In my personal devotion, I began to read 2 Kings 4:1-7 about the widow woman who sought out the Prophet Elisha after finding herself in a state of lack. It has truly been a blessing to me so I wanted to share some of my thoughts.
We find her in the opening of this text crying out to Elisha. She informed him that her husband had died and that she was now in a financial bind. Elisha answered to her saying “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” She told him that she had nothing but a small jar of olive oil. It is important for you to understand that she was well aware of everything that she was up against. She had creditors knocking at her door, her money was scarce, her husband had died and she still had a family that she had to take care of and the only thing she had in her house was one small jar of oil. Although she was obviously concerned, we can deduce that she did have some faith because she had the presence of mind to seek out the man of God. After she explained to Elisha what she had, he told her to go around and ask all her neighbors for empty jars. He said don’t just ask for just a few, ask for all that you can find. Then he instructed her to go inside the house and shut the door behind her and her sons and begin to pour the oil into the jars, and as each is filled, put them aside. This was significant because even though he knew that all she had in her house was one small jar of oil, he still told her to go and get all the empty jars she could find…not just a few but ALL that she could find. He then told her to go inside and shut the door behind her and her sons. WoW, the fact that he instructed her to go inside and shut the door may not seem like much to you but it created a moment for me!! Sometimes when God is getting ready to do some things in your life, you can’t always share it with the world right away. The affects there of are sure to be a blessing to the masses but in the PROCESS, He may just want you to get away and close yourself off from outside influences and voices in order to hear His voice more clearly and to carry out His instructions. And when He has completed His work in you, He will release you to share it with the world in order to be a blessing to others. After doing what she was told, she began to pour the oil into the empty jars and it began to flow without hesitation. The oil continued to flow until every container that she had acquired was full. The once small jar of oil had begun to not only meet the need of the lack that she was experiencing but had begun to provide an OVERFLOW. Elisha told her to sell enough of the oil to pay off her debts and live off of what was left. That’s enough to praise God on right there!!! Although she didn’t see it right away, everything that she needed to survive was IN THE HOUSE! The oil was the sustaining grace. It was the resource that she needed to alleviate the lack. That lets me know that many times everything that we need to be great for God is inside of us and all we need to do is tap into it….the potential, the purpose, the anointing. God has already supplied us with what we need but we just need to wake up and realize that it’s in the house. Now the prophet did tell her to go OUTSIDE of her house and ask for every jar that she could find. But remember the blessing wasn’t in the container because the empty containers by themselves were useless. The blessing was in the oil that was already in her possession. The significance of her going outside of the house and asking for the jars was that it was an activation of her faith. Even though it probably seemed strange to her to go out asking for all of these containers considering the fact that she just told him she only had one little jar of oil…she was obedient! No matter how strange or uncomfortable something may seem, when God has called you to do something DO IT! There is a blessing in being obedient. This story blessed me in a major way! I was reminded that there is great potential in me even today and God is simply waiting for me to activate my faith to unlock it. He not only wants to bless us to meet our needs, He desires that we begin to live in such a way that every need that we have is met and we are living off of the overflow! The widow woman could have easily not heeded the word of the prophet. She could have remained in her house with her jar of oil and attempted to sale it for what it was worth and used that small amount BUT God had another plan. He had something greater and all she needed to do to unlock it was to walk in obedience. Begin to trust God, begin to take Him at His Word, begin to put your faith in Him and watch Him use what’s in the house to provide YOUR overflow blessing!
2 Comments
Kelley Butler
6/9/2015 09:39:07 am
Awesome!! Its in the house!!!
Reply
Marshunda Thomas
6/17/2015 02:22:08 am
Thanks Lady Butler!
Reply
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorMarshunda Thomas Archives
January 2020
Categories |