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| Evangelist (Mrs) Esther Ogunbayeje |
“A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels and set aside the full ones.” So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out. Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased. Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” 2 Kings 4:1-7
Introduction
When the woman thought that all hope was lost, she took the right and timely step in the right direction that not only liberated her children but finally led to a lasting provision for her and her children. Irrespective of your financial situation, you can come out debt free and live a debt-free life. Taking the right steps, you can ride above your circumstances because God is still the same.
There are some lessons that can be learned from this desperate woman whom God moved from zero to abundance, God is still the same, and His principles are still the same if we can trust Him. Below are some of the lessons from this widow.
Lessons from this wife of the prophet:
Do not give up on your circumstances, there might be a solution around the corner. Problems can cloud the mind. It can lead to worry and anxiety therefore not knowing what to do. The easiest way always quickly come to mind, and this is to give up. But often time, the easiest way out is not always the best way out. Giving up may be the easiest way, it may give immediate relief, but it is not always the best option, giving up may lead to regret in the future. Imagine if the woman has given up and allowed her sons to be taken away from her. The circumstances around you may be complex and complicated, but nothing is beyond the All-wise and Almighty God.
Think and act positively- she did not give up or behaved foolishly/ irrationally. When in trouble, let faith rise in you. She did not give her children over to the husband’s creditors. The right thing to do when in trouble is not to add fuel to fire by taking the wrong steps but by thinking positively, thinking of the right things to do which will lead to a breakthrough. “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.” Philippians 4:8.
Take a step- do not fold your hands and let circumstances overrun you. Be courageous to step out. Many factors may cause people not to take steps, one of these is fear, fear of rejection, what if I ask and I am refused, what if they say no? But fear will hold you back and hold you down. Alternatively, courage can liberate you. You can as well ask, what if you take the courage to step out and you meet with success? Has God not promised to go before you to open doors that gates will not be shut? “I will go before you
And make the crooked places straight; I will break in pieces the gates of bronze and cut the bars of iron.” Isaiah 45:2. It Is possible to step out and experience some challenges or failures but that does not make you a failure. In fact, you may encounter some failures before being successful. Failures are just success turned inside out. Each failure is a success in that you can learn from this to build up your success. Step out, God has promised to guide you. God can take you out of lack into abundance “The Lord is my shepherd;
I shall not want.” Psalm 23:1.
Go to the right source and be obedient -Whoever counsels you in your time of trouble/ whoever you allow to advise you during the difficult time is very important. It is not time for you to join the wrong associates or those who will lure you to ungodliness. When you are led or shown the right way, do not go the wrong way but be obedient. Obedience is important. Obedience leads to success. God will always lead His children to success, victory, and abundance.
Do not despise what you have/do not despise your potential, it may be more than enough to meet your need or solve your problem, it may be what. Do not despise what you have it has the potential for expansion. Sometimes we do not understand the power in what we have because we focus on what we do not have, or we focus on what others have. But God has given every individual what is needed to live a successful life. Including the seeds, the field, and the people. “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness” 2 Peter 1:3. God may give you a seed and not the fruit, and when He gives the seed, do not despise it for out of a mustard seed can come millions of grains “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field, which indeed is the least of all the seeds; but when it is grown it is greater than the herbs and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.” Matthew 13:31-32. Step out, there is something in you that can expand. You have it in you, you only need extra little help to bring it out. The woman with the little oil could not have known she had the solution to her problem all along when her husband’s creditor wanted to embarrass her. Step out and do not let situations that you can overcome embarrass you.
Step out, there is someone there who can help you, the right person, there are the right people that can help you. There are resources out there that can be useful to help you. In difficult times do not walk in solo, this may give you mental health issues, the truth is that there are people who may be ready to help you more than you think but if you stay by yourself, they may not know what you are going through or what you will need. There are good people. Not everyone is bad and not all people will close their eyes against you. In fact, there are some people who will go the extra mile for you to succeed but you need to step out as some people will not offer unsolicited support, so they do not offer wrong advice or do things wrongly. You need to step out to ask others and not assume that others should know what you are going through or should automatically take up responsibility for your care or need. Do not feel entitled or feels others should know what you are going through because everyone has their needs as well as their challenges. Sometimes they may need to be reminded because they have their own priorities as well. There is no point in being annoyed with anyone because they do not live up to your expectations. Step out, ask, and trust God.
Step out and cast pride away- Step out, do not let pride stop you. Be ready to ask and receive help especially if you have been independent before and now it seems difficult to go to people to ask for help. But there are some situations that one cannot resolve alone without the help of others. We all need others at one point in life. God will place people around you who can support you in times of need and some changes will not take place around you unless for the help of others. God will use people as angels to meet your needs.
Do not close your mouth- Ask. He who asks receives. ”For everyone who asks receives, and he who asks receives” Matthew 7:8. You may not receive it if you do not ask. Do not ask for few but abundance. Asking is in different ways, asking for something to expand on and not for peanut, but for investment purpose, borrowing is dissuaded when it will be spent on luxuries, but one can ask for investment purpose. Ask for something that can be used to terminate lack from your life forever. When praying, ask for big things from God. God gives you an open check to write on, do not ask for meagre money. You have the open check in the name of Jesus, write and ask as much as you can and trust heaven to provide.
Celebrate your breakthrough- Breakthrough is sweet. Imagine a woman in debt who nearly lost his sons to the creditors now suddenly becomes someone who not only has her children but has more than enough cash to pay off her debt and has excess to trade with, her breakthrough is worth celebrating. When you have a breakthrough, celebrate it.
Settle your debt- do not divert your provision. Set your priority right. Imagine someone without money suddenly became rich, there is the tendency to first eat to satisfaction and forget to pay off the debt that was owed. But that will be a wrong priority. Pay your debt, be free, and do not accumulate more debt. “Owe no man anything” Romans 13:8. Some people owe people debt, they trade with the money and keep on postponing payment, but life is unstable, circumstances can change, anything can happen, the best thing to do is to be free, free indeed, this is possible when you spend your money wisely and appropriately.
Plan and work- invest with what you have, and do not be wasteful. Avoid future embarrassment. Do not make begging a life choice or a life career. Elisha taught the woman not to be wasteful and to be dependent, Manna may not always fall. Miracles may happen, but God may not repeat the same miracle if He wants us to learn from what has happened. The husband of this widow was in debt, no one knows how he lived his life or what led to his indebtedness, but he left the wife and the children in debt. To avoid lack and insufficiency in the future, the woman was asked to trade with the remaining oil, she should learn to trade and not be idle, nothing leads to poverty than idleness- idleness of the mind and the body. The woman must learn the secret of increase, this is addition and multiplication and not subtraction only. She was also asked to trade with the rest, so she does not have to depend on the prophet each time she is in need, and so she does not have to depend on others, having to borrow or beg each time she needs. It also shows that she has the potential for meeting her daily needs and her family’s if she is not idle, being a widow does not make her/ render her useless or incapable. She was also to trade with the rest, so she does not make herself, a nuisance or dependant on people all her life. The best way to be out of debt is to be productive and resourceful and not be afraid to start small to grow big. Though growth may take time and effort, growth is rewarding. It is good to learn from ourselves, no one is born an adult, and we grow up to become an adult.
In conclusion, do not be afraid to start from where you are to get to where you want to. Do not be afraid to start from where you are to get to where you should be. Do not be ashamed to take the step that will liberate you. Do not let pride, fear, or what people will say stop you from rising above your circumstances. The Bible did not record this woman running to Elisha after this incident. It is possible to enjoy God’s wonderful provision, we only need to trust His guidance. It is my prayer for you that you will come out of any difficult situation you may find yourself in today.
Evangelist (Mrs) Esther Ogunbayeje
Christ Apostolic Church
United Kingdom
estherami18@gmail.com
gabbytoyin@gmail.com
+44-7478044454/ +44-7988672933.