Her
husband had died. There was no way to fulfill her debts. Her creditors decided
to take her two sons as slaves for payment of the obligations that still
remained. She pleaded for assistance with the only man of God she knew.
"Is
there anything in your house?" Elisha asked.
"Nothing
at all," she said, "except a little oil."
Elisha
then instructed her to go and collect all the empty jars that her neighbors
might possess. "Ask for as many as you can," he instructed.
When the
jars were collected, he instructed her to pour what little oil she had into the
jars. The oil was more than enough to fill the jars. In fact, there was more
oil than jars to fill. "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your
sons can live on what is left" (2 Kings 4:7b).
God often
mixes faith with the tangible. The widow believed she had no resources to meet
her need. God said she had more than enough resources. She did not see the one
jar of oil as a resource. It did not become a resource until it was mixed with
faith. Her need was met when her faith was mixed with the practical step of
going into the workplace to sell what she had in order to receive her needed
income. In fact, there was so much income she was able to pay her debts and
live on the money derived from the sale.
Quite
often we forget that God works through commerce to provide for our needs. It is
wrong to place total trust in commerce without faith in God. God often requires
simple obedience to an act that seems ridiculous to the logical mind. It is
this faith mixed with the practical that God honors.
Do you
have a problem that is perplexing to you? Do you see no way of meeting your
need? God may have already given you the skills and talents to meet your need.
However, He may be waiting for you to mix them with faith. Ask God to show you
the steps necessary to solve your problem. Be willing to take the next step.
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