Is God asking for more even after you’ve lost so much? What if he wants to show you that there’s more to your story than you first thought?
“The end of your rope is the middle of God’s Story.” That’s what Lisa Appelo says, as she reflects on the pain of losing her husband suddenly, leaving her to raise seven children.
If you’re grieving over a loss, and wondering why God would ask for even more, the Bible story Lisa and I are unpacking is just for you. May you be inspired by a widow’s faith, and amazed by God’s faithfulness as we look at the story of the Widow of Zarephath from I Kings 17. And may you live like her miraculous story is true!
Today’s episode is part of my Summer Standout series. Over the summer, I’m connecting with a handful of fellow authors and Bible teachers, and letting them choose the story from the Bible that we’ll look at.
I’m so delighted to have my new friend, Lisa Appelo joining me for this beautiful conversation.
Lisa is a former litigating attorney. She founded a team of writers at hopeingrief.com and serves on the Executive Team for COMPEL with Proverbs31Ministries. As a single mom of seven, Lisa’s days are filled with parenting, ministry, and long walks to justify lots of dark chocolate. Lisa’s giving away a copy of her brand new book, Life Can Be Good Again. I think you’re going to be so encouraged, and also challenged by my conversation with Lisa about The True Story of the Widow’s Last Meal.
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Guest: Lisa Appelo
Bible Passage: 1 Kings 17:8-16
Get your Freebie: The Live Like It’s True Workbook
Mentioned Resources:
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- Life Can Be Good Again by Lisa Appelo – Read Chapter 1 for free
- The story of Rahab in Joshua 2.
- Generous Giving
Music: Cade Popkin Music
Producer: Maria Lyons
Summer Giveaway
Two ways to win:
- If you haven’t yet, sign up for my Live Like It’s True Workbook and you’ll be entered for a chance to win.
- Find one of my posts pointing to this episode on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter and either tag a friend or share.
Lisa Appelo
A former litigating attorney, Lisa is passionate about rich Bible teaching. She writes at the popular site LisaAppelo.com, founded a team of writers at hopeingrief.com, and serves on the Executive Team for COMPEL with Proverbs31Ministries. As a single mom of seven, Lisa’s days are filled with parenting, ministry, and long walks to justify lots of dark chocolate. Connect with Lisa on IG @LisaAppelo.
Find Lisa:
Life Can Be Good Again
Lisa Appelo is a speaker inspiring women to cultivate faith in life’s storms and author of Life Can Be Good Again: Putting Your World Back Together After It All Falls Apart. When life shatters and you’re navigating a life you didn’t sign up for, Lisa provides compassionate, Biblical insight to help you find your footing, process raw emotion, and anchor your threadbare hope to see you won’t merely survive this, but that life can be good again.
What if There’s More?
Friend, whatever you’re going through, it’s not hopeless. This widow had a whole new chapter of miracles awaiting her; she just had to respond in faith and open her hand to God.
How is God asking you to open your hand today? Is there some way that He is asking you to be extravagantly generous?
The end of your rope is the middle of God's Story. Lisa Appelo Share on XAfter we finished this recording, Lisa and I talked about how—going into our conversation, neither of us were thinking about how central generosity is to this story, and then we each shared a couple more personal stories about generosity that have shaped our lives. While I don’t have a recording of that part of the conversation to share with you, I’d love to encourage you to open your Bible and take some time in I Kings 17, considering how this story refutes any of the false narratives you’ve been believing.
Also, I wanted to mention an organization called Generous Giving, which has meant so much to my husband and me. We were invited to a weekend retreat a few years back, and were so inspired by the conversations about what the Bible says about generosity, along with some modern stories of generous people. I’ll link to GenerousGiving.org in case you, too, want to be inspired by some really amazing stories of generosity.
Don’t forget to grab your LLIT Workbook, which will help you think through which false narratives of the world are corrected by the True Story of the Widow’s Last Meal from I Kings 17.
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GET YOUR FREE LIVE LIKE IT’S TRUE WORKBOOK
One of the things I’m hoping, with my free Live Like It’s True Workbook, is to help you develop is an eye for seeing the stories of the Bible as more than just stories. As western thinkers, we’re far more accustomed to considering abstract ideas, and listening to propositions and arguments. But But the stories of the Bible communicate rich theological truths, and they do so in a way that is less abstract and so easier for us to remember and refer back to.
I think this is particularly true of the story we’re going to look at—which, ironically, is the story of Paul—who loved to use both propositional arguments and story to proclaim the one True Story of God. I think Paul would love the fact that we’re using his story to refute the world’s false narratives.
Inside, you’ll find:
- The 4-page True Story Worksheet
- The 1-page True Story Worksheet
- 2-sided bookmark with Study and Story Tools
- False Narrative Watchlist
- “Awakening to the False Narratives”
- Four Reasons Journaling Prompt
- Storytelling Content Podcast Directory
