Partnering with God

Scripture: 2 Kings 4:1-7 One day the wife of a man from the guild of prophets called out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead. You well know what a good man he was, devoted to God. And now the man to whom he was in debt is on his way to collect by taking my two children as slaves."
2 Elisha said, "I wonder how I can be of help. Tell me, what do you have in your house?"
"Nothing," she said. "Well, I do have a little oil."
3-4 "Here's what you do," said Elisha. "Go up and down the street and borrow jugs and bowls from all your neighbors. And not just a few—all you can get. Then come home and lock the door behind you, you and your sons. Pour oil into each container; when each is full, set it aside."
5-6 She did what he said. She locked the door behind her and her sons; as they brought the containers to her, she filled them. When all the jugs and bowls were full, she said to one of her sons, "Another jug, please."
He said, "That's it. There are no more jugs."
Then the oil stopped.
7 She went and told the story to the man of God. He said, "Go sell the oil and make good on your debts. Live, both you and your sons, on what's left."

Observation: God cares about our everyday needs. No matter is too small and no person too insignificant for God's attention. There is no limit to the incredibleness of God in a hopeless situation.

In this day, a woman had virtually no chance of making money. Women were less than second hand people and she saw no way of being able to pay back the debt that her family owed now that her husband had died. The only solution presented to her was to sell her children into slavery. It is obvious that they were not at an age of being able to go and work for the money needed. This woman must have been distraught at what must have seemed to be a hopeless situation.

Application: So many times in life, we find ourselves in situations that seem hopeless. We only see one way out and it's not a good way. It's easy to get distraught and wallow in hopelessness. The hardest thing to do is to trust in God during these times. God provides solutions/alternatives. Yet this woman had to "do something". God didn't swosh in and fill the jars for her. Instead, she had to gather and pour. God partnered with her to use what she had to get her out of debt.

Prayer: Almighty God. Help me to always trust in you. To partner with you and to allow you to work in my life even when the situation seems hopeless. Amen