One Measly Jar Copy
What do you need from God today?
Verse of the Day
“And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.”
Today’s Devotional
This verse just makes me take a deep breath. Everything that I need…God has got it covered. That means I don’t have to worry. It means that fear and doubt are a waste of my time. It means that I should be content. It should free me to live simply and embrace simplicity.
So why don’t we believe that? I read verses like this and say, “Yes! I believe that!” But then my thoughts and my actions contradict that belief that God really will take care of me. Maybe, I think I’m supposed to believe it, and I WANT to believe it, but I’m just not there yet.
I read somewhere that this verse is a New Testament promise that points back to Elisha and the widow and the miracle of the oil from 2 Kings 4. This woman has lost her husband and now the bills have piled so high that her creditors are about to take her two sons as slaves in order to pay her debt. So she cries out to Elisha for help. Elisha asks what she’s got at home, and all there is is a jar of oil. Elisha tells her to go ask all of her neighbors for empty jars and containers. Then she and her sons are going to go into their house and close the doors. Next she is to pour her oil into these “borrowed“ containers. Can you imagine what she is thinking at this point? “Why did we need to close the doors? Why am I pouring my oil into a different container? I only have this one jar, so why did I need all of these others? Is Elisha crazy?”
If you know the story, then you know that the oil miraculously multiplied and all of the containers were filled. The oil stopped multiplying when the containers ran out. She sold all of the oil to pay her debts and kept any money left over to live on. Let’s apply this story to today’s verse.
- When I find myself in need, I need to take my cries for help and mercy to God instead of fretting and worrying and trying to figure it out myself.
- God can use what very little I have today as the beginning of a miracle. Just like the small amount of oil, God can use my small amount of contentment (or faith, gratitude, peace, security, joy…) and make it multiply. WHEN I ask. And when I OBEY.
- Obedience in my times of need is likely NOT going to make sense in the middle of it.
- My friends and neighbors may need to participate in my times of crisis. There’s no shame in that. This life is a team effort.
- God continues to miraculously fill me until ALL of me, everything, is full. But I must keep pouring out from my one measly jar.
- Even when things look incredibly bleak, God supplies all that I need. Not to just pay off my debts, but also so that I can live.
I love a good story. And I need to be reminded of stories like this to help me to embrace and believe God’s promises. God is bigger than any need I have. God’s riches and abundance given through Jesus are a never ending supply.
Journal Prompts
Answer only the questions that seem relevant to you today.
Where do you have a need today? (Financial / Emotional / Spiritual)
What meager amount do you have to pour out today?
How can you trust for God to provide for your needs?
How has God provided in the past?
How does God’s promise of provision affect your level of simplicity for this day?