In the Old Testament book of 2 Kings, chapter 4, we read about a woman with a heartbreaking problem. Her husband has died. He was in debt. She had no way of paying the debt. So the creditor was planning to take her two sons away from her and sell them as slaves to pay off the debt.
All of that was legal back in the day.
She needed a miracle. So she consulted the prophet Elisha. Here’s what the text says:
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
2 Kings 4:2 NIV
Here we find something profoundly important.
The woman was focused on what she didn’t have. She didn’t have the money to pay off the debt. But God, through the prophet, changed her focus from what she didn’t have to what she did have.
She had a jar of olive oil.
God starts with what we have. It may be small. It may seem insignificant, but God multiplies what we have.
Years ago I dreamed of owning a home in the country. I was desperately poor at the time; if I told you my income you probably wouldn’t believe me.
But I felt like God wanted me to start with what I had. So I put some money in a jar—it was everything I had on me at the time, $1.78 I believe. I closed the lid, labeled the jar “House in country.” (Every so often I added a few coins. The jar I’m holding contains two dollar bills, 33 quarters, 21 dimes, 13 nickels, and 13 pennies.)
And every time I walked by that jar, I was inspired to believe that God could do the impossible.
And He did. Through a series of miracles, God provided us with a home in the country—a nice home built in 2016 with new appliances that actually work all the time (that was a new experience for us). And last year, we were even able to add a one bedroom apartment onto our home so my 92 year old mother could come and live with us.
Back to our story. The prophet Elisha told the woman to borrow as many empty jars as she could. Then she poured oil from her jar to fill all the others. After selling the oil, she had money not only to pay off the debt, but to start a new life with her young sons.
What you desperately need you already have—in part. Take what you have, hold it up to God, and watch Him do something amazing in your life.
Be encouraged!
Dwight
PS. I know I haven’t posted here for a while. Here are a couple of recent videos I posted:
Could this be a place for you? Empower Good groups
And this Saturday at 10 am I’ve scheduled a video to help you identify your Kingdom Style.
