THE NEW EWE

"What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he loses one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the wilderness, and go after the one which is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors, saying to them, 'Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep which was lost!'"

Luke 15:4-6

January 25, 2023

LIFE IN THE FOLD

Have you ever felt as if you are doing everything right, but something bad still happens? You are faithful to God, trust Him, pray and read your Bible..... yet you go through something that is devastating?

In 2 Kings chapter 4, we read such a story.

There was a group of prophets who studied under the prophet Elisha. One of those prophets died, leaving behind a wife and two sons. Not only did this man die, but he left behind unpaid debts.

One day the widow came to Elisha and cried out, "My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves."

Can you imagine the fear this woman was feeling? She was grieving the death of her husband, then a man, whom her husband owed money to, came to collect. She was unable to pay him what was owed, so he threatened to take her two sons and make them slaves. If he did so, she would likely never see her sons again. She wouldn't have any control over what they were taught about God, or if they even received any teaching about God. She likely thought, "I've already lost my husband. I can't lose my two boys, too!"

So she went to Elisha for help. She was desperate for a miracle!

Sometimes when we are in a place of grief and/or desperation, we need to find someone who is godly and trustworthy to share our burden with. When we are dealing with difficult circumstances, sometimes our mind is unclear and we have a hard time thinking things through. Yes, we can pray and take our need to the Lord; but sometimes we need a brother or sister in Christ to help us through.

Elisha asked the woman, "What can I do to help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?"

The woman replied, "Nothing at all, except a flask (small jar) of olive oil."

She knew that she had nothing of value to sell, in order to get the needed funds. In fact, had they had something of value, her husband likely wouldn't have gone into debt. This widow had absolutely nothing in her house, except a small jar of oil; which shows that they were likely poor and had very little.

The woman may have even thought, "Is this little bit of olive oil even worth mentioning?" But it was all that came to mind when Elisha asked the question of her.

Elisha told her to borrow as many empty jars as she could from her friends and neighbors. Then for her and her sons to go into her house and shut the door behind them. She was to then pour olive oil from her small jar or flask into the borrowed containers, setting each one aside when it was filled.

So the lady did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing the borrowed jars to her, and she filled one after another, until every container was filled to the brim.

Think about it! If she just had a small flask/jar to begin with, it would have taken her a while to pour oil from it into the larger containers. But the oil continued flowing out of that little jar, until every single borrowed container was completely full. I'm sure as she filled one container after another, her faith and excitement expanded!

The woman asked her sons to bring her another jar. They told her that there weren't any more left.

Scripture says, "Then the oil stopped flowing."

As long as there were containers to be filled, the oil flowed. But as soon as the need was met and there were no more jars to fill, God stopped the oil from flowing. He provided exactly enough to meet her need!

When she told Elisha what had happened, he said to her, "Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left over."

Not only did God provide enough funds for her to pay off her creditor; but He provided enough for her and her sons to live on. God provided a way for the widow to keep her sons safely with her, so the creditor wouldn't take them away as slaves. But He also knew that she would have a need for additional funds in which to buy food and provide for her and her children, so met that need at the same time.

I don't know who the woman sold the oil to. Did she sell it to her friends and neighbors, whom she had borrowed the containers from? Did she sell it to vendors in the marketplace? Did she sell it to a caravan traveling through? If she sold it to a supplier of oil, then they would have had to have had their own containers to pour it into, so she could return the borrowed vessels back to those whom she had borrowed them from.

The story ends with Elisha's words, telling the woman what to do with the oil. We can assume that is exactly what happened. The woman sold the oil, paid off the creditor, and had enough money leftover for her and her sons to live on.

I often wonder about the rest of the story and what happened. We have no way of knowing. But I am sure that when those boys were grown, they never forgot about God providing for them. I hope that they grew up to remain faithful to God, trusting Him, and telling others about His provision. Perhaps they joined the school of the prophets, when they were old enough. Many Israelites worshiped idols and their hearts were drawn away from the one true God. After standing beside their mother and watching God supply the oil from her small jar to fill all of those containers, I would hope that their hearts were never drawn away from God. But only God (and they) know how their story ended and what happened to them as adult men.

There are times when God answers a prayer for us or miraculously provides and we think we will never forget what He did. We are so grateful, in that moment, that we vow that we will always be thankful and remain faithful to God.

I've seen individuals whose hearts are drawn away from God as time goes by. They forget what He did for them. Perhaps they go through another time of difficulty and feel as if God let them down, because things didn't turn out as they had desired. Bitterness can set in, as a result. They decide to depend on themselves, instead of remaining committed to God. That never comes to a good end!

