Chaplains Lane

This widow woman has come to a desperate situation in her life. She was alone, a single mother and financially tapped out.

But again –God’s desire is to show himself STRONG on your behalf! However, there was one thing she was very sure of – she knew who to call on in times of trouble.

The scripture tells us that she was the widow of one of Elisha’s servants and that when she felt the overwhelming burden that was on her life she CRIED OUT to Elisha.

One of the greatest comforts we have as children of God is the fact that when we call on Him, He will hear us.

This woman was in a position to receive a miracle and she understood that only God could bring that miracle to pass

So, she cried out to the prophet. She had seen the miracles that accompanied His ministry. She had heard the fabulous stories of the God who heard the requests of Elisha and she went to him.

She approaches the prophet and she begins to detail her plight. She had well rehearsed in her mind what she would say.

All day long she had pondered the ways how God could intervene in her situation.

Her mind was filled with what was wrong! But she had gotten something a little backwards. She had determined

that Elisha was the answer to her problems and was letting him in on all the things she had rehearsed in her mind.

Elisha however, perceived that she was seeking an answer from him and he asked her a rather sarcastic question……What shall I do for thee?

Think about this scene – a widows tears forming a mud hole in the soil, a skinny little child standing behind his mothers apron with a look of desperation on his face and the prophet says, "What shall I do for thee?"

Inother words he was saying – "What can I do about this situation?" After all Elisha is just a prophet.

 Sure he was a MIGHTY prophet, used of God but at the base of it all he is just a man! No more – certainly no less.

But he did what a true prophet does – HE POINTED HER TO GOD!

After the first stinging question, he quickly added another……tell me, what hast thou in the house?

I can only imagine the look on her face as this question rolled off the lips of Elisha.

"Is this guy deaf? Has he taken one too many jabs from the sons of baal? Or is he just nuts…I

already told him my children are going to be taken away because I am up to my eyeballs in debt!"

But the truth is Elisha was not being sarcastic or uncaring. He was attempting to set her mind thinking in the right direction.

She had come to get answers and help from a man but Elisha was trying to show her how to get answers from GOD!

After a long and awkward pause the widow finally gives a frustrated answer…Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

ONE POT of OIL – that’s it! If she sold the oil it would not bring enough money to carry them through the end of another day.

I think that somewhere in the midst of this line of questioning the widow began to realize something.

What was her revelation? Well, that in truth she did have something! Even though it wasn’t much – IT WAS SOMETHING!

And somewhere in her little statement I find a seed of faith…first she says, I have nothing." Then she remembers – "…save a pot of oil."

That small step from believing she had nothing to having something provided a spark in her mind. If I have something (even if it is only one pot of oil) then God has something from which to perform a miracle.

I have heard it (and said it) as many times as you have – GOD CAN TAKE NOTHING AND MAKE IT SOMETHING!

Everything in me says this is true. After all he took the darkness and void and created the universe

He made light from nothing. He created the beast of the field and the foul of the air but first he had to take nothing, make dirt and then make the animals.

So, there is no doubt in my mind He could have simply told Elisha to tell her to go home and every pot in her house would be full – BUT THAT IS NOT WHAT GOD DID! Because that would have been too small of a miracle…Her faith caused her to say – save a pot of oil.

Although she had mentally moved from no faith to "some" faith there was still some action required The prophet said… …Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few.

Her assignment was to gather all the vessels she could, gather them to her home, shut the door and then do the unthinkable. God wanted her to take the last little bit of security she had (the oil) and pour it out.

But she already stepped into the realm of faith and there was no turning back now.

Can you imagine the talk around the community water well? What is this lady doing? She must be mad!

She is borrowing empty vessels from everyone in town. She must have a house full of pots! In reality she was only doing what had been asked of her from the Lord and she was willing to take the ridicule because she was desperate for a miracle.

The way I see it, this lady had two choices – obey and live or disobey and die! She chose to obey and live. Even if that choice made everyone think she was a little off her rocker.

There they sat around all these empty vessels. Tenderly she cupped the last pot of oil in her hand and began

to pour it out into another empty vessel. With the tilt of that little pot she poured out her faith in the command of God.

As one man so ably said, "She provided the effort, God provided the miracle!" Her eyes must have grown outrageously wild as she watched one pot filled, then another and another.

The oil was everywhere! Every borrowed vessel she had placed in her home was brimming with oil.

She had poured out everything she had and God had repaid her by taking her small gift and multiplying it hundreds of time over.

Now she would be able to provide for her family. Now she could rest in the fact that the Lord would never fail her.

As that cause of oil had not failed the God she had obeyed had proved He would never fail either.

