A friend once told me you can’t just sit on a bean bag in your boxers, eating Cheetos and playing video games, and expect God to bring a job your way. When God works a miracle in your life, He expects you to respond with faith.
This truth is as old as Elijah and God’s faithful before him.
In the ancient world, if a woman was a widow with no family to care for her, she faced severe challenges. Widows or divorced women often had to resort to prostitution or begging.
However, this particular woman did neither. Instead, she sought help from the prophet.
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.” (2 Kings 4:1).
This woman was the wife of one of the roving prophets often mentioned in Elijah’s story. She told him her husband lived in the fear of the Lord, meaning he had a humble relationship with God, sought His direction, and followed His advice.
She believed her husband’s faithfulness, and likely her own, gave her the ability to seek help from the prophet.
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” (2 Kings 4:2).
Like my friend, who talked about sitting in a bean bag and waiting for God to act, Elijah knew this woman needed to do something to show her faith.
Her contribution to the miracle showed she believed in God’s ability and willingness to help. She didn’t doubt God’s character, and Elijah called her to act based on her faith.
He said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels—and not just a few.
Then go in, 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” (2 Kings 4:3-6).
Think about the many times in the Bible when God called people to join Him in His work.
- God told Moses that He would free the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But then, He said Moses’s job was to be His instrument.
- In the story of Elisha, Naaman needed healing from leprosy. He had to leave his place, go to the Jordan River, and dip himself seven times. God had a miracle waiting for this soldier, but it required Naaman to agree with God and do something that seemed strange to him.
- Jesus was about to feed 5,000 hungry people in a deserted place. Someone with their lunch had to give up their fish and bread for Jesus to turn them into a feast for thousands.
- A man who had been paralyzed for years lay by a pool, hoping an angel would stir the waters so he could be healed. Jesus came by and told him to do what seemed impossible: rise, take up your bed, and walk. When his will met the will of the Lord, Jesus gave him the power to walk again.
Faith and Miracles
God often asks for faith to unlock the power of miracles. Faith shows that we believe God is real, loves us, and can meet our needs. If we don’t trust him and act in faith, we’re doubting these truths about God and disrespecting him.
We should ask ourselves: What does God want from us to complete his work in our lives?
Once we know, the next question is, are we doing what he asks?
YouTube Discussion
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 