Miracle in My Kitchen and What it Means Today

It was baking day. Dillon and Derek, ages five and six, put on their favorite baking aprons, and we were ready to begin our bread making.

The boys meticulously measured the yeast, flour, sugar, and salt into two bread makers with dreams of sweet rolls we would enjoy.

I was disappointed when I went to get the oil from the pantry and remembered I was almost out. As I tilted the container, it looked like we had a tablespoon of oil at the most. We needed two-thirds of a cup.

"Oh no! I'm so sorry, guys! I forgot we were out of oil," I said. "We're not going to be able to finish these recipes today."

Their eyes cast downward. Then my six-year-old looked at me and said, "Remember that story about the woman who needed the oil to bake with?"

I took a deep breath and hesitantly said, "In the Bible?" By this time, both boys were excitedly nodding their heads with anticipation. The ball was in my court. "So what you are saying is that we should pray, and the Lord will multiply our oil like He did hers?"

"Yes, yes!" they eagerly and expectantly said.

I thought to myself I'm not sure we have an emergency here, and we don't have a prophet waiting to be fed.

Almost shaking, I knew I had only one option at that point. We had to pray and ask for God's intervention.

As we joined hands around the kitchen bar and I began to speak a feeble prayer, my mind was carrying on another prayer simultaneously: "Lord, this is Your deal. Only You can do this. This is Your deal. Come through."

I had a third sphere of thoughts running through my mind on how to explain things to the boys: God provided us with our neighbor, Saundra, and she is willing to share oil with us from her pantry, and God gave us a grocery store just a few blocks away from our house. I didn't want to bring the prayer to a close, but it was time.

In silence and with all eyes on the measuring cup, I held it (and my breath) over the first bowl and began to pour. To my amazement, it kept pouring and pouring.

Again, trying to cover for God, I stopped shy of the one-third cup needed for the first batch, thinking I'd better move to the other batch while the oil was still flowing.

I filled a full third of a cup for that batch, then went back and completed the one-third cup for the first batch, which I had slighted. 

My boys jumped up and down, gave a high five to each other and exclaimed, "Yea, God!"

And what about me? I nearly collapsed on the floor, as my eyes filled with tears. "Do you realize what just happened here?" I asked.

Oh, yes, they had. And they weren't surprised--they had expected it.

Though my faith had wanted, theirs had been strong. We bowed our heads and thanked God for His supernatural blessing toward us that afternoon. 

I wanted to share this story in hopes that it would remind us that we serve a God of miracles, and He cares about the smallest things in our lives.

• We don't have to live in fear
• We can stand in peace every day
• His peace is perfect

We have a smorgasbord of things to choose to fear these days:

• pandemic notifications at every turn
• all forms of tyranny being exercised against us
• the Taliban
• communism's push for power

But also our personal concerns

• how are our children?
• mental health issues
• financial crises
• conflicts in relationships

It is good to remember that "God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, love and a sound mind." (2 Tim. 1:7)

As believers, we serve the Ancient of Days, who is the same yesterday, today and forever. The God who...

• multiplied one boy's lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish to feed more than 5,000 (with leftovers!)
• parted the Red Sea and allowed his people to cross over on dry land...then drowned their enemies
• brought down the fortified walls of Jericho and allowed His people to overtake the "untouchable" city
• made an army of living, breathing men from a pile of dry bones 

The other thing about the above miracles is that God involved people

• the boy gave his lunch
• Moses raised his staff
• Joshua and his band marched seven times around the walls and blew their trumpets
• Ezekial prophecied to the dry bones

I do believe that God is about to move in an unprecedented way even in our day. And no doubt He will use his faithful ones as He redeems this mess.

"He will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you." (Isaiah 26:3)

Keep hopeful.

Keep watchful.

Keep praying.

I pray God will guard the hearts of our children and raise them up for such a time as this.

What can you do at home?

• Play worship music in your home
• Turn off the news
• Speak about Almighty God, His power, and our trust in Him 

Pray with me:

Dear Father, 

Today I choose to stand firm in the shoes of peace. Thank you for the peace that passes understanding that you guard my heart with. This tangible presence of peace in my life and my relationships may be my most vital spiritual commodity in threatening the success of the enemy's plans. Thank you that your true peace allows me to stay steadfast in the face of commotion, confusion and disappointment. You anchor my soul by tethering it to the security found in the Good News of Jesus Christ my Lord. By faith, I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ.

In Jesus' Name, Amen.