January 22, 2024
Elisha said, “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”… She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.
—2 Kings 4:3-5

Many of today’s Americans are in dire straits. The widow described here knew what that felt like. Creditors were going to seize her two sons as slaves, and she couldn’t stop them. She had only a tiny bit of oil to her name. Why would Elisha ask her for empty jars? Prophet or not, didn’t he know he was being foolish? Why didn’t he just give her oil, or food or money to pay her debt?

The widow’s trust seems strange, but notice what happened after she retrieved all those jars. She “kept pouring,” over and over. Her little bit suddenly became more than she needed—enough to sell to pay her impossible debt.

We often find ourselves in situations similar to this widow’s. Physically, mentally or emotionally, we’ll be depleted. We’ll be tempted to give up and let life take more than it’s already sapped from us. You might be there right now. You might think you can’t stand one more chemo treatment, one more fight with your destructive loved one, or one more night wondering where your next paycheck is coming from. You might even be tempted to take your own life.

In these circumstances, dredging up trust can feel impossible. Ask God to help you find a tiny measure of your own oil: trust. Use your talents one more time. Reach out to one more person who needs help. Make a phone call and ask for help yourself. God will find a way to use what you have and reward your faith.