pastors are paid, there was little or nothing left. I had just resigned as the Acting Head of Department of Mathematics at University of Ilorin. I was thinking about how to survive. So I applied for my gratuity, and to God’s glory, it came. I was paid a huge sum of money. I was happy that at least I could survive until the finances of the church increases.

Then I suddenly remembered that I was under God’s government. So I asked the Lord what to do with my gratuity. So many Christians do not hear God when it comes to giving. They only hear God when it comes to receiving. The Lord replied me immediately, “Divide the gratuity into three”. I was happy. Then He said, “Give one part to so and so ministry said“, Yes Lord”. Of the remaining two portions, I thought it would be to save some, and put the other in fixed deposit; or even invest. God demanded that the remaining two portions be also given to two other ministries. This was so tough. But I did as he commanded. Then He said something to me: “I will be your Source!”

Ever since then, the Lord has never failed me. He has always remained faithful to His promise to me. If you want help from the Lord, believe that God is alive; believe in God and his prophet; believe it when God speaks to you, and lay everything on the altar. He will then prove to you that He is the ever present help in trouble.

Prayer Points

1. Father, you are the help of the helpless; help Lord, in the name of Jesus.
   1. Father, I need your help; help me by your mercy, in the name of Jesus.
   1. Father, help me speedily, in the name of Jesus.
   1. Help of the Helpless, help me, in the name of Jesus.
   1. Father, even today, may help come my way, in the name of Jesus.
   1. Father, in every facet of my life, do not let me lack again, in the name

of Jesus.