“When the ‘impossible’ is all we see”
Our friend Elijah has exited the scene and Elisha has stepped into his role. Elisha is eager, yet gentle; powerful, yet compassionate, and ready, yet patient to meet the needs of those around him. We find Elisha meeting the needs of one of many women in the book of 2 Kings and witness God’s provision being shown through his people.
“Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil,” 2 Kings 4:1-2.
It was customary to pay debt back through the form of slavery, yet without her boys’ assistance and companionship in life she would suffer greatly. Can you imagine her doubt and hear her despair?
Most of us could say we have witnessed someone losing a spouse or close family member and allowed the question to arise, “Why God, why them?” Yet, when we read true stories from the Bible, we are reminded of God’s overarching love and the perfectly orchestrated tenderness He sends through His people to deepen our trust.
Elisha tells the widow to retrieve empty jars from her neighbors and return to her home to the last bit of olive oil she owns. After gathering the empty jars, he instructs her to begin pouring her remaining oil into all of the extra jars, then keep pouring…and keep pouring….and keeeeeep pouring….until an abundance of what she needed to keep moving forward and pay her debt was before her.
Imagine yourself in this woman’s sandals….it’s so hard to stop the natural thought process filled with ‘how’ when the impossible is before us, yet we are constantly reminded in Scripture of how creative our God is. I think it’s imperative to note how the woman did not respond. She did not say, “but you don’t understand, I only have a tiny bit of oil left,” or “you don’t get it, I owe so much, there’s no point,” but she trusted the man of God as she knew where his blessings came from, their Creator.
The world will fill your mind with the ‘what ifs,’ but Scripture teaches us to say, “what if God is doing something bigger than we can imagine?”
If you are in a season of asking ‘how’ or ‘what if,’ I encourage you to spend some time reading Psalms 40 alongside the story of the widow in 2 Kings. Allow the words of David reassure you of God’s concern for you and remind yourself of the work of God’s friend, Elisha, as he came alongside the widow. Nothing goes unnoticed by our God; nothing surprises Him, and nothing is too complicated for Him. He is our deliverer.
