LESSONS FROM ELISHA, PART 5
Nothing but a Little Oil
There are MANY
lessons that we can learn from the prophet Elisha. This is
the fifth in a series, appearing in the next few Saturday
editions of The Nugget, focusing on the life of this great
prophet.
"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 little oil.'" (2 Kings 4:2).
The widow of one of the company of prophets is in dire need.
If she cannot come up with money to pay off her debts, her
sons will be taken away from her. In despair, she goes to
Elisha, and Elisha asks her the following question: "Tell
me, what do you have in your house?" (2 Kings 4:2)
I don't know about you, but I find this question very
interesting! The poor woman obviously has nothing except her
two sons or she wouldn't be in this predicament at all!
Nonetheless, Elisha asks her what she has in her house!
I believe the woman must have been surprised by the question
as well, for she answers, "Your servant has nothing there at
all"! And then, as if an after thought, she adds, "except a
little oil."
Two major lessons can be learned from this brief verse.
First of all, God doesn't need a lot to work with! But He
does need something. He needs for us to be willing to give
all that we have, trusting Him to make it be enough!
Secondly, the word "oil" is used throughout the Bible as a
symbol of the Holy Spirit. Through this story, God is
helping us to understand that if we have the Holy Spirit,
nothing else is necessary! A little bit of God's Spirit is
enough to solve all of our problems!
Let us seek nothing but a little bit of oil in our lives, my
friends! Even if we have nothing else, God can use His
Spirit to work out every problem we face!
Let's put our trust in the Holy Spirit, my friends! Let us
seek Him above all else!
See next Saturday's edition
of The Nugget for Elisha, Part 6.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart,
Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets (
www.sermonillustrator.org/minisermons/ ), Answers2Prayer Ministries,
www.Answers2Prayer.org ,