February 20 - Don't Ask for Just a Few

Today's Reading:
2 Kings 3:1-4:17
2 Corinthians 5:11-21
Psalm 99:1-9 
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Focus Verses:
2 Kings 4:3-6
3 Elisha said, "Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. 4 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." 5 She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 6 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.

Insight:
Elisha performed many miracles. They were a demonstration of God's power and presence and, therefore, reinforced the authority of Elisha's prophetic words. The benevolent, providential, and restorative focus of these miracles was a witness to God’s redemptive character and inclination to bless. Similarly, the miracles of Jesus demonstrated his authority and testified to God’s saving power.

The miracle of the widow's oil illustrates the importance of faith. Her willingness to gather many jars demonstrated that she believed the prophet's promise. The detail about the flow of oil stopping at the precise moment when the last jar was filled seems to imply that the amount of the miraculous provision was somehow proportionate to the amount of her faith and obedience.

Response and Action:
I need to recognize God's goodness and goodwill. If I believe in God's power and his redemptive will, I will respond to his commands in obedience and put my faith into action. I do not want to limit God's blessing and provision, so, as the widow gathered many jars, I will seek out every opportunity I can for God to fulfill my need and bless my life.

O God, thank you for your resurrection power, your loving provision, your readiness to save, and your ability to satisfy needs. Thank you for Jesus who has demonstrated your great love and redemptive heart. Give me the wisdom to follow him and to submit to his authority. Through Christ, I pray. Amen.

Spiritual Formation Verses: John 14:10-11
10 Don't you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you are not just my own. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the miracles themselves.

Resources:
Miracles: A Preliminary Study
by C.S. Lewis