Even when we don't understand why things happen as they do, they always turn out better than if we were in control of our own life. God is always with us and does so much more for us than we give Him credit for. In fact, I daresay that He does things for us that we don't even know about. He provides and protects and watches over us, in ways that we don't always see.

God cared for this widow woman and her sons. He spoke through Elisha by telling him what to have the woman to do. But the miracle would never have happened, had she not obeyed. Had she thought, "That's just silly! It will never work! It will be embarrassing to go ask all of my friends and neighbors to borrow their empty containers. What if I do that, then nothing happens? Why can't God just give me the money to pay off the creditor?"

The woman did exactly what Elisha told her to do. She immediately obeyed, without question. She was desperate, trusted that God spoke through Elisha, and was willing to do whatever he told her to do. This widow and her sons had to go out and borrow the containers and carry them back to their house. They had to obey, by shutting the door behind them. Then the woman had to obey by picking up her small jar of olive oil and begin pouring it into those empty containers. She expected a miracle! But she only received it by being a participant in doing what Elisha told her to do.

Sometimes we may miss out on our miracle or miss out on what God wants to do, because we are unwilling participants. We want God to show us ahead of time what He's going to do. God could have miraculously filled all of those containers with olive oil, without the woman having to pour it out of her small jar. But then she would have missed out on seeing God pour through what she had in her hand, to fill what was in front of her. If you really think about it, for however long it took for her to fill up those empty borrowed jar, she held a miracle in her hand! God was continuously filling her small jar with heavenly oil and she poured it out, while watching it flow with her eyes.

There may be times when God will ask us to do something, and we may not understand or it may not make sense. We may even think it might be embarrassing. It may humble us. But there is always a purpose behind God asking us to do what He does. Perhaps He knows that we need to be a participant in what He wants to do. Perhaps we need to learn obedience. We may need to trust Him fully and not lean on our own understanding.

God is a good Father! We can trust Him! Whatever you may have need of, ask, in faith, believing that nothing is impossible with God. Then if He asks you to do something, be willing to obey. God still does miracle! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever and never changes. Let Him amaze you and watch Him at work in you life and in every situation.

JON'S PERSPECTIVE:

It is often interesting what people have to do to experience a miracle. Jesus also gave instructions to a variety of people so they could receive miracles. One woman didn't have to do anything because she had already fought through a crowd to touch Jesus's hem. Others had to wash in a certain body of water. One had to stretch out his hand, and another simply stand up and carry his bed away.

Different people come from different places, and have different needs. God knows them all. If we need to do something extraordinary, He will have us do that. If we need to simply trust that God loves us and wants us to receive, then He will have us do that. If we need to do something simple, but which seems crazy, He will have us do that.

Sometimes, what we need to do is more than we are willing to do. To a mature Christian, it may seem good and reasonable if God tells us to get anointed with oil and be healed, or to stand up and our legs will be healed. But to simply "know that He truly loves you" might seem too simple to be right.

To someone who hasn't built up much faith, God asking them to stand on a broken knee might seem like too much. But if they trust in God (not the person who 'heals' them), He won't hurt them.

The widow about to lose two sons may have been reluctant because if the miracle hadn't worked, she would be embarrassed in front of her friends and neighbors. But she had already shown she had faith by going to Elisha. She needed to go through a show of more faith to receive not just provision, but to see proof of God's love for her and her sons.

ON THE MENEWE:

7 Can Soup

Without draining, empty all cans into a large pot.

Bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 10-15 minutes to bring all the flavors together. Add salt & pepper, if needed.

Dice the Velveeta cheese and stir it into the soup, until melted.

Serve immediately.

Note: You can use regular canned corn, or a Fiesta blend corn, if desired.

THIS, THAT AND THE OTHER:

For the past several years I've babysat the kids of my niece and nephew. This past Saturday, I took six of the bigger kids (ages 9-15) out for breakfast at IHOP. Their grandma met us there. I told the kids if they didn't have good behavior then I would never do anything like this with them again. They did great! The two boys got a little antsy a couple times and I heard their sisters reminding them what I'd said. After we ate, my sister dropped the oldest granddaughter off at her basketball game. I took the other kids to Dollar Tree and let them each pick out two items. They all like doing that and had fun. It was a good day and enjoyed by all! It's important to spend time with kids and make them feel special. Cousin time is important to kids, too. It makes for good memories for all!

THOUGHT TO PONDER:

We cannot force someone to hear a message they are not ready to receive.

But we must never underestimate the power of planting a seed. - unknown

OUR HEARTFELT THANKS TO YOU:

We love you!

Loretta & Jon

http://www.graysheep.org