A Nugget from New Life Network
(excerpts from Chris Musgrove of Future Now)
Scripture for the Day – October 1, 2019
II Kings 4:1-7: A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”
When the woman was asked by Elisha what she had in the house she said, “I have nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Why is it that people focus on what they don’t have instead of what they do have? Recently I heard a friend of mine say something that I thought was profound. In fact, I wrote it down in my journal. He said, “Start where you are, use what you have, and do what you can.”
After receiving instructions from Elisha, to gather as many containers as they could get, she went and did as he had been instructed. She started where she was, she used what she had, and she did what she could. It is interesting to note that when her son said, “There is not another vessel.” The oil ceased being poured out! God can’t fill vessels that you don’t bring. As long as there is an empty vessel, He will keep pouring out. Pour all you have into what you have. The limiting factor was not the oil but the vessels.
One of my grandsons is a freshman on a Division 1 football team. He was a big dog in high school football, but he is now a little dog in college football. It will take him starting where he is, using what he has, and doing what he can to get to where he wants to go. Things in life can look overwhelming sometimes, but we need to be like empty vessels and ask God for help in those areas that appear to be impossible. Our enemy wants to convince us to quit, but that is not the answer. In fact, the only way we lose is if we do quit.
Prayer: God help us keep a perspective of what you can do regardless of the circumstances going on around us. Open our eyes to what we have and what we can do with it and how you can multiply whatever we do have if we just trust you with it.
