Giving Your 'Nearly 'Nothing'ናሙና

How Many Vessels Would You Gather?

Yesterday we left our widow in the situation where she had asked Elisha for help and he had asked what she had left in her house. She had told him that she had ‘nearly nothing’ left. Let’s see what happens next.

2 Kings 4:3-7
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbours—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. 4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. 6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.”

And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. 7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

If we devote the little we do have to God and live for Him, our ‘nearly nothing’ can be blessed and multiplied greatly! To have the capacity for her ‘nearly nothing’ to become ‘something’, she needed to go and borrow vessels from her neighbours. She also needed to have faith that her little bit of oil could fill all those vessels.

Like the first story, this widow was told what would happen before she took any action. She knew that her oil could be multiplied to fill the other vessels and it seems that she also had faith that it could happen! Maybe the number of vessels she gathered was also a representation of how much faith she had. She knew WHAT the miracle would be, so it was up to her to get the vessels in that knowledge.

Just like the widow knew the outcome before needing to take action, we also know the outcome of a life with Jesus. We know that He is preparing a place for us to be with Him and we know what actions we need to take to be there with Him.

Not only did the woman have faith, but her sons were also involved in gathering vessels, and in a way, her neighbours were a passive part of it too. What a contagious faith!

When there were no more vessels; when they had no more capacity to receive, the miraculous supply stopped. She got more than what she was asking for. She was trying to prevent her sons from becoming servants, but in the end, they could pay off the debt AND have some to live off of! God goes above and beyond to look after us and provide more than what we expect!