Have you ever heard the term, “waiting for the other shoe to drop”? It actually is a saying referencing the New York City urban housing development boom at the turn of the 19th Century. Many apartment buildings were constructed with the same layout and thus, bedrooms were commonly stacked one on top of the other.

So when a neighbor got home from work, you could hear them take off their shoes. It turned into a saying that alluded to some inevitable event you knew was coming, like when the first shoe banged above your head you knew the other shoe was going to drop next.

It’s funny how we use it today to describe that feeling bad things seem to happen one after the other. And it’s particularly applicable today, as we spend some time talking about the story of Elijah from the book of I Kings. As his journeys in exile continue to unwind, Elijah comes upon a widow and her son. She had no grain or food to feed herself or her son, much less Elijah.

But, when Elijah tells her to make bread, lo and behold, the tiny remaining amounts of grain and oil she had miraculously become enough to make bread for weeks to come. But the story doesn’t end there!

“Now it came about after these things that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, became sick; and his sickness was so severe that there was no breath left in him.” (I Kings 17:17)

After saving this widow and her son from starvation, it sounds weird that suddenly the son just dies, right? Talk about your ups and downs. They were just saved from starving to death and now THIS! That sure was some “other shoe” dropping!

In biblical times, a son held hope for the family’s future. She was a widow, so her son was future income, provision and protection. It was the son’s responsibility to take care of his mother. She was not only facing a devastating emotional loss, but it also meant she was destined to become a beggar in the streets.

For this widow, any dreams of a future died right along with her son. Then Elijah stepped up, and “He called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord my God, have You also brought calamity to the widow with whom I am staying, by causing her son to die?’ Then he stretched himself upon the child three times, and called to the Lord and said, ‘O Lord my God, I pray You, let this child’s life return to him.’” (I Kings 17:20-21)

“The Lord heard the voice of Elijah, and the life of the child returned to him and he revived. Elijah took the child and brought him down from the upper room into the house and gave him to his mother; and Elijah said, ‘See, your son is alive.’ Then the woman said to Elijah, ‘Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord in your mouth is truth.’” (I Kings 17:22-24)

Sometimes you will feel like you’re just waiting for the other shoe to drop. That’s life! But when you’re going through hell, don’t pitch a tent. Cry out to God like Elijah did, with fullness of faith. And the guidance and salvation you seek from God might be right there in front of you, so it might be time to start listening!

Everyone gets hurt sometimes, fails or drops the ball. Equipping yourself to move past that, keeping your dreams alive, is important. I hope this food for thought helped inspire you today. I’d love to know your thoughts and comments – leave them below!

Keep feeding your faith today and join us for our special Spiritual Equipping episode of The Dani Johnson Show today. You can tune into the show on either your TV or radio and please remember you can always stream today’s show right here on our website. And don’t forget to subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with new content being posted daily!

In great faith,

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