How to Open Doors

1 Kings 17:15-16

So she proceeded to do according to the word of Elijah. She and he and her household ate for many days. The flour jar did not run dry, according to the word of the LORD He had spoken through Elijah.

Elijah was sustained during a time of famine by a widow in Zarapeth, which was the heart of Baal worship in Phoenicia. Baal was the god of rain and prosperity, but the whole region had fallen on desperate times with the famine God imposed upon the land due to Israel’s adulterated worship of Baal. This poor widow served Elijah during a time of lack by giving what she had. As a result, God continued to provide for her and her household. Her service and obedience to His word was an act of faith, and God responds to faith.

God does not expect us to do what we cannot do. He expects us to give what we have, do what we can, and He provides and does what we can’t. When we pour out what He has given us, He uses it to nourish others and sustain ourselves. We cannot be greedy with the gifts He has given us to use for His service. He uses them to accomplish His purpose in the earth and within the church. Our gifts are not given to us for our pleasure or our prosperity. They are tools to serve God, and unless we use them for the purpose they were designed, they will dry up. We must pour out what God has given us. When we do, we find ourselves blessed in the process. That blessing is forfeited if we reserve the gifts for ourselves.

Find a place to use what God has given you. Pour yourself out, and watch God nourish others and sustain you in ways you never dreamed imaginable! Your blessing is in the giving and serving – not in the getting and receiving. Using what God has given you will create even more opportunities to serve and more blessings in the process. Need an open door? Give what you have. Meet someone else’s need. Pour out what He has given you, and watch doors open where you never knew there was an entrance!

Have a blessed day!