Little is Much.......From Misery to Mercy to Ministry
Ten years after the fatal car accident that took the lives of our son, Mark, and his friend, Kelly, my search for help and hope continued. Grief is never ending, a constant companion that reluctantly hides or takes a back seat for awhile, but is always lurking. No matter how vigilant the grieving person, it's impossible to keep grief locked up in a closet for too long. Often a grieving person starts her journey thinking that the only viable help and hope has to carry the title, "How to Deal with Grief."
We often deal with lots of life issues in this way. A young mom only wants to attend a Bible study that focuses on being a young mom. Or a struggling couple thinks a topical study of marriage is their only avenue for strengthening the weak places. But the reality of Scripture is that it is alive. The alert students recognize that no matter their life issues, there is truth that applies to their unique needs. I learned this valuable lesson in my own quest for comfort and wisdom through the Scriptures. Early in my grief journey, grief resources sustained me. But soon I needed more. Surprisingly, scriptures that did not mention grief became the heart and soul of surviving daily life.
The Desperately Poor Widow
At first glance, the story of the broken-hearted widow who faced the loss of her two sons to slavery does not seem to have any application for a grieving mother whose youngest son is gone forever. But, as Chuck preached through the life of Elisha and couched these stories in the theme of moving from misery to mercy to ministry, I recognized that Elisha's encounters with needy people had one recurring truth that applied to me specifically. Elisha regularly asked, "How can I help you?" He often followed that question with another. He challenged those in need to consider what was in their own hearts and lives that could be poured out for the good of others. No matter how empty and needy they thought they were.
In the past few weeks I've shared some thoughts about this impoverished widow who faced the loss of her two sons.
Catch up on the previous posts here:
Nothing Except....From Misery to Mercy to Ministry, Part 1
Nothing Except....From Misery to Mercy to Ministry, Part 2
Nothing Except,..From Misery to Mercy to Ministry, Part 3
Her bills had piled up because of a three year drought caused by the curse Elijah had pronounced on the nation. Her husband was a prophet who most likely received little "payment" for his work and then was murdered by Jezebel, as retribution for Elijah's war against her. Josephus believed that the widow was the wife of Obadiah, the prophet who hid and fed one hundred of the prophets Ahab wanted to kill.
For more on this desperate woman, listen to Chuck's message,
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This terrified, destitute and probably starving widow begs Elisha for help.
His first words, "How can I help you?" must have encouraged her that help was on the way but before she could respond he asked,: "Tell me, what do you have in your house?" And as we know, her response was, "Your servant has nothing there at all....except a little oil."
What potent words! Elisha is moving her from misery to a place of experiencing mercy so that she can offer ministry to her family, her sons. Little did she know that through her obedience, help was on the way.
Getting back to my own need as I listened to this story. What did anything in this Biblical account have to do with me, a mother still deeply grieving ten years after the death of her youngest child?
I could hear the Lord asking me, "How can I help you?" And before I begged him to give me back my son, He continued, "What do you have in your heart? In your home?"
Nothing! This pathway is too hard. I have nothing more to give.
Of course, that was not even close to truth. Chuck's message challenged me to consider carefully what I had to offer that could make an impact on those in my own home and to my extended circle. And not only encourage others but be a means for helping heal my own shattered heart. Slowly, the challenge of Elisha to the widow, also challenged me, "Sharon, what do you have in your heart?"
The choice was clear. Choose life. Offer what you perceive as little to the Lord. In your broken place, identify the little you have, obey His call to service in the little things, and watch Him multiply that little into much.
Little is much when God is in it.
In God's economy, little is much. A little stone took down a great giant (David and Goliath).
A little cloud became a great storm (Elijah and Jezebel).
A little child sitting on the knee of Jesus taught the twelve disciples.
Two loaves and five fishes fed thousands.
A seemingly insignificant broken-hearted widow stepped out in faith and her little bit of oil multiplied into enough to pay her debts and feed her sons. Her big step of faith in obeying what seemed like crazy words from the prophet, also sustained her! Her weakness turned into strength. What is that favorite verse of so many? In my weakness, He is strong. His grace is sufficient!
What a picture of God healing a broken heart, moving a broken woman from misery to experiencing mercy to extending ministry.
