What God Had Done For Her

What God Had Done For Her

More than Enough

2 Kings 4:2,3 "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.

Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."

God is always at work in the lives of men, women and groups of people every day and sometimes unawares to the people involved. God's method of doing His good work in the lives of men, women and groups of people is by using other men and women whom He chooses to use. It can sometimes be mistaken when He is using a man that people will conclude that the man is doing it by self effort. We can learn from past records of how God uses a man to do His work. One such example is when God used Elisha to supernaturally provide for a widow who was in need of help.

The Condition of The Woman

2 Kings 4:1 'Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.'

Her husband was a good man. He served God sincerely. Women can tell whether their husbands were sincere or not. For this woman, she had a good testimony of her husband.

"... Thy servant my husband ...knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD..."

No matter how good a man is, he cannot continue to do the good he had been doing before he died. Someone must continue the good work until finished or the project can be left abandoned. For this man, he left the family with debt to be settled.

"...and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen."

The creditors were merciless and one way to get back their money was to take the sons of the late man as slaves to serve as payment. It was an unfortunate situation. All the pressure was on the woman. She needed help and the help must come immediately.

Attempt At Getting Help

"Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.'

One way of getting help is by reaching the right person or people for help. Elisha was the person she approached. Why did she choose to approach him?

"...Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD..."

The dead man had a healthy relationship with Elisha so she had the confidence to approach him. He was Elisha's servant and Elisha had known him to fear God. Could she had taken attempt to approach other men? We are not sure. It is possible she had taken attempt but nothing came out of it. Elisha was a man who was ready to help based on what grace he carried. Had he had money to give her, he would have given her. No man can give what he does not have. Elisha had something and he was ready to give.

Who Was Elisha?

2 Kings 3:11 C "...Here is Elisha the son of Shaphat, which poured water on the hands of Elijah.

Elisha served Elijah while Elijah was on Earth alive. He was faithful to Elijah to such an extend that people were aware of his faithfulness.

 "... Elisha ...which poured water on the hands of Elijah..."

Elisha had learned the art of faithfulness and commitment to a course. 

2 Kings 3:12 'And Jehoshaphat said, The word of the LORD is with him. So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

Great men and common people knew that Elisha always spoke the mind of God. He never changed position as to what God was saying. People came to know him as 

"...The word of the LORD is with him..."

Their reaction to this was that they sought to hear from him what God was saying concerning any issue.

"...So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat and the king of Edom went down to him."

Why would they go to him? Because they will get the truth and cruise of any matter. It is like whatever he will say will end any crisis. Could that be said of you? Can you keep your personal opinion aside when the truth is clear? Elisha was such a man you can trust to keep to the word of God. This added to the confidence the widow had to approach Elisha. Men and women who hear from God can easily be used of Him. When God works, He works through them.

2 Kings 3:15, 16 'But now bring me a minstrel. And it came to pass, when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him.

And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches."

Elisha was not rash into giving people the word of God. The Spirit of God must first come on him. He creates the atmosphere for that to happen.

"...bring me a minstrel...when the minstrel played, that the hand of the LORD came upon him..."

A minstrel is a musician or musical instrumentalist who inspires. By the playing of musical instruments, Elisha will be under the inspiration to speak correctly the mind of God. He will then speak.

".. the hand of the LORD came upon him.

And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Make this valley full of ditches."

This man speaks by divine influence and not by carnal selfish motive. When he is not naturally under the influence, he creates the atmosphere for the Spirit of God (hand of the LORD) to trigger the outpouring of truth. It was this same Elisha that God used to help the widow. Why would she go anywhere else? This should be her final bus stop. Will he help her?

"...Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen."

The Strategy

God had used several approaches to help people in the past. Before Elisha, there was Elijah, there was Moses and many others. God used them in several different ways, could He use any of the previous ways? Or was He going to use a different approach? What approach will He use to help the widow.

2 Kings 4:2 "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil."

Instead of giving to her, he asked of her. Is that the way to solve this particular problem? The way he asked of her, it appeared he had a ready made solution.

"...What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house?..."

This woman needed help to clear herself of creditors and here Elisha is asking her if she had anything. This man will not take advantage of any man talk less of a widow. Had he had any money, he would have given her. She answered him sincerely

"...she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil."

She had something left in house after all. She had a pot of oil. She told him the truth. So what was he going to do with the pot of oil?

2 Kings 4:3 "Then he said, Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."

Meanwhile, he did not use the pot of oil. He asked her to go and borrow some more. However she was asked to borrow what will be used for the miracle she needed.

"...Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbours, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."

The pots she was asked to borrow will be used for the miracle and will be used to produce more so that her pressing need can be solved.

More instruction was given:

2 Kings 4:4 "And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."

She followed through to the last instruction until her miracle came. Notice something about the subsequent instruction:

"...And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door ..."

Shutting the door signified keeping all distractions away. For her to get her complete miracle, distractions must be kept out so that she could act according to instruction. Only those who are in tune with the truth of the mind of God were allowed in. They saw her borrowing vessels but they do not know what she will use them for. This can cause distraction.

"...pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full."

This is funny. How can less than one litre of oil fill several litres of vessels? This is what only God can do. It is not naturally possible. No wonder she was asked to borrow not a few vessels and asked to shut the door. Could God be asking you to do what appears funny? A miracle is waiting for you. This is what God is doing.

You have to create a capacity for the coming miracle. Where you place a limit, God stops the miracle.

2 Kings 4:6 "And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed."

Growth helps us to create capacity for more. When we stop growing, we put a stop to the miracle working power of God. May you continue to grow and create capacity for more.

Problem Solved And Life Becomes Better

2 Kings 4:7 "Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest.'

She came to the man of God wanting her problem to be solved. She followed through the instruction given and God gave her a miracle that solved her problem permanently. She followed through and not only paid her debt but had more than enough. Your story will be the same. 

As from today, God will help you. He will provide more than enugh for you. The problem will be rolled away. You will be a new and happy person.

Pray:

My Lord and my God, today I ask You to give me a miracle just as you gave this widow. Use whoever and whatever means to reach me for a miracle. I will obey your instructions as Your word is made clear and Your Spirit is present to give the light.

Thank You for answering my prayers in Jesus name I pray. Amen!