Rocky Road Devotions: Hard Times

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

Hard Times

Wednesday, March 30, 2022

One day the widow of a member of the group of prophets 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.” “What can I do to help you?” Elisha asked. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?” “Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil,” she replied. And Elisha said, “Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after another. Soon every container was full to the brim! “Bring me another jar,” she said to one of her sons. “There aren’t any more!” he told her. And then the olive oil stopped flowing. When she told the man of God what had happened, he said to her, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.” 2 Kings 4:1-7

Many people I’ve known have lived through some tough times. The widow who came to Elisha was down to family facing indentured slavery because they couldn’t pay their debts. There were no reserves, bank accounts, or 401K from which to draw. She went to Elisha and told her tale of woe. And, it’s Elisha’s question that has always intrigued me: …what do you have in the house? The woman’s answer was one of those “duh” moments…no food, just a little cooking oil. Had I been Elisha I’d have been stumped. A small flask of cooking oil won’t pay off debts that calls for debtor’s prison. But Elisha wasn’t stumped. He told the woman to start pouring-out that oil. And it didn’t stop until they had no more room to store any more. Every debt was paid…and some oil left over to boot.

Isn’t it curious how some miracles are connected with what is already available to us?

· The woman had only a little oil left. Elisha’s mentor, Elijah, had also met a poor woman[1] who was down to her last meal. Same result – God’s multiplication of the flour barrel’s contents.

· Jesus fed 5,000 men and their families from a basket with just a small boy’s lunchbox.[2]

· Ten lepers came to Jesus with less than nothing, so they simply brought themselves. Jesus took the diseased skin they possessed and turned them into new people.[3]

· When the wedding at Cana had run out of wine, Jesus took the water they did have and the joy of the day was not only complete, it was the best ever.[4]

Sometimes, when we shake our heads in amazement over the miracles, we are forgetting the fact that the God who created everything is still there, still the same, and still knows how to provide for every need we face.

For You Today

If you’re facing some hard times, remember that you have something God will use to turn your world right-side-up! Every person in scripture who had a miracle change their lives just needed to listen and act on what God was saying. Remember, Jesus took the pain of scourging that took him to the brink of death, mocking that was undeserved and crushing, a cross, and a borrowed grave…not the kind of inventory anyone would like to count on for retirement…and he turned that less-than-nothing of resources into the salvation of souls for anyone who would trust in Him. If your hard times have never included trusting Jesus…that’s the first miracle your life needs.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!