She was at her nadir, the lowest point in her life, without even the smallest gleam of hope to soften the blows. One after the other, the knocks kept coming. You can almost taste her fear, her despair in the face of so much loss.
Unlike the widow, you and I have the benefit of knowing the outcome of her story. We can see that her nadir was also a turning point, a defining moment in her tragic story as God stepped in and changed the trajectory of her life. Let’s take a look at the entire passage:
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.”
Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”
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. 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.
She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
2 Kings 4:1-7 NIV
Do you ever feel like this woman? Perhaps you haven’t endured the extent of her trials but your future looks very bleak. Those are the moments when we start to question God’s plan and His purpose for our lives. These are the times when our faith is stretched to the limit and we’re left wondering if God has forgotten us. And this is precisely the moment to seek out your Elisha, a trusted friend or confidante you can turn to when you’re running on empty.
I love the way Jill Briscoe addresses this topic in her book, A Little Jar of Oil: A Life Overflowing: “God is so good when we have run out of what we need. He delights to arrange to have someone around the corner of our dilemma who is running on full and can pour into our lives just when we need it most. But for that to happen, we have to cry out. We have to cast ourselves on God in the middle of the awful mess and see what He will do or whom He will send to help us, for God often does His work through ordinary people.”
Prayer: Lord, we thank you that our nadirs are never deeper than the reach of your almighty hand. Thank you for the assurance we have as your beloved children that you can and will redeem even our greatest trials. We thank you for those Elishas you place along our path, sent to restore hope when we find ourselves running on empty. In your name we pray, Amen.
Thought: “Don’t be afraid to cry out when you run out.” Jill Briscoe