There are ten instances in the Bible where people are raised from the dead. The first story is in 1 Kings 17. It is a rather bizarre story, when you really think about it; it is the first time someone is raised from the dead, and God chooses this particular situation. The story is contained in verses 8 through 24. Elijah, who has only just been introduced—he, coming seemingly out of nowhere, marches up to the king and declares a drought—is staying with a widow and her son. This is the same widow whom Elijah asked for food and her reply was, “I have nothing to give. I am about to make our last cake for my son and I , and then we are going to die.†God moves on her behalf, and she, her son, and Elijah are provided for for a while. One day, her son gets sick and dies. She turns on Elijah, demanding to know why this happened to her. Had she sinned in some way to deserve this? Elijah, in response, does what has never been done before. He prays to God for the boy to be resurrected, and he is! That is the first account of resurrection in the Bible: the son of a widow.

This story is a good portrayal of our fallen condition. We, like the widow, think that we only have this little bit left—if I could just get through this, if I could just make it with this little bit, if I, if I, if I…then, maybe God will be merciful and rescue me. God always moves in ways we do not expect, and He rarely if ever moves in the ways we want. For this widow who was trying to survive, God comes as Elijah looking for food. She is focused on what she can or cannot do. She says several times “I†while Elijah knew that only “HE†(God) was the answer. God wants to break the “I†mentality we carry and replace it with “HE.†We cannot win God’s favor or get Him to rescue us when we constantly struggle to do all that WE can do. If we let the revelation that HE is ABLE sink into our hearts, we will no longer need to struggle with the “I.†God’s grace is sufficient; His grace is what motivates the righteous works in our lives. It is HE and not I that makes our worlds thrive. So, like that widow, when the world seems to end, instead of clinging to “Iâ€â€”what did I do to deserve this—look toward God and see that HE is ABLE to make the situation turn around. He resurrects the dream, the hope, and the future.