我的好友莎莉想為她的一位朋友舉辦生日派對。莎莉知道她的朋友正經歷困境，希望能藉此幫助她振作起來。但莎莉失業了，沒有多餘的錢可以購買食物來辦一場熱鬧的派對。於是她翻遍了家裡的冰箱和櫥櫃，看看有什麼可用的食材。過後，她準備了很多道美味佳餚，其中很多都是用家裡以前購買的食材。

當莎莉與我分享她想出的創意菜單時，讓我想起先知以利亞和貧窮寡婦的故事（列王紀上17章7-16節）。那個寡婦家中的糧食所剩無幾，只有少許的麵粉和橄欖油，只夠她和她兒子吃最後一餐。事實上，她告訴先知以利亞，她打算和兒子吃完最後一餐之後，就等著餓死（12節）。

但以利亞向這個寡婦保證，她「缸裡的麵粉必不會用完，瓶裡的油決不會短缺，直等到耶和華降雨在地面上」（14節，新譯本）。雖然這寡婦並不認為自己有足夠的食物，但她仍相信上帝藉著以利亞所說的話。最後這寡婦發現，儘管她的廚房裡僅剩一點食物，上帝卻能供應她一家及以利亞所需要的。

我朋友莎莉和這個寡婦一樣，得到了她所需要的。讓我們以她們為榜樣，慷慨地為人付出，信靠上帝對我們的供應。

My dear friend Sally wanted to give a birthday party for one of her friends. She knew her friend had been experiencing a tough time, and Sally desired to help lift her spirits. However, Sally was unemployed and didn’t have extra money to purchase food for a nice party. So she looked in her refrigerator and cabinets to see what was available. She then created a nice spread consisting of many items she’d previously purchased and had in her home.

When Sally shared with me the creative menu she had come up with, I thought about the story of Elijah and the widow (1 Kings 17:7-16). The widow didn’t have much. In fact, she told the prophet Elijah that she was going to prepare her final scraps of food for herself and her son “and [then] die” of starvation (v. 12). And she only had a small amount of flour and olive oil, just enough for their final meal.

But Elijah ensured the woman that her “jar of flour . . . and the jug of oil [would] not run dry” until God sent rain again (v. 14). By trusting in what God revealed through Elijah—even though she didn’t think she had enough—the woman found that God provided what she needed even though her kitchen was barren.

Just like my friend, the widow found what she needed. Following their examples, let’s live generously and rest in God’s provision for us.