Unfettered Faith

2 Kings 4:1-7—Now the wife of a member of the company of prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead; and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but a creditor has come to take my two children as slaves.” Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” She answered, “Your servant has nothing in the house, except a jar of oil.” He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not just a few. Then go in, and shut the door behind you and your children, and start pouring into all these vessels; when each is full, set it aside.” So she left him and shut the door behind her and her children; they kept bringing vessels to her, and she kept pouring. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” But he said to her, “There are no more.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your children can live on the rest.”

 

What amazing faith this widow demonstrates in this passage of Scripture.  Upon her husband’s death, she must have felt so alone and frightened.  Under these circumstances, she might have been justified in questioning Elisha’s instructions, but she unhesitatingly did what he told her to do.  This widow didn’t have much—only one jar of oil. She had no goods or wares to sell, she had no food to cook—she had nothing else.  Yet, she demonstrated tremendous faith in God, and He rewarded her by blessing and multiplying the oil.  Just like this widow was blessed with the oil, God has blessed us with amazing gifts.  We may not recognize the value of what we have been given, but if we stop to heed God’s guidance in our lives He will multiply those blessings beyond anything we can imagine.

Today as you meditate and pray on this Scripture, praise God for the blessings He has bestowed upon you.  Give thanks for the provisions He has placed in your life, and pray for Him to open your eyes to the bounty of His blessings.  Ask God to guide you in being content with what you have so that you may be a good steward of it all.