41Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. 42But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
43Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. 44They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.” (Mark 12:41-44)
Thoughts: One of the amazing things of this real life story is that the widow gave and did not give up. Some would say you can only trust God is life goes well for you. But this widow knew a deeper secret: in the tough times- God is there- and we especially need to trust Him then. In our success oriented culture, we almost say we will worship God if He "works" for us. But it is not about our having more worldly success. Eternal success is being able to trust God no matter what. To only trust Him in the good times indicates a shallow faith. This widow could have stopped trusting God when her husband died. She could have given up on God when she put her last two coins in. But God saw her gift. In perhaps the greatest compliment, God preserved her faith in the Bible. Do not give up on trusting God. We show our trust in concrete ways like coming to worship (even if we have a disagreement with the church), or giving to the church. The widow did not hold back. She put in her last two coins- to almost say to God- "I am trusting you all the way- with everything I have." God sees this and rewards such trust.
Prayer: Lord, help me to have faith no matter what. Help me to trust you in the valley of the shadow as well as in the green pastures and still waters.
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