There are MANY lessons that we can learn from the prophet Elisha. This is the sixth in a series, appearing in the next few Saturday editions of The Nugget, focusing on the life of this great prophet.
“When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.” (2 Kings 4:6)
The widow of one of the company of prophets is in dire need. If she can not come up with money to pay off her debts, her sons will be taken away from her. All she has in the house is a little bit of oil, and Elisha tells her to do something strange indeed: She is to send her sons around to collect all of the empty vessels they can find in the neighborhood, then she is to begin pouring oil into the vessels!
Anyone of you who has read this story will know that the widow did just that. She began pouring oil from her vessel into another, and another, and another, until all of the vessels were full. Only then did the oil cease.
I find it interesting to note that as soon as there were no more vessels to fill, the oil stopped flowing. As we saw in the last devotional portraying Elisha’s life, oil is used throughout the Bible as a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Jesus promised, when He returned to Heaven, that He would send His Spirit to us, which He did at Pentecost. Just like the oil in the widow’s jar kept running until there were no more vessels to fill, we know that there is no end to God’s Spirit. It just keeps pouring out — but only if there is an empty vessel to receive it!
Is your church a bit short on the workings of the Holy Spirit? Are your numbers decreasing instead of increasing? Is there division and strive in your congregation? Is faith at it’s lowest point in years, while throughout your numbers disease and poverty rampage, and criticism is at an all-time high? Could it be that maybe, just maybe, there isn’t any vessels empty enough to receive God’s Spirit?
But don’t go point the finger at your pew mate, my friend. The question is directed at you: Are you an empty vessel? Or are you filled up with disbelief, pride, selfishness, or greed? If you are, there won’t be room for the Holy Spirit to pour out upon your life!
What about it, my friends? Should we start emptying ourselves of “us” so that we can be filled with “Him”?
See next Saturday’s edition of The Nugget for Elisha, Part 7.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org , ]]>
(To access the entire “Lessons From Elisha” mini-series, please click here.)