3. Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4. 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."
Believers deal with debt in different ways. When someone is in desperate need, like this young widow, she listens to the advice of Elisha. She reaches out those around her. He begins by getting the facts.
The place to begin when you have a need is to evaluate your resources. Look at your assets as well as liabilities. Sometimes we find we have more than we thought.
Make your needs open to God. He answers prayers in a few different ways. I know of Christians praying for specific financial need found, to their surprise, someone delivers an envelope with the exact amount of money that was prayed for. I know of others for whom God opens an opportunity for a job, or others where a forgotten loan was repaid, or a gift was given.
The widow demonstrated an act of faith by utilizing what she had and entrusted the rest to God.
The next task the widow was given was to go to her neighbors and ask for as many jars as possible. Making requests is letting your need be known and seeing how others might help. It is okay to ask for help. It is okay to borrow when you need to feed your family. It is okay to see how God may lead others to help.
She did not have the money to buy jars, but there were jars that apparently others no longer needed. Asking for those jars was an important means for her next step to meeting her debt.
We are not entities unto ourselves. Going to others for some help might be humbling and embarrassing. It was interesting to see the different attitudes of some people who came to our food shelf program. Some were very embarrassed. Some refused to come at all even though the need was very great. There were some for whom feeding their children was more important than pride. We could see the tension on their faces.
There are some, however, for whom the attitude was almost demanding, as if it is a right. Some even complained about what we gave. Some felt they deserved it, and it was their right to the food more often than the rules allowed. Some lied about their needs. I would rather help someone who doesn't really need it than deny someone who really does. They must answer to the Lord if they give false information. Is it any less from God because He uses His servants? We need other people.
The apostle Paul needed Aquilla and Priscilla. He needed Timothy and Titus, Luke, and Lydia. Jesus received the hospitality of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, as well as James, John, and Peter.
Application: Who are the helpers God has brought into your life? Who are the people God has laid upon your heart to help?
Prayer: Lord, I know that You ultimately provide everything we need. Help me to bring my need to You and to others as You direct me
