It has been 8 weeks since I moaned my way into the emergency room, knowing I was having another kidney stone attack. A CT scan to determine where the stone was lodged resulted in the discovery of 5 small lung tumors. Another CT scan to pinpoint the size and position of the lung tumors reveal a thyroid tumor The lung specialist was concerned I might have thyroid cancer spread to the lungs. I thank God for that scary place because He revealed three major life lessons to me which I’d like to share with you in 3 installments, starting with the first below. Because of their length, I will send the second and third lessons one week apart.
Lesson 1: The Oil of Hope
It seems I am continually tested in my faith with regard to finances. One would think that after so many years of financial woes, and having seen God provide, that I would have finally reached a point of continual trust in this area. Sadly, not so. One evening I spent a couple of hours sorting through the medical bills. I compared them to the insurance summary of benefits, noting that, to my dismay, at the completion of my tests on my parathyroid, I will reach my $8,000 maximum out of pocket expenses for the year. I racked my brain for a way to pay these debts. In my fury to get a handle on the problem, I considered an additional job and perhaps selling my house. When I had come to the end of myself and my resources, God said, “Let go.” I realized then that I had no choice but to give the problem to God and trust Him to provide. Isn’t it odd how we hang onto our problems trying to feverishly find ways to work them out, until we come to the end of our own rope of reliability before putting them into the hands of the One who has wanted to relieve us of the burden all along? So, that evening, with an attitude of helpless resignation, I took out my checkbook and wrote out a payment toward one of the smaller bills – a lab fee of $201.
As I was signing my name to the check, I suddenly had this incredible sense of God’s presence and peace, along with what I call a nano-vision (mind picture) of thick, pure, olive oil flowing abundantly into a very large jar. Now, I’m not accustomed to having visions, so when I do, I know it’s God getting my attention. I turned in my Bible to 2 Kings 4:1-7 for the account God was prompting me to read. In this story, a woman’s husband had died, leaving her with no resources. She cried out to the prophet Elisha (vs.1), “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.” In response to her plea, Elisha asked her what she had in her house (to pay the debt). She replied, (vs. 2) “Your servant has nothing there at all … except a little oil.” Elisha instructed her to send her sons to ask all their neighbors for jars, and to keep asking until they collected many. He told her to take her “little oil” and fill all those jars until there were no more to fill. With obedient faith she went into her house, closing the door behind her and poured and kept pouring her “little oil” into those jars…all of them. The oil did not run dry until the last jar was filled. With the profits from the sale of the oil, she could pay her debtor, and she and her sons could live on the sale of the remaining oil for the rest of their lives. God, in His faithfulness, provided a miracle and a promise as she trusted in Elisha’s wisdom and God’s power.
I could relate to this widow. She, too, was helpless to solve her problem on her own, but God had intervened.
The moment I put pen to check, and God brought this story to my mind, I knew without a doubt that He was going to provide for every check I would write. He put on my heart as a promise, that as I trust Him with my “little oil,” He will deposit the “oil of His provision” into my jar. I need not worry, He will do according to His promise to ensure my medical bills get paid. Really, God, you love me that much! Why did I worry? His presence and peace in our moments, days and years of financial vulnerability is of greater worth than any wealth or self-sufficiency we have.
As I muse about this sweet encounter with the Spirit of God, I am reminded that our Father hears each submitted plea for help. He responds with His promises to provide — and to my joy, He has already fill my jar with an abundance of oil – the oil of hope.
Read
2 Kings 4:1-7
Matthew 6
James 4:1-3
Reflect
- In what circumstances do you feel helpless?
- Have you asked God to intervene? If not, what is it that holds you back from asking?
- What can you do right now to set things right so that you will hear God’s voice and respond in obedience?
- Are you waiting and getting restless for the answer? Delve into His Word and receive His promises by faith, then let go.
Respond
Lord God, you are my provider. It is often in our helplessness that you want to show your glory and power and amazing love for your children. Help me to let go of it all and trust that you will take care of me. If there is anything in my life that is hindering my prayers, please show me, Father, so that I can set my heart aright with you and see your power.
May 2010
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