I have often wondered when I read this story how many vessels the lady had. Was there 100, 200, 10 or 50?

No one knows except for the widow and her children. However, I am convinced that however many vessels she had, they all were filled.

I am equally convinced that if she could have gone around the world and collected every empty vessel and put it into her living room – THEY WOULD ALL HAVE BEEN FILLED!

There are many lessons that we can learn from this story and all of them applicable in life. Everyday we are faced with seemingly insurmountable situations.

Money problems, work problems, family problems and the list could go on and on.

. We seek the advice of men and the media but we find little hope.

We struggle with the turmoil of it all in our mind and we see the effects of this in our bodies and spirits.

But God has never intended for us to place our ultimate faith in men or the masses. He has called us to a deeper level of faith.

Could it be possible the Lord has placed you in the situations you are facing because He desires to SHOW HIMSELF STRONG ON YOUR BEHALF?

I realize that some things we are facing are because of our own bad choices but there other things that we have no control over

. Could it be the Lord isso desperate to make you desperate that He has placed mountains in your way? Mountains so high the only way you could pass over them would be if God Himself would carry you over them!!!

that is the point. The Lord wants to provide the miracle and He wants all the credit for it!

God is not unaware of the situation you are going through. He is not deaf to your cries for help. His back has not been turned to you because of some great sin in your life.

Rather the opposite is true. God is interested in every aspect of your life, from the greatest struggle to the tiniest of issues, He wants to be involved. IT

MAY VERY WELL BE THE LORD HAS ORCHESTRATED THESE THINGS SO YOU WOULD CRY OUT.

Just like the widow we go to those around us seeking help. We counsel with the pastor, which is right, but ultimately all we can do in the ministry is exactly what Elisha did – point you to Jesus Christ.

We will pray with you, seek God with you and comfort you through the trial but we do these things to help you discover Jesus in

all of this.

But often when we are faced with the overwhelming challenges and we are in desperate need of a miracle!

 God asks us a question…What do you have in your house?

In other words you may be thinking I HAVE NOTHING THAT WILL GIVE ME THE ABILITY TO GET AROUND THIS!

But we need to move from this lack of faith to an abundance of faith. Does that mean we ignore the facts of the situation – NEVER!

I have never really found FACTS to be a hindrance to FAITH unless we allow them to do so. In reality the facts can help us determine the way to pray and seek God with our faith in order to see the miracle!

That is exactly what this widow woman did. She examined her situation. She observed the facts then she allowed the facts to drive her to action.

What was her action? She sought out the man of God and the man of God helped her to discover God in the middle of her mess.

And when she discovered God in the middle of the mess – He performed the miracle!

When she was willing to absorb the facts and move to action the Lord showed Himself strong on her behalf and provided exceedingly and abundantly above anything she could have ever imagined.

I want us to put ourselves in this widow’s shoe. We are down to our last bit of money.

We know that if we are not careful and wise with that little bit we have it will disappear quickly. So we put it away, we hoard it away, we determine to not let any of it get away.

We are desperate to survive until the end of the month. But somehow it slips away and the little we have become even smaller.

So, we are anxiousabout what will happen to us and to our families and we do the only thing we know to do…we cry out to God!

Our prayers sound something like this… Lord pour down money from heaven! Send a check in the mail!

Have someone give us some money! Then in a quiet moment you calm down and the small voice of the Lord speaks to you… Give Away What You Have in Your House.

Wait a minute God…I just told you that I HAVE NOTHING! You heard my prayer, you heard my cry and when I need to be given too the most you are saying give something away.

 When you think you have nothing – take a moment and step over into the realm of faith and begin to take inventory…

1. You have your health – which means you have strength to give someone a little help.

2. You have your mind – which means you can give others comfort.

3. You have some groceries in you house – give them away and see what God will do.

4. You have that little nest egg and God speaks too you about giving it away.

5. You may think you have nothing but God sees you have something – even if it is just one pot of oil.

 You have a lot more than you think you really do. The miracle the Lord wants to perform for you will be based on how much you are willing to give away.

When the widow woman poured out the last portion of oil she did it in an act of faith…

When the woman threw her last 2 pennies in the offering Jesus said she had gave all.

When the little lad handed over his lunch he gave all he had and God blessed it.

Every miracle begins with a PROBLEM and every miracle comes to pass through active faith.

The Lord wants to take your little that is poured out in faith and multiply it beyond you wildest imaginations.

Often we have conditioned to think in terms of lack. But this is the way the world thinks – not the church.

You see God called us to live our lives PALMS DOWN – NOT PALMS UP!