Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.” 2 Kings 4:3
A prophet’s widow had come to Elisha because she was about to have her two boys removed from her due to past due debt she owed. Since she was a widow, she did not have the means to support herself to pay the debts. She told Elisha that she only had a little bit of oil left in a small jar, so Elisha told her to go and get as many empty jars as possible.
Once she had received many jars, she had to pour the oil from her small jar into all the other jars. The oil did not run out until all the jars were filled. She was able to sell the oil and pay her debt and live off of what was left.
It is very common for people to pray for various needs that they have. The prayers are usually to for God to fix a situation in their life. Most of those prayers are very specific to the need that is visibly seen at the moment and stops right there. Rarely do the prayers focus on the long-term or the eternal consequences of the situation.
God loves to fix the situations in the lives of His children, but He fixes them with a long-term goal, not just for the moment. When God provided for the widow through Elisha, it was enough for her to survive on after paying the immediate debt. In order for God to do that, however, she had to go out and get as many jars as possible.
In your life, there may be times when you have to go out and get something for God to use in your life. Give it your best effort and get as much as possible. The item that God may have you get is a job, or a new location, or new friends, or a new ministry, but in and through all of these things, you need God’s Holy Spirit for strength and guidance.
It is good to be touched by His Holy Spirit on Sunday in the church service, but that is not enough. Throughout the week you need to be continually filled with His Holy Spirit to overflowing. As the oil kept flowing for the widow as she poured it out, so will God’s Holy Spirit flow in and out of you as you seek Him.
Seek God’s presence in your life throughout your week, each and every day. Grab to the overflowing of His Spirit in your life. Don’t just stop with “just enough” for now.
How much of God are you asking for?
Do want all of God?
Or just a small part of Him?
Don’t ask for “just enough”, get all that you can and see what God can do in and through you today.
I pray today that you will know God in a greater way; that you will seek to have all of God; that God will fill you daily with His Holy Spirit; that you will not settle for a little with God; and that God will use you to do great things in this world to build His kingdom.
Not what I was expecting. I agree completely. I would suggest taking it further and seek to walk in lock step with the Spirit every moment of every day. Don’t just pray for what you think is good in a situation but pray for God’s PERFECT WILL for only God knows his ultimate purpose. The widow was following the instructions of the Spirit when she got as many jars as she could. Let us be careful to follow the Spirit in all we do. In this way, we cannot lose.
Amen! I agree with you. I can only put so much in this short devotional though. Many times I could say a lot more than what I do, but I don’t want it so long that people don’t have time to read it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!