The Lie: You’re Doing It Wrong + “I Have Not a Cake”
I Have Not a Cake.
This morning, I was reminded of a little line out of I Kings 17 that God had used to minister to me back in August:
“I HAVE NOT A CAKE.”
The first time Elijah’s name is mentioned in Scripture is I Kings 17:1: “And Elijah, the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, ‘As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word.’” Elijah is a bold man, and this word spoken to King Ahab comes to pass. For a season, as this 3-year famine commences, God tells Elijah to “hide thyself by the brook Cherith…” (v.3)
(Random side note, “Cherith” (#3747) means:
—“a cutting” — BLB OUTLINE OF BIBLICAL USAGE
—“a cut” — STRONG’S
—“separation” — GESENIUS
I find it interesting at the outset of Elijah’s ministry he was required to stay at a place of cutting/separation. Don’t want to read in what’s not there, but just something I noted.)
Elijah hides by the Brook Cherith according to the Word of the LORD and is supernaturally sustained by the water of the brook and by food delivered twice daily by ravens. (Wow, I’ve fed birds from my hand, but I’ve never had birds feed me. Sign me up!!) (17:6) But there comes a day where the brook dries up (17:7) and God tells Elijah next steps.
Matthew Henry says, “We have here an account of the further protection Elijah was taken under, and the further provision made for him in his retirement. AT DESTRUCTION AND FAMINE, HE SHALL LAUGH THAT HAS GOD FOR HIS FRIEND TO GUARD AND MAINTAIN HIM.”
The “word of the LORD” again comes to Elijah and says, “Arise, get thee to Zarapheth…and dwell there: behold I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee.” I find this interesting. Undoubtedly, God could have continued the miracle the same way it had been unfolding for the entire 3-year stretch of famine. He is God, and could certainly have allowed a supernatural stream to continue to flow, but “the brook dried up” so God could script an unexpected player in. I don’t understand all His reasons, but this “transition” in provision proves that God can choose whatever means and methods He prefers to do the miracle, even change “veins” in the middle of a long miracle. And this shift in “supernatural catering” opened the door for two more notable miracles.
Elijah is obedient to God’s command, goes to Zarapheth, and just as he arrives at the gate of the city, he spots a widow woman gathering sticks. (17:10) He calls to her and says, “Fetch me, I pray thee, a little water in a vessel, that I may drink.” (10) She turns to get him a drink, and as she’s walking away, he calls to her again and says, “Bring me a morsel of bread in thy hand.’ She responds by saying, “I HAVE NOT A CAKE.” I don’t have what you’re asking for. I don’t have a finished product to offer you. I don’t have something complete. And then she carries on: “…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.” (v.12)
Here is a woman in a dire situation. She has only the teeniest, tiniest amount of what is needed to bake one final meal for herself and her son. She has a HANDFUL…a LITTLE…just enough that the fire from TWO STICKS will cook it. And now, another person is a dire situation is asking her to share. Their mutual needs are met in this moment.
Elijah responds to her explanation of the circumstance by saying, “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.” Elijah asks quite a LOT of this woman at the end of her road: take that little you have and serve up my meal first. AFTER, cook for yourself and for your son. But that difficult request came with a promise of the miraculous. If she would serve the man of God, and thereby God himself, first, they would be sustained with that handful of meal and that little oil UNTIL the famine concluded. Actually, until the exact day that God would send rain.
Scripture continues: “…SHE WENT AND DID ACCORDING TO THE SAYING OF ELIJAH:”
Here is the primary “thought” I’ve been gleaning from this story: this little widow woman didn’t have a product, a completed CAKE to give Elijah. She didn’t have exactly what he asked for. But she did have the RAW INGREDIENTS FOR THE MIRACULOUS. She didn’t even have a lot of raw ingredients. What she had didn’t amount to much; and it certainly would not have seemed like “enough.” But if she would walk in humble obedience to the “word of the LORD” and serve someone else’s needs ahead of her own, HER LITTLE WOULD LAST. Her insufficient supply would become supernatural sustenance for herself and for others.
There are moments in life where God asks for things from us, and we don’t have the final result in our hand to offer in the current. There have been things He’s asked from me, and my only response is to echo this little widow woman: “I HAVE NOT A CAKE.” I don’t have what You’re asking for, God. I don’t have the specific thing You’re requesting. All I’ve got left is the tiniest bit…just enough to help me eek out one more day….and what I have is crushed…it’s ground…it’s a handful…but I also have a little oil. I don’t have a cake. I don’t have an answer. I don’t have a victory report in my hand. I don’t have a finalized project. I can’t wrap this up with a bow right now. BUT, at Your word, I will take this scant amount of raw ingredients and by faith work and mix it…a little brokenness and a little anointing, this tiny bit that’s certainly not enough to my human mind and will serve You and others first. With that final little cake offered up as a sacrifice. With those raw ingredients mingled and put in the fire, I’ll see miracle provision. I DON’T HAVE A CAKE RIGHT NOW, but if I will obey…if I will serve you and others first, I WILL HAVE MANY CAKES. The raw ingredients won’t be used up, they’ll multiply. That handful of crushed powder and that little bit of oil will sustain myself AND OTHERS until the precise moment the “famine” wraps up.
That is exactly what happened for the “widow of Zarapheth.” “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.” (v.15-16)
“The bin of flour was not used up, nor did the jar of oil run dry…”(NKJV)
“The flour jar did not become empty, and the oil jug did not run dry…” (CSB)
When Elijah asked her for a cake, she could’ve simply answered, “I HAVE NOT A CAKE,” and concluded the conversation. The story could’ve ended there, because that was the truth and the ending seemed inevitable. But she continued on and told him WHAT SHE DID HAVE and HOW BAD THE SITUATION WAS. Two sticks. A handful. A little then death. That simple confession of insufficiency and near hopelessness gave way to instructions from Elijah, which, as Scripture tells us, was actually God. And though those instructions seemed ludicrous and unlikely, she obeyed. And out of simple obedience and service, the insufficient was stretched…the little was increased. The raw ingredients WERE THE CAKE. The raw ingredients in minimal amounts WERE THE MIRACLE.
So when God asks for what we don’t have…when all we can say is, “I HAVE NOT A CAKE,” and death and finality look inevitable, let’s not stop there. Let’s continue on. “I don’t have exactly what You’re asking for in this moment, but this is what I DO have, and this is how desperate my situation looks. And if you give me instructions, I will obey. I will take the little that looks like it will never be enough, and I will work and I will give the little I’ve got to You FIRST. I will seek FIRST Your kingdom. I will serve others ahead of myself. And I believe these raw ingredients are the material for a MIRACLE. The little that’s left in these final moments IS the final answer. It is the provision. It IS my cake. And I will give it You FIRST.
“ I have NOT a cake.”
Thank you for joining me for this journey!
Go grab your Bible and your journal!
I look forward to the power of this habit in your life.