How does God heal broken hearts?
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name. Psalm 147:3-4
The holy other God, the one who creates and numbers the stars, this is our God who is present in the dark places of the broken heart. And He is the one who multiplies the little we have into sustenance for not only our own spiritual hunger but those around us. But we have to make choices. Especially when we feel empty or terrified that by offering what little we have will completely deplete us.
The oil is multiplied in the pouring. This widow could have held tightly to the oil that she had but Elisha demands that she pour out what little she had into empty jars....a symbol of pouring out what we have into the lives of others. What a picture of redemption....pouring out what little we have into the lives of others.....trusting the Lord to multiply our investment His way.
Rather than hoard what little she had, she poured into one bottle at a time. One bottle at a time. And as she poured into empty jars,God transformed those empty jars into a powerful means to not only pay her debts, which was her only request. But to also sustain her family. Through her obedience God gave more than she asked, but everything she needed.
How many untapped people are there in our lives, our homes, our churches, our work places, empty people who don't even know how empty they are, whose own emptiness can be transformed into life-giving influence - if we pour our little into them?
She had to pour it out in order to be filled.
She had to choose to take a risk at losing what little she had. -Elisha gave her the command, the opportunity to experience a transformed heart but she had to take the first step. She had to "just do it!"
So the widow did what appeared foolish. She gave up what little she had. The message of the Gospel often feels foolish. Sharing scripture because we have nothing else to give, with a person who can barely breathe because of their emotional pain. How in the world can scripture turn a broken heart toward hope? Little is much when God is in it.
The Covenant Family
This woman involved her kids. Her kids were the reason for the miracle in the first place. Think of it, she desperately wanted to "save" them. How desperate are we to reflect redemption for our kids, not so they will be "good kids" but so they will experience redemption themselves? What little, mundane things must we do, day after day after day, thinking they are insignificant, but it's all we have to offer. Perhaps that is the very "little" that will draw a prodigal child back when the world starts falling down around him.
The oil kept flowing as long as she had empty jars. God deploys us one step at a time as we use our gifts and keeps His power flowing for the present needs, met by our obedience - in the mundane, insignificant moments of life....
Whether it is changing diapers, cleaning toilets, planning meals again and again and again, driving our kids to school, working on a budget, meeting a needy friend for lunch, telling a young frustrated mommy she's doing a good job, preparing a Bible study, serving on a committee, getting involved in your neighborhood's activities, offering a respite for the mom whose child with special needs is having an especially bad month, meeting Him in the morning before the sun shines, praying fervently for loved ones, seeking forgiveness for a pride-filled argument, compromising for the sake of peace and communicating value to the other person, taking out the garbage when our husband refuses, taking a step into a new experience though fearful.
A few months before Mark's death, I was invited to serve on our denomination's national women's ministry team. I didn't want to do it. I was scared because the other women on the team seemed so far ahead of me spiritually. I was new to the denomination so I didn't understand a lot of the conversations that were so easy for them. Unlike the other women, I didn't know most of the denominational leadership or understand the history. But my husband encouraged me to step out and offer what little I had. Unbeknownst to any of us, God was preparing a safe place for me to grieve. With just that one fearful step of obedience, God would not only sustain me, but show me how to pour out what little I had to sustain others in their own broken places.These women encouraged me to grieve transparently, to see even this darkness as a gift to offer to the church as a means to help turn the hearts of others toward Jesus. Though that season was the midnight of life, these women helped me learn how to sing in the darkness.
One nervous, scared, young woman, needlessly intimidated by those further along in life, found extreme comfort and safety in the very place I was afraid to go. God was preparing a way for me, when I didn't know I would need that way. At a time when all I wanted to do was hide and curl up in a ball, completely detached from the world, these women encouraged me to keep asking, "What do I have in my heart that I can offer to others that will help turn their hearts toward Jesus?"
Little is much when God is in it.
Little is much when God is in it.
So, as we leave this widow, we must answer the same question, "What do you have in your house - your heart - that you think is little, but is just waiting for God to multiply into something big? Is it time to choose to experience moving from misery to mercy to ministry? Is it time to pour your little bit into the empty heart of another, risking what little you have? Little is much when God is in it.
In His grip,
Sharon