2 Kings 4:2
“And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil.”
A widowed woman encountered a debt problem when her husband died. As is always the case, whenever there is a problem, God always has a solution. The solution for this dear lady was the pot of oil in her house. To this lady, the pot of oil didn’t seem like much, but in the hand of God that pot of oil became the saving grace from the debtors taking her sons to be slaves. It was only a pot of oil, but that pot of oil had more power than she realized.
The church is filled with vessels like you who may not seem like much, but with the oil of the Holy Spirit indwelling them, that pot of oil becomes the answer to reaching a lost and dying world. You may feel, like this widowed woman, that you are only a pot of oil, but when you realize what that pot of oil is, you will realize that you are sufficient for God to use. Let me give you four thoughts concerning this pot of oil.
First, if God wanted more than your pot of oil, He would have provided it. Often people think that they are not good enough for God to use, but I always like to remind them that if God can preach a sermon through a donkey, He can certainly use them to do His work. You may struggle with confidence, but God doesn’t need your confidence as much as He needs your willingness and surrendered heart. Don’t sell God’s power short because of your lack of confidence.
Second, what you have is sufficient for where you are. We often think we need more right now, but if you needed more, God would have given you more. God has given you what you need for right now. Stop worrying about what you will need in the future and use whatever energies and talents you have for God now. Fretting about what you are going to do in the future is only wasting the resources that God has given you for now. You may only have a pot of oil for God to use, but that pot of oil is sufficient for what you need at the moment.
Third, what you will need will never be met without using what you already have. The widow woman had to use the oil she had before God gave her more. She had to pour out the oil she had, and once it was poured out, God gave her more. This has always been God’s method of using people. It is the giving and receiving principle of Luke 6:38. God has more to give you, but you will never realize it until you give what you have. Teach and preach the truths God has already given you and He will give you more when you need it. Give the effort and energy you presently have, and He will give you more strength when you need it. Stop holding back so that you have something for the future, and give what you have and God will give you more when it is needed.
Fourth, there will always be more oil from where you originally found it. The only reason the oil stayed was because the widowed lady stopped pouring. Friend, the only reason God’s power stopped working in your life is because you stopped going to God in prayer to continue His power upon you. The greatest shortage in Christianity is a prayer shortage. God still answers prayers, and His Holy Spirit still has the power to work through you if you continue to go back to where you originally found it; the prayer closet. Whatever you do, don’t stop using what you have, and don’t stop going to the prayer closet to get more.