Are You Ready to Pour Your Oil?

So far this year, we’ve talked about spending more time with God, getting rid of the things that block our faith and making time for what really matters. Today, I want to ask the question, “Are You Ready to Pour Your Oil?” What exactly do I mean by that, you may wonder?  Awesome…I was hoping you would ask that!  This question is derived from the biblical story of the Widow whose husband had recently died.  His creditor had threatened to make the woman’s two sons into slaves if she couldn’t pay off her deceased spouse’s debt.    In desperation, she went and cried out to the Prophet Elisha. After she explained her situation, he asked her, two things: “How can I help you?” and “Tell me, what do you have in your house?” 2 Kings 4:2a NIV.   Here’s where the lesson of the story slowly begins to stir to life.   The woman replies, “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “Except a small jar of oil” 2 Kings 4:2b NIV. Two of the most poignant words in her statement are “nothing” and “except.” They are complete opposite of each other.   According to one source, nothing means “all gone” while except is defined as “aside from.”

According to the scripture, Elisha does something quite remarkable. He instructs her to “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars.  Don’t ask for just a few.  Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.  Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” 2 Kings 4:3 NIV.  The woman left the prophet and did as she was instructed to do.  After they gathered all the jars, she and her sons went behind closed doors.  Each son would bring her an empty jar. She would pour the oil until each one would fill up and move onto the next.  At last, every single jar became full.  Afterwards, the oil stopped running. When the woman reported this back to Elisha, he told her to sell the oil to pay off her debt and to live off the rest.

This story contains several key factors that are applicable to us today. First, it reveals how the Lord took little of nothing and made something out of it.  That’s what He can do in our lives.  When our faith is the size of a Mustard seed, He can cause it root and grow into a tangible blessing.  One that is not only obvious to our friends but also our foes.  I believe that’s why Elisha had the woman ask for jars from all her neighbors, not just some.  In this way, they would all unwittingly bare witness to the Power of God’s greatness, too.

Another aspect revealed in this story is the woman’s obedience. In order to “Pour the Oil” she had to place her complete trust in the Lord.  That’s why she cried out to Elisha in the first place.  She knew he had a connection to God. According to the world, her children were fatherless and would be sold into slavery.  It is very likely she would have accepted this assumption except for one important thing.  Unlike the world, she knew that her children had a Heavenly Father and hope for a better tomorrow.  That’s precisely why she had no problem gathering up the empty jars.  She had faith that the Holy Provider would make a way out of their dreadful circumstance.   Most importantly, she was willing do her part to help ensure that deliverance.

Lastly, there was a reason Elisha asked the woman and her sons to go behind closed doors when they poured the oil. I believe he wanted to make sure they had no distractions.  He knew the oil would only flow for a limited amount of time and that every minute would be essential to the Widow’s overall blessing. The same could be said for our lives today.  We should live with the understanding that the ‘flow’ of our life will end someday!  As a result, we should cherish each moment now.

Therefore, no matter what goals we have for 2017, my friend, the Lord will still expect us to “Pour Our Oil.”  In other words, be willing to do the work it will take to achieve them.  Then and only then, will He use His majestic power to turn our ‘very little jar’ of faith into an everlasting flow of abundance.