All that We Need

      By Fern Horst

"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. 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. 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.

"So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and upon her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. 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. 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." (II Kings 4:1-7)

The stories of God's provision for individuals abound, not only in the Bible but in autobiographies and biographies through the centuries, and in stories told by people such as you and I. It's important that we read and hear each others' stories, because as we do, our faith is strengthened in the fact that it is God who provides for us. If we are His, He will and does provide for His own, though not always in the same way or timing that He does for someone else. He always, though, provides for what we need.

In this Old Testament story, a woman who lost her husband has two sons, whom the creditor is threatening to sell as slaves in order to cover for the money that she owes him. It's very telling that this woman, upon reaching the end of her rope, went to Elisha. Elisha was a man of God, and it seems that in approaching him with her problems she was realizing that there was still hope: God could help her.

Her faith was rewarded, but it required some action on her part. It required that she go out and ask her neighbors for empty vessels to fill with the little bit of oil she had left. She must have felt a bit foolish, but she followed the instructions Elisha gave her. She filled one bottle and crock after another, until there weren't any more to fill. She was then able to sell the oil, pay her debt, and have enough for her and her children to live on.

I see several lessons in this account for us.

One is that God provides for the single person. He provides for the married person also, of course, but in this and many other accounts we have specific anecdotes of God providing for those without a spouse. If we ever have any doubt that God cares about the single person, here's one of many indications that He most certainly does.

A second lesson is that we shouldn't be afraid to go to godly people for advice when we are stumped about what to do next. This woman went to Elisha, a prophet of God. We can go to godly family members, pastors, or friends - someone we can trust to give us advice that lines up with God's Word.

Third, we need to not only have faith that God will provide, but we also need to do what He tells us to do, even if it seems foolish. It may seem like it won't be enough, but if God is nudging us to do it, we may be amazed at how God will multiply that effort. It's important that we obey His promptings.

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, and He's easily able to place steak on our tables if that's what we need.

"But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19)

"Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matthew 6:31-33)

© 2005 Fern Horst

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