Bible
reading: 2 Kings 4:1-7
1 Now
there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the
prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead;
and thou knowest that thy servant did fear Jehovah: and the
creditor is come to take unto him my two children to be bondmen.
2 And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee?
tell me; what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thy handmaid
hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil. 3 Then
he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors,
even empty vessels; borrow not a few. 4 And thou shalt go
in, and shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and pour out
into all those vessels; and thou shalt set aside that which is
full. 5 So she went from him, and shut the door upon her
and upon her sons; they brought the vessels to her, and she
poured out. 6 And it came to pass, when the vessels were
full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he
said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed. 7
Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell
the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy sons of the
rest.
Her husband had
died and she sees no way out of the debt she was in. We cannot
blame her for this, for there was no logical way to fulfill her
debts. Her creditors decide to take her two sons as slaves for
payment of the obligations that still remain. She pleads with the
only man of God she knows for assistance.
"Is there anything in your house?" Elisha asked. "Nothing
at all," she answered, "except some oil."
(2Ki.4:2)
Elisha then instructed her to go and collect all the empty jars
that her neighbors might possess. "Ask for as many as you
can," he instructed. When the jars were collected he
instructed her to pour what little oil she had into the jars. The
oil was more than enough to fill the jars. In fact, there was more
oil than jars to fill. "Go, sell the oil and pay your
debts.
You and your sons can live on what is left" said Elisha
(2 Kings 4:1-7).
God often mixes faith with the practical. Often we see in the
Bible that God is asking for an action of faith, before He bestows
His blessing on us.
The widow had nothing in the house, her neighbors probably knew
that too, they probably knew about her situation after her husband
died. News travels fast is small communities. The may have
wondered what will she do with the vessels?
The widow believed she had no resources to meet her need. God said
she had more than enough resources. She did not see the one jar of
oil as a resource. and in fact it was not, it only became a
resource when God wanted it to be, and it was mixed with her
faith.
Her need was met when her faith was mixed with the practical step
of going into the marketplace to sell what she had to receive her
needed income. In fact, it was so much income she was able to pay
her debts and live on the money derived from the sale.
So often we forget that God works through commerce to provide for
our needs. It is wrong to place total faith in commerce without
faith. God often requires simple obedience to an act that seems
ridiculous to the logical mind. It is this faith mixed with the
practical that God honors.
- Do you have a problem that is
perplexing to you?
- Do you see no way of meeting
your need?
God has given you
the skills and talents that may already exist to meet your need.
However, He may be waiting for you to mix it with faith.
Ask God to show you the steps necessary to solve your problem.
Be willing to take the next step. |
