LITTLE DROPS OF WATER.....
3. And Elisha said, "borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors"
4. "Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.
5. So she did as she was told. Her sons bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another.
6. Soon every container was filled to the brim! " Bring me another jar", she said to one of her sons.
"There aren't anymore!" he told her. And then the oil stopped flowing.
7.When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.
This story is very familiar. You must have known every detail by heart. You might even have questions. Legit questions. Why would a prophet be in debt🙄🙄🙄? What kind of person did he borrow from, that was threatening his kids😱😱😱? Prophets got a lot of gifts back then, why did he have to borrow? No legit Jew could give him😕?
All these questions are what we all would love to get answers to, but the Bible didn't say. We just know there was a problem, and a solution was needed ASAP. These kids would be sold, if help didn't come. A widow would lose her kids. These are the facts before us.
The part that still gets my attention was when Prophet Elisha asked her what she had and she said "nothing, except...". The answer "nothing" was based on what she could see. Her current reality before her eyes. She was speaking from a place of defeat. I am quite sure that she just mentioned the jar of olive oil in passing, not expecting it to be of any use. "Let it not be that I didn't say anything. It isn't much, but let me mention it, so the prophet would know how bad it is.' My thoughts actually🤔🤔🤔
I think the first miracle in the story, is her ability to remember the insignificant oil. That was what led to the series of miracles she experienced. We tend to forget that saying the right thing at the right time is the Spirit's leading by compulsion👼. Unconsciously and impulsively saying what needs to be said, is a miracle we overlook.
From her reply, the prophet saw an opportunity to change her story and he took it. Asked her to fill all her jars with oil, borrow from neighbors and keep pouring. As long as there was an empty jar to pour into, the oil kept flowing. It didn't stop until she said "there isn't any more".
Elisha then instructed them to sell the oil, pay the debts and live on what was left. They had more than enough left. From the same jar of oil that shared a sentence with nothing. It wasn't meant to be of any use. But in the hand of God, it became everything.
What does this teach us? Quite a few lessons actually. You are never empty. God never leaves us empty. We didn't come to the world empty, and for the rest of our lives, we will always have something. It is very easy to look at your present reality and conclude. Very easy to accept defeat. Very easy to give up. Sometimes what we might call a hobby, a weakness, a disadvantage, an inadequacy, a setback, would end up being the very thing that opens the door for us.
Every time there was a miracle in scripture, especially when it was a miracle of multiplication, it came from what was handy. The feeding of the 5000 (John 6:1-14). Turning water to wine (John 2:1-10). Parting the Red Sea (read the whole book of Exodus, when you have the time). Funny enough, for each time, those involved never knew the power they carried. Sound familiar?
I am very sure the boy who gave his lunch to the disciples, never knew twelve baskets of leftovers could come from five loaves and two fishes. I am certain that the servants thought they were serving people ordinary water, when Jesus asked them to. I also believe that Moses always saw his staff as a normal stick, until a sizeable number of miracles came from him wielding the staff as God led.
This brings me to my second lesson. Do not take for granted, any gift or possession, or ability, God has placed in your hand. God is very intentional about us. It doesn't matter how young you are, God gives you enough for the now. As a teenager, you are enough. God has given you enough.
I encourage you, to make a list of your strengths, hobbies, interests and the like. Present them before God, and ask Him for the why and the how. The why stands for purpose and plan. The how stands for direction and execution. It is not too early to find out what God requires of the life He has given you. There is a purpose for every season.
Then my third lesson. As long as there was an empty jar, the oil kept flowing. The moment the widow declared that there was none left, the flow stopped. If there was more, the flow of oil would have continued. This means there are no limits with God. There is no limit to what God can do in you and with you. There is always supply and avenues for God to manifest Himself through us, as long as we are willing. Do not limit yourself to what you are seeing; your age, background, finances, family, society, ability/disability, mistakes etc. You are so much more.
Final lesson from my end. Ask for help, when you need it. The widow could have had her sons sold to slavery, if she didn't speak up. she could have ended up in depression, or died in sorrow, if she didn't speak up. Whatever shame she could have hidden from, would have been worse if others heard her sons have bee sold to pay her late husband's debt. Sometimes we make a bad situation worse, when we choose ego over crying for help.
When you speak up on time, you save yourself and others a lot of headache. No matter how bad it is, it can't be worse than the danger ahead. Defy the shame and speak up!!!
These are my own lessons from the story. The little oil, made the whole difference. Hence the topic, "little drops of water, make a mighty ocean". 🤗🤗🤗
What other lessons did you learn from the story? You can engage in the comment section, and I will answer. But before I go, I leave you with this passage to commit to memory; 1Timothy 4:14. It says, "Do not neglect the spiritual gift you received through prophecy spoken over you when the elders of the church laid their hands on you". You are loaded. Don't let circumstances tell you otherwise💪💪💪
No comments:
Post a Comment