“And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil” (2 Kings 4:2).
TEXT — 2 Kings 4:1-7
Message
There are cultures in some parts of the world today, where debtors sell themselves or their children as slaves to their creditors to offset their debt. Others have to borrow more money from elsewhere or find a wealthy benefactor willing to settle their debt crunch.
The widow in our text was in a great bind. Her husband and breadwinner for the home was dead. Although God-fearing, the man had borrowed so much money, and could not pay it back before his death. This debt was bequeathed to his wife and two sons. The creditor made an offer to her to sell her two sons as slaves to him, in settlement of the debt. The widow had little or no room to manoeuvre. She simply took her predicament to Prophet Elisha, and narrated her ordeal. He directed her to go and borrow as many empty vessels as she could find from her neighbours. He told her to shut the door behind her and start pouring the pot of oil into the containers. She promptly obeyed, and soon returned to Elisha with the testimony that the oil in her solitary pot, filled all the containers, and yet did not run out. She would later sell the oil and pay off her debt, and still have a lot of resources to live on.
As believers, God cares about every area of our lives. He is concerned by the situations facing us. Whether we are suffering sickness or lack basic needs of life, or are drowning in debt, the Lord desires to clear all away, and give us abundant life. But we must turn to Him in prayer, believe His words and obey all He commands us to do.
As much as possible, stay within your means; do not over spend. If we trust the Lord with the whole of our hearts and cast all our cares on Him, we will find Him always sufficient for us.
Listed among “500 most powerful people on the planet” by the Foreign Policy magazine in 2013, Pastor (Dr.) William F. Kumuyi is the founder and General Superintendent of the Deeper Christian Life Ministry (DCLM) headquartered in Lagos, Nigeria. DCLM started in 1973 as a 15-member Bible study group right in Kumuyi’s apartment at University of Lagos where he was a lecturer. His revolutionary Bible teaching on personal holiness and commitment to evangelism soon gained so much traction and resulted in a widespread revival.
