Scripture: 2
Kings 4:3-4
Then
he said, "Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your
neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. "And
you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into
all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full."
Insights: Hebrews 11:6 informs us that it is
impossible to please God without faith.
One of the attributes of faith is that it always presses us outside of
our comfort zones. A lot of times the
commands of God don’t even make sense to us.
I can only image when Elisha, the spokesman for God, told her to go to
all of her neighbors and borrow EMPTY vessels from them that this widow
thought, “What good is that going to do me?”
In our modern day mind we would have thought Elisha would have told her
to go and get all of the FULL vessels from her neighbors and have an “oil sale”
to raise money. After all, that is the
way God works, right? Obviously, the
answer is no. That method is not the way
the Lord always works. In life we face
all kinds of things. The woman in our
reading lost her husband and was now facing the bill collectors. I am not saying God caused her husband to die
in order for Him to test her faith. What
I am saying is God will use any situations in which we find ourselves to test
our faith. Sometimes the Lord puts us in
those situations (i.e. Adam and Eve).
Sometimes the Lord allows Satan to put us in those situations (i.e.
Job). Sometimes the Lord allows us to
put ourselves in those situations (i.e. Ananias and Sapphira). The point is no matter how the situation
comes about, the Lord will use it to test our faith. He gave this woman the answer to her problem,
but would she accept His answer of provision.
After all, the answer the Lord gave sounded pretty crazy. Beloved, let me encourage you to respond
positively to whatever the Lord asks you to do.
I promise you in the end you will be glad you did. Every time you respond with a “Yes, Lord!”
your faith grows; your trust and dependence upon Him grows; your boldness and
ability to walk faithfully after Him grows.
Every time you are stronger and better than you were before. Trust the Lord, step out of your comfort
zone, and give glory to the Lord as you walk by faith!
Questions:
- In
what ways is God presently testing your faith?
- What
has He specifically asked you to do that you are reluctant to obey?
Prayer: Father, I
understand that You will always press on me to move beyond my comfort zone and
walk in the realm of faith. Help me in
my weakness to trust You and to bring You glory as I respond in faith. Amen.
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