Our Actions Prove Our Faith

Happy Happy Thanksgiving!  Have a blessed day with your families and/or friends!

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:5-6

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured.  When the vessels were full, she said to her son, "Bring me another vessel." And he said to her, "There is not one vessel more." And the oil stopped.

Insights: Let me quote Michael Catt’s book The Power of Desperation again this week.  He wrote, “The widow didn’t call the local paper to come and watch.  She didn’t get on the local radio or television station to describe the jars.  She did what she was told to do and shut the door. . . .  The key to getting hold of God is to get alone with Him.  God seldom meets us in a crowd.”  Notice she shut the door.  It is referenced three times in this passage.  If we are going to live lives that bring honor and glory to God, then they have to be lives of faith.  The only way to grow our faith and to truly hear what the Father has to say to us is by getting alone and having our daily quiet time.  Again, let me remind you that this is a real historical event.  The Lord God literally performed a miracle in this woman’s life.  At the same time, oil in the Bible is often times associated with the Holy Spirit.  This woman shut the door and let the Holy Spirit fill her life full of His presence and blessing because she walked in obedience to the Lord’s commands.  The last thing I want you to understand is that her actions of going to the neighbors for the vessels, shutting the door and pouring the oil proved what she really believed about Elisha’s command.  This woman did believe the words of the prophet, and through the prophet, the words of God.  Because she did believe, she obeyed and watched God perform a miracle in her life.  Beloved, we need to quit doubting the commands of God and obediently say, “Yes” to Him and let Him work the details out in our lives.  No matter what you are facing, I promise you it will be better for you to prove your faith with obedience than to try and solve the issue yourself.  Let God perform a miracle as you pour a little oil into the empty jars of your life.

Questions:

1. What do your actions say about your faith?
2. When was the last time you actively and whole-heartedly abandoned yourself to the will of God?

Prayer: Father, forgive me when I fail to walk in obedience, but hear my cry now and change my faithless heart into a courageous heart which lives by faith.  I desire for my life to honor You.  By Your grace may it be so.  Amen.