9TH CENTURY BC
There is a story in the Old Testament Scriptures (1 Kings) about a widow from a place called Zarephath. In the story, the woman and her son were about to eat the very last of their food before they would be faced with starvation. During her preparations, a man approached her and asked her for a meal. She explained her situation and then listened as the stranger told her words that he claimed were from God: “The jar of flour shall not be spent, and the jug of oil shall not be empty, until the day that the Lord sends rain upon the earth.” With incredible faith, she cooked the meal for the man. And every time she returned to the jars, she found enough flour and oil. They never ran out. She always had enough to provide for her family.
2018-2019
In the Spring of 2018, after spending a couple of years growing Shelley Video “on the side” while teaching in a public elementary school, I left my teaching position. I felt like God was leading me to trust Him to provide for us without a regular paycheck. My wife Caitlin and I prayed often that God would bring the right jobs at the right time.
It’s difficult to explain how clearly we believe we could see God figuratively filling our jars over and over again with flour and oil in His perfect timing. Most of our jobs have a pretty short work window and we often found ourselves looking ahead to future months with very little work on the schedule. But we learned to trust that God would fill our jars when the time came. He was always faithful to provide us with what we needed and more. There were also times that I literally could not quite figure out how we actually had enough money in the bank after some of our slower months. I kept thinking I was going to have to bail and get another job at the end of the month. And we always somehow had enough to keep going. Caitlin and I would look at each other and just say, “Flour and oil.”
Then in October of 2019, I was very surprised to feel God leading me back into teaching. I didn’t fully understand why. The business was still growing and we were trusting God to continue providing for us. But for some reason, this new, specially-designed, flexible teaching position seemed impossible to turn down. I knew I had set the foundation for the business and could continue working on video projects while teaching during the school day. And the way the teaching position was set up could not have been more ideal for me. I believed that God must be leading me to teach again so that we would have extra money as we prepare to possibly adopt our foster daughter and also to get a new vehicle, seeing as how we were dropping to one working car. So I accepted the position.
COVID-19
Fast forward to the Spring of 2020: COVID-19 reaches the U.S. While I have no doubt that God would have provided for us through this time period of businesses shutting down and uncertainty about the full effects of this virus, I am so thankful that He led me to accept the teaching position back in October so that I can work both of my jobs from home again. In hindsight, it is so clear to me that God was preparing us for our time in quarantine.
Flour and oil.
2020 AND BEYOND
It is so easy to desire a future in which I always have a steady stream of video jobs, where I won't need to think much about money, where I can do the jobs I want to without having to charge, and where I can enjoy significant flexibility in my schedule. But this coronavirus has reminded me again that we don’t know what the future may hold. God does not want me to find “security” in financial “stability.” He wants me to trust that He will always provide me with flour and oil no matter what happens.
My worth is in Christ, not in how “successful” my business becomes. No matter what happens with Shelley Video in the future, I want to always trust Him to do what will bring Him the most glory. And I want to remember that what I have is not my own and that He is the provider, not me.
The Lord continued to provide flour and oil to the widow until He ended the drought by sending rain. I am so excited about the day the Lord sends the rain and we are united with Him forever. But until then, flour and oil is all we need.