EXPERIENCING AN ABUNDANCE

Can I pray for you in any way? Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com In Christ, Mark

The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

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 little oil."

Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side."

She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another one."
But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

2 Kings 4:1-7

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever found yourself in a time of need?

One thing is certain.

We all will at some time in our lives.

In fact, as we look at our world today, we find no shortage of headlines that underscore hardships that people are going through.

Mudslides wiping out parts of a Sicilian city. Typhoons and subsequent flooding wreaking havoc in the Philippines. Earthquakes striking Indonesia. Fires in California leaving many homeless.

A teenager is beaten to death on his way home from school in Chicago. A Yale student is abducted and senselessly killed. A US Census volunteer is murdered and found hanging from a tree in Kentucky.

And I could write volumes on the financial crisis people are experiencing today. So many unemployed. So many without benefits for proper health care. So many losing their homes to foreclosure. So many just struggling to make ends meet.

Yes…hardship is something we can relate to.

And in those times, we yearn for relief…for recovery…for comfort…for any good news we can cling to.

This is where the Lord can help…if we just turn to Him and trust Him.

To underscore this, we look at today’s scripture passage from 2 Kings.

As Chapter 4 opens, we find a woman who we’re told is the “wife of a man from the company of the prophets”. She is in obvious distress as she cries out to Elisha saying:

“Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."

Now, a few points that need explaining to put this in cultural context.

First, the woman in losing her husband also lost her income source. And with no income, she found herself with no means by which to pay her indebtedness.

Under the Mosaic law of the day, a creditor could legally take away the widow’s two male children and make them work as slaves until either the debt was paid off or the Year of Jubilee occurred where forgiveness of debt was required. And this was exactly what was happening.

Obviously, the woman was distressed. Already having lost her husband, she now was in danger of losing her children too.

How could she possibly find a way out of her circumstance?

She needed a miracle…and she knew right where she could find it…from the Lord.

This is why she went to Elisha. He had already displayed the power of the Holy Spirit that the Lord placed within him…a double portion of what his predecessor Elijah had.

And so as she goes to the prophet, he asks the woman immediately, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?" We learn that all the woman had was a little oil. Nowhere near enough to help pay off what she owed.

So on the surface and from a worldly perspective, it appears that she has very little. But just watch what happens when the Lord gets involved. For remember that the scriptures remind us that nothing is impossible with Him (Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 1:37).

You see…the Lord is in the business of making the impossible possible. Later on in the bible, we’ll read where he fed 5,000 with five loaves and two fish. He then fed 4,000 with seven loaves and a few small fish. He also took barrels of water and turned them into the finest wine for a wedding feast.

And now, he will take a little oil and turn it into an abundance for a widow in need.

For as we return to our passage, we find Elisha instructing the woman to collect empty jars from her neighbors…as many as she could find. She then was to take her two sons, go into her home and shut the door before starting to “pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled”, putting them aside.

So the woman did just what Elisha told her to do. She “left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons”. Once inside, the boys continued to bring jars to her and she kept pouring oil into them. And she poured…and she poured…and she poured…until every jar was full. Then and only then, did the oil stop flowing.

Amazed by what had just taken place, the widow left her home and went to Elisha about what had happened to which he replied, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left."

Can you imagine how this woman felt?

Relieved…grateful…blessed.

This is what happens when we turn our hearts fully to the only One capable of taking the impossible and making it possible. We need only trust in Him…and ask that His will and way be done in our lives, no matter our circumstances.

Where are you at today?

Are you in need of experiencing an abundance in your own life?

The Lord is standing by and awaiting your call.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.

Send any prayer requests to faithhopegodlove@aol.com