Do you have enough oil?
If there is one thing that I would not want to run out of in my kitchen, it would be my bottle of oil. Have you ever been in the middle of mixing up a cake batter and realize that your bottle of oil is just about empty? You cannot continue without the right amount of oil, if you do, the cake will not turn out very good.
And have you ever tried to fry something without oil? Alittle bit of oil for frying a pan of chicken can go a long way. But without oil, the chicken (or other meat) will just stick to the pan.
Having an ample supply of oil in the kitchen is not the only place it is needed. A different kind of oil is imperative for good living. Without the oil of God running thru our veins, things can turn out like the cake with no oil…not very good.
Many times in our life, because of different turns and twists, because of difficulties and even bad decisions, our oil alabasters seem low or even empty. Look at what God’s Word says about the widow’s oil:
“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 replied to her, ‘How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?’
‘Your servant has nothing there at all,’ she said, ‘except a little oil.’ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. 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.’
She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. 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. She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.’ ” (2 Kings 4:1-7)
When I am cooking in the kitchen, I am looking at the amount of oil that I have left and when I see an empty bottle, I see that there will not be enough. But when we get to a place where we have nothing left at all, in our desperation, we must see “the little oil” that we have and not what we don’t have! It may be a finanical need, or the grace to handle a difficult situation. It may even be that you are standing at a new crossroad and not sure which direction to go. Your alabaster jar may seem low and inadequate but don’t focus on that. When you feel inadequate, or at a loss of words or if you feel like your situation is impossible…remember the story of the Widow.
Because of the widow’s obedience, she was able to fill all of the empty jars with oil. In fact the jars were filled to the overflowing. Everything that she presented to God, He filled. Today, we can be assured that whatever “empty” jars we present to God, He will fill them full of provision not just for today but for tomorrow as well.
Don’t try to walk thru this journey we call life without the proper amount of oil. Not the kind that we cook with, but the kind that comes only from His Holy Spirit.
Visit me over at my blog for daily devo’s … www.womentakingastand.blogspot.com
Amen, Laurie. It is so true that if I do not have enough oil (spend some time in His word), I don’t get very far in my day. His word keeps me focused and gives me fuel.
I loved this. I’ve been learning about how to keep my alabaster box full. I am realizing there is a cost to keeping myself full of the Oil of the Lord — my time, money, energies, passions and desires. Beautiful post.