Nothing, except....From Misery to Mercy to Ministry
"I need help! My preacher husband is dead! We're out of money. The bill collectors are coming to enslave my two sons as payment for all of our unpaid bills. Please, help me!"
Though written thousands of years ago (2 Kings 4), this story, ripe with dread, need, and desperation, holds current applications that can transform the way we respond to impossible circumstances.
The Background
Elisha, the prophet has taken on the mantle of Elijah, the prophet. During Elijah's tenure, Ahab and Jezebel murdered God's prophets (I Kings 18:13, 18:4; 19:1) and it's probable that the widow who cried these words to Elisha, is the wife of one of the murdered prophets:
The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, "Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves."
Elisha's response: What do you have in your house?
Let's imagine this widow as a normal, emotional woman who is about to watch her sons dragged away into slavery from which they will never escape. Do you think that Elisha's question satisfied the widow's expectations? Implied in her plea to Elisha is, "YOU need to fix this. My husband was a faithful servant - YOUR servant. You owe him this, Elisha."
Did she feel his response minimized her need, her right to cry out in despair? Maybe Elisha came across as indifferent to her anguish. I wonder if the widow refrained from lashing back with, "Do you think I'm an idiot, that I haven't used everything possible to save my boys? What kind of a question is that!"
Elisha doesn't join her despair party, but instead challenges her to get a grip, and consider carefully the blessings God has entrusted to her. He assumes that there is still something in her house that God can grow into a miracle.
Right in Front of Our Eyes
Sometimes a solution is right in front of our eyes, but we can't see it through our tears or frustration. Our dishwasher door refused to close. I made sure the racks were hitting the back of the dishwasher and confirmed that nothing was in the way. I concluded the latch was broken and made an appointment with a repair man. He immediately pulled out the top rack and removed a glass pot lid and said,"Here's the problem." I stood behind him and shook my head "no" to Chuck. I KNEW that was not the problem. The repairman then closed the dishwasher door. All done. Yes, I was embarrassed.
Sometimes a solution or at least part of the solution is right in front of us but we need someone else to show us the way. Elisha forces the widow to view her circumstances through a different grid. Did she initially shake her head "no" at Elisha's calm response to her desperation?
She had to reboot her thinking to get her mind and emotions aligned with Elisha's direction. She responds, "I have nothing.....except a little oil...."
Elisha was about to show this widow how to attempt something great for God and to expect something great from God which we'll unpack in our next post.
Teaching Moments
In the meantime, there are some life-changing teaching moments in this story, not only for the one struggling but the one who can help.
Teaching Moment #1: When in need, ask for help.
We sense the widow has no one to turn to except for Elisha and she does. She admits she needs help. How many of us wait until the point of desperation to humbly ask for help?
Teaching Moment #2: Know Your Limitations
Elisha knew his limitations. He couldn't help her, but God could. His question,
What do you have in your house
starts to help the widow to re-evaluate her circumstances. His question challenged her with: Are your really without hope? Has your crisis blinded you to one blessing, one thing, one hope? And ultimately, has God really abandoned you? In the middle of my own frustration melt-downs, those questions initially frustrate me more, but when I take a deep breath and listen carefully, I begin to see that perhaps there is something hopeful that I missed.
Teaching Moment #3: Choose to listen and act
Elisha's question is like a glass of cold water thrown in the face of a hysterical woman. Widow, stop, think. This is an opportunity for God to do something amazing.
But she had to listen to him and put aside any frustration or anger toward his simple solution. She allows him to lead her to a place of hope.
Teaching Moment #4: Nothing is small in God's hands
What we have may seem insignificant in the face of the crisis, the lost job, the broken marriage or wayward child. But Elisha's question challenges us to take inventory. What do I really have in my house, my hands, my heart? Submit it all to Him. My time, my relationships, my work, my home. My treasure.
The widow listened when Elisha in essence challenged her with, "This is terrible, yes. But is there really no hope?" In my next post, we'll see that she also acted in response to his direction.
Teaching Moment #5: With God nothing is Impossible
Initially all the widow can see is nothing. The despair, hopelessness, her son gone. But maybe Elisha raised his eyebrows at her first response, "I have nothing..." And maybe just that look forced her to think again and then a light slowly goes on. Hope starts to dawn. "Well, ok, I have something, a little oil...."
Teaching Moment #6: From Misery to Mercy to Ministry
We see Elijah slowly, methodically moving her from
misery to mercy to ministry
He doesn't deny her problem. But he helps her to see her circumstances through a different grid. She begins to believe that maybe, just maybe, God will transform the mundane into the majestic.
This widow moves
from misery:
I have no one to help me, I have nothing, no one cares about me....why does everything bad happen to me...
To Mercy
- Well, I have little oil... Instead of no hope, well maybe.....her attitude starts to change.
As we continue the story, we'll see God expanding that little bit of hope into a miracle of ministry.
In His grip,
Sharon