“What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil” she replied.
And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting the jars aside as they are filled.”
So she did as she was told. Her sons brought many jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar, “she said to one of her sons.
“There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing.
When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and there will be enough money left over to support you and your sons.” 2 Kings 4: 1-7
This is one of those quiet miracles in the Bible that you’ve probably read, but if you’re anything like me you might have brushed over it quickly. I re-read it this week and it impacted me in such a deep way. I can’t stop thinking about it. This is a story of faith. A story of believing things will get better when the reality feels so different. A reminder that acts of faith come before the miracle.
The number of jars the sons and widow gathered was an indication of their faith. Scripture doesn’t say exactly how many they gathered, but it’s clear the oil was flowing in such a way that it wouldn’t run out until the jars were gone. If they had gathered even more jars, they would have had even more oil. God’s provision was as large as their faith and willingness to obey.
I think we often limit God’s blessings with our lack of faith. Ephesians 3:20 says that by his mighty work within us, He is able to accomplish infinitely more than we could ever dare to ask or hope. And Jesus himself reminds us of this truth in Mark 9:23: “What do you mean, ‘if I can?’ Jesus asked. Anything is possible if a person believes.”
We have a little whiteboard I keep in our laundry room area and this week I’m writing GATHER YOUR JARS on it as a reminder of this story. Let’s have big faith, my friends. Let’s believe the promises of God more than we believe the lies from satan. And let’s confidently trust the Lord to show up and do big things when it’s least expected.
Get those jars ready.
Love this Sarah