Read 2 Kings 4:1-7
When a widow came to the prophet Elisha begging for help to pay her creditors, he asked her:
“What do you have in your house?” 2 Kings 4:2
Her initial response was, “Nothing there at all.” But wait – – – she did have “a little oil” (see verse 2). Elisha then sent her on a mission to find as many empty jars as she could. “Don’t ask for just a few,” were his exact words.
After they collected as many jars as they could, she and her sons worked together filling jar after jar with oil. When they ran out of containers, the oil stopped flowing. The prophet instructed her to sell the oil and pay the creditors.
What can we glean from this story?
- Don’t stop at “nothing.” We may think we’re empty-handed, but there’s always something God can use to perform the miraculous.
- Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Too often we suffer in silence. This only magnifies the size of our challenge. Talking it out and praying it through with a trusted friend will help put things in perspective.
- Don’t hesitate to include your children or grandchildren in the process of trusting God for a miracle. Imagine the story this widow’s sons told for years after witnessing the multiplication of oil!
- Stay as open as possible to the flow of the Holy Spirit in your life. His Spirit will flow as long as we’re open to contain what He gives. He never stops giving. We stop receiving.
What other truth do you glean from this story? Please share your thoughts.
I really love how you were able to pull so much out of this story. I always assumed this story taught about how God takes care of our needs. But I really like how you also brought up the themes of asking for help and including children. I can’t think of any other truths you haven’t already revealed. But it does make me want to revisit more stories from Sunday School and see what themes I can find that aren’t always the most obvious to see.