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 small jar of olive oil.”
I have been reading in II Kings the last few days as I have been taking care of my two ‘patients.’ Well it appears that even though God CAN do the miracle all by himself, He still chooses to get us involved in the process. Take a look at II Kings 4, there are several miracles in this chapter with the prophet Elisha.
First we see the story of the oil that did not run out. A widow woman and her two sons had no income and no food for her family. Her husband died and she was fearful that the creditors would come to take her sons to be slaves to pay off the debt. Elisha asked her what he could do to help her. He than asked this critical question, “what do you have in the house?” The widow told him just a jar of oil. Well, a jar of oil in the hands of a prophet, with her and her sons help, became the miracle they needed! She borrowed vessels from all her neighbors until there were no more. Then, behind closed doors she began to pour the oil. When the oil continues to flow, she called her son for another borrowed vessel, and the oil continued. Again and again as she continued to pour, the oil continued to flow, until her son said, there are no more vessels! The oil stopped, but then was then sold to pay off the debt and sustain the household. Now, Elisha could have made that oil flow without the widows help, but, with her involvement, it became personal to her. She became an integral part of the miracle instead of a bystander.
Further in the chapter we see there was a famine in the land. Elisha told his attendant to put a large pot on to make stew. Another attendant went out to the field and brought in gourds and vines to put into the stew. They were unaware that the vines and gourds were poisonous! The prophet told them to put some meal in the pot and the poison was removed. Could God remove the poison without human involvement? Of course. Still, when He uses us in His miracles, we will remember it better for the next time, and call on God.
In Chapter 5 we see Naaman the leper who was a commander in the army. A proud man, very valuable in the King’s service. Yet, he had leprosy, an incurable disease. His slave girl told him about Elisha, the prophet of God. When Elisha was asked to cure Naaman, he told the messenger to tell Naaman to go wash in the Jordan River 7 times and he would be clean. Of course God could have healed Naaman without the washing in the Jordan. In this particular case Naaman needed to be humbled. He did not want to wash in the dirty Jordan, but finally agreed, and received his healing.
The human involvement in the miracle should not be dismissed. Even in my experience with the covid-19 illness with my Mom and husband, I feel like I had a miracle. I was not affected in any way while working around them, and caring for them with the virus. Would my outcome be the same if I was fearful of being near them and allowed them to fend for themselves? I’ll never know for sure, but I do believe that God did keep me well to care for them. I thank Him for His care and protection over us all.
Many times in our world today we see a miracles occur when a person has been obedient to the voice of Holy Spirit! Listen closely for His voice, He may have a miracle you can join Him in!
Ever have a miracle happen to you that you were part of? Please let me know!
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