What's for Supper?

Every now and then, an evening comes along, and I haven't made plans for dinner.  I haven't thawed any chicken; I haven't purchased any particular vegetables; No rice has been made.  Sometimes supper time just rolls around, and I haven't given a single thought to putting food on the table.  Have you ever had a day like that?  One where you open the pantry or the refrigerator and just stare at the contents, half expecting a ready-to-heat meal to jump right out at you?  To make matters worse, there will always be several members of the family who walk by asking, "What's for supper?"  And then I'm caught.  I didn't really plan well.  I have had quite a few of those days in my time, and let me tell you, it's hard to make a meal with an egg, a zucchini and some cheese, but I'm sure that it can be done!  Sometimes we have to take inventory of our supplies and get creative.

Today I was reading in 2 Kings 4:1-7.  I love this story.  It's a story of multiplication.  The poor widow went to the prophet Elisha and told him that her husband, his student, had died and that now creditors were coming to make slaves of their sons because of outstanding debts.  Elisha was moved and asked her what he could do.  And then he asked a far more interesting question: "Tell me, what do you have in your house?"  And as the story works its way, she has a jar of oil, and the prophet tells her to go and gather as many jars as possible and to fill them and sell the oil.  She is then able to pay her debts, and she is able to live with her sons.  Deliverance came in the form of multiplication. 

The part that I love the most about that story is that it is a hopeful story for all of us today.  We didn't see God swoop down and create for this woman something that she never had before that day.  He didn't come on the scene and do an unthinkable thing.  He used what she had to aid in her deliverance.  Sometimes, we are waiting for a new thing to come along to set us free from our difficulties.  We pray and wait, wait and pray, but the new thing just never shows up.  So we wonder...is God coming for us?  The enemy takes these thoughts and has a heyday with them!  He has you in exactly the right place to put doubt in your mind that God even cares about you and your situations.  But if we are waiting for a source of provision that poofs out of thin air into our laps for our salvation, we'll most likely be waiting for a very long time.  That's like me telling my family, "Oh, I don't have anything for supper, but I'm sure that if we sit here long enough, someone will simply bring a meal to our table.  Don't worry.  It may take some time, but I'm sure that food will show up."  It's never gonna show up.  Never.

The prophet asked the widow, "Tell me, what do you have