I noticed something recently in a passage of Scripture that I had never noticed before. I even taught a year on this passage at our conferences (I love how deep God’s Word is!). But as I read it, another mystery was revealed to me.
2 Kings 4:1-7:
“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.’”
The very end of the story shows the widow went back to Elisha. “She went and told the man of God….”
Her miracle was already performed; her answer sat glistening in glass jars before her. The man she owed money to could come at any moment and take her boys away, so of course the first thing she would want to do is sell the oil for money. Her boys were everything to her!
The situation was under control now. She held the key to all her problems.
Not rushing, not just doing the inevitable next step, she went back to Elisha to ask for instructions on what to do now – not because she was aloof of what she possessed, but out of faith, respect, honor and submission. She still wanted his guidance on what to do next.
I think she knew that missing just one step in life could take you off course from the will of God, and that wasn’t a luxury she had. So, to follow every single step with the utmost detail, she ran back to the one who knew and would guide her.
That got me thinking…
Do I do that? Do I follow the steps laid out before me, and then rush back to God for the next one? Or do I follow a step and then continue on a path I just assume is the right one, the inevitable next step? Do I take the lead when the situation is “under control” again?
If we are not seeking out God’s guidance and instructions for every detail of every step, we are bound to get things wrong. It takes humility and submission to realize how helpless we are without Him.
What situation do you need to go back to the miracle worker and ask Him to show you what’s next? Give Him control again and see how He will take what little you give Him and multiply it beyond measure!