June 27: God cares

Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 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 except a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. 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 can live on the rest.”   (2 Kings 4:1-7 — New American Standard Version)

Here is an amazing account of God helping a widow, who was in serious trouble and had nowhere to turn, to pay off her debts. In those days people were sold into slavery because of debt, and so she was even in danger of losing her children. But God's heart was touched by her need. All through Scripture God promises to help the helpless, rescue those in trouble, and come to the aid of widows and orphans.

It’s important to notice that God used something the widow already had to create her miracle — olive oil — which is exactly what God does today. Many times we may be tempted to think we have no talent, or nothing of value — just as she had first said she had nothing — when in fact the key to our success is right under our noses. 

Another interesting note is that the size of her miracle was determined by the widow herself. She decided how many jars to collect, and as soon as the last one was filled, the oil dried up. If she had had double or triple the jars, she would have been able to fill them up. And today, you cannot blame God for what you have or do not have because they are a direct result of what you have the vision and faith to believe in. — Let’s have faith for big things.