2 Kings 1-4
The God Who Provides

She found herself in a most difficult situation. Her husband, a faithful prophet of God, had died, leaving her with some debts which she could not repay (at least immediately). To make matters worse, the creditor had threatened to take away her children into slavery for the debt. In her despair, she cried out to Elisha, the man of God. He responded, "'What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?' And she said, 'Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.'"

She probably mentioned the jar of oil out of despair more than anything else, a way of emphasizing exactly how dire her situation really was. Elisha, however, knew better. "Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside" (v. 3-4).

That's it? I'm about to lose my children, and you are telling me to get more jars? Can't you see what is going on? My situation is too desperate to spend time pouring oil! Can't you change these rocks to gold or something? Sadly, those are all the things I may have been thinking upon receiving these instructions. But, this woman was of greater faith, and we are told, "So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. When the vessels were full, she said to her son, 'Bring me another vessel.' And he said to her, 'There is not another.' 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 sons can live on the rest'" (v. 5-8). We see then that not only did God provide for her immediate need, but for future needs as well.

This story reminds us that God watches over His own, and that he provides in the most remarkable, and at the same time unremarkable, ways. Sometimes, we must do something in the process, just as this woman had to pour the oil into the jars. But we are not providing for ourselves anymore than the woman provided for herself by doing so. The LORD is the one who sees to our needs.

I need to be reminded with lessons like this. Trust in God is always a struggle. We all know by heart Matthew 6:33, "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." But living it—that's a challenge, isn't it? Dilemmas in life arise and we think, "There's just no way I can get out of this." Yet, how often has God provided mightily? Just how often do we see God doing just as He said He would do—maybe not as we thought it He would do, but as He said nevertheless. Then, we are shamed because of our lack of faith. "I'll never doubt God again!" we say—only the next time to do it again! Let us remember the miracle of the widow's oil in those moments. May our faith grow to trust in God like this faithful woman, and do the simple things we can do in times of need, trusting in Him.