Then the woman said to Elijah, “Now I know that you are a man of God and that the word of the Lord from your mouth is the truth.” (1 Kings 17:24 NIV, 12-31-12)

Now?

For months they’d been eating from two “empty” jars, but she didn’t really believe he was a man of God until the healing of her son?

Some things lean us toward believing, while others truly convince us at the deepest level. For this woman, the food was just a cool miracle (though it, too, saved the life of her son, only in less dramatic fashion), but the healing hit her squarely and the truth could no longer be denied.

Thing is, only God knew she was unconvinced, and only God knew what it would take, the length He would have to go to, for her to believe. So don’t count on your plan to reach someone, but trust His. Because sometimes He has to take people well past where we would comfortably lead them in order to get the results He is looking for.

[Father, do whatever it takes to bring people to the level of belief and trust you want for them–and me.]