1 Kings 17:10-16 When I first read this reading, the words that leapt off the page were “Do not be afraid”. As a woman who grew up during St. John Paul II’s papacy, these prophetic words, this cry out into the deep, was an anthem. His words of fearless joy were instrumental in my conversion. The invitation of these few short words, to let go of what the world tells me I should want, were incredibly liberating. Someone recently told me that the thing the post-9/11 generation most desires is safety and security. It’s the thing they value most. The Scriptures today offer us an incredibly counterintuitive and counter-cultural call. Elijah calls this woman, this mother, to give up not just her daily bread but her very last scrap of bread and to trust totally in God’s provision. He comes to this woman on the day she expected to die of starvation, and through him God reveals his promise of fulfilment. The words “do not be afraid” were spoken prophetically to me through the mouth of St. John Paul II, and in the same way as Elijah’s prophecy did, these same words, echoed millennia later, called me out in a very personal way. I wasn’t about to die in the physical sense, but whatever daily provision I had for belief in God had been totally spent by the age of 16. God spoke this prophecy into my heart and by grace I was able to receive it. Reading it again today, I was reminded that there are lots of areas where I still despair over my provision: financial, spiritual, social, emotional. There have been so many times where I was sure the portion I had in my jar was about to run out. But God echoed again through those around me: Do not be afraid. God is always going before me, making divinely creative solutions to end of the world problems in my life. That provision may not always look how I imagined, but they always fulfill beyond measure what God knows to be my true need.
It’s important too to notice that this scripture doesn’t say that her jar of meal and jug of oil overflowed. It maintained a day’s provision. It was enough. A beautiful reminder that there are times when God asks us to be satisfied on enough, and not to gorge on His grace. Jesus taught us to ask for our daily bread, and not an overflow. The thing about bread is that if you have too much, most of it will go bad before you get to it. Too much of anything can make us sick. I am grateful for the reminder that enough is not just good but often exactly right. It demands me to keep trusting in faith that tomorrow there will be enough too. Lord thank you for the daily provision you lay out before me. Help me to always trust you and to cast off every fear. AMEN. Stephanie Potter 
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