She was a desperate woman—a widow and a mother—hopelessly in debt.
You can read her story in 2 Kings 4:1-7.
The Enemy had subtracted almost everything of value from her life. He had minused away her husband, her resources, her ability to sustain herself … until all that she—and her two sons—had left was a pile of unpaid bills … and a jar with her last bit of oil.
This is when the man of God, Elisha, came along. He knew her, and after getting a handle on her situation, he wanted to help. He asked her not to inventory what she had lost, but what she had LEFT. “What do you have in the house?”
“Just the last of my oil …”
Then, the woman—who already owed debts that she could not pay—was told to go and BORROW again. To borrow vessels, empty vessels … and not just a few. Where would she get those vessels? From her neighbors, who no doubt knew the dire predicament she was in and probably doubted her ability to return them? He was telling her to incur MORE debt?
An impossible situation.
But, GOD—who isn’t in the minusing business, but in the MULTIPLICATION business—helped her to gain unexpected resources from out of NOWHERE. She did borrow those vessels. The LAST of what she had became the FIRST of her abundance—and what REMAINED became more than enough.
For what purpose? to not only sustain herself and her sons, but to fulfill needs and to be a blessing to the others around her—to those very ones whose vessels she had borrowed. They needed that oil. She was able to meet THEIR needs with HER miracle, thus restoring her finances and her reputation. She poured and filled every vessel brought to her, until she looked for yet another, but was told, “There isn’t another!” … and only then did the oil stop flowing. It was just enough.
Could it be that WE are the unlikely resource through whom others around us will find the OIL that God is freely providing—of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost? Are there empty hearts around us—within REACH—that we can prayerfully place under the miraculous Spirit stream that we have found? Should we be looking, in prayer, for yet “another vessel” where the still-flowing Holy Ghost oil could be poured? Or could the supply possibly stop flowing through us before all the available vessels are filled? God forbid.
We will never run out of need; our capacity for need is endless. But, God never runs out of resources; His capability for provision is INFINITE. The LORD will never need what you have LOST—but He WILL use what you have LEFT.
A.B. Simpson wrote, “The Lord is saying to you, ‘Bring them to me.’ (Matthew 14:18) Firmly hold the vessels before Him, in faith and in prayer. Remain still before Him, and stop your own restless working until He begins to work. Do nothing that He Himself had not commanded you to do. Allow God time to work and He surely will. Then the very trials that threatened to overcome you with discouragement and disaster will become God’s opportunity to reveal His grace and glory in your life, in ways you have never known before.”
There is no limit to the GOOD that God can potentially do in us, and through us, as we “borrow” every empty “vessel” we can find—NOT a FEW!—and bring them to the LORD in prayer and obedience. From NOTHING, God is able to—and will—“open the windows of heaven and pour out a blessing” through OUR hands “that there shall not be room enough to receive it.” (Malachi 3:10)
“And my God will liberally supply (fill until full) your every need according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19 AMP)
My prayer: Dear JESUS …
- Fill my cup, LORD—many times over, and multiply the healing influence of the Holy Ghost in my life and family.
- Show me other “empty vessels”—souls in need within my reach that I can “borrow” in prayer to be filled from Your endless supply. In Your hands, LORD, my emptiness becomes Your everything.
- Identify in me “empty vessels” I am carrying in my heart from day to day—voids of hurt, bitterness, or chronic doubt. Help me to allow You to fill those spaces with thankfulness, trust, and Your abiding joy.
- Show me the hours of my day spent in less-worthy time pursuits—selfish indulgences that profit little to nothing—that could be filled with more of YOU, through prayer, Your Word, sharing Your Light with others.
- Do not allow me to leave any potential vessels unfilled, for “as long as there is a vessel of grace not yet full to the brim, the oil shall not be stayed.” (Spurgeon)
In Jesus’ name, Amen.
