Let’s visit the story of the widow with the oil (2 Kings 4). Her sons were about to be taken to become slaves to pay off some past debts. Her husband, Elisha, was a faithful follower in church, so she went to him to ask why she was now in trouble.
Why, when you have given all you have and served others your whole life, do you end up so broken and depleted? She wanted to know what exactly is the reward for faithfulness. Elisha listened to her complain of what she lost then asked, “So what do you have left?” She responded, “All I have left is a pot of oil.”
She used to be very influential in the city … nice car, nice house, she owned a business, and now? The first thing her husband said was, “Go ask your neighbor if he has any empty vessels you can use. Go to everybody in the neighborhood.”
How embarrassing … to have to tell your neighbor you need help. How embarrassing … everybody is giving you handouts. How embarrassing … to have to ask your neighbor for the discarded items in their house that they are not using. How embarrassing … to have to admit you are not where you used to be financially and now you are in debt!
Pride will keep you in debt and hiding from your creditors! Pride will keep your family in bondage. Pride will make you lose everything! The revelation in the story was that the neighbors did have some empty vessels to give. They had just what she needed to get back on her feet. The neighbors may have thought that she was going to sell them to make some extra money, like people who gather aluminum cans and sell them. Either way, they knew her works of serving everyone else in the community, so she received all she had asked for.
She believed in the man of God … she asked no questions, just obeyed his orders. He said, “Gather as many empty vessels as you can find and take them into your home. Go behind closed doors and only let your family in. Then pour the oil until the vessels are all filled.” Then he said, “Sell the oil, pay off your debts, and LIVE on the rest.”
What faith she had to believe her one pot of oil would fill all the other pots! Like the woman with an issue of blood, she ran out of money and resources but she never ran out of faith! Now she was a LIVING testimony of the supernatural abundance God gives to faithful believers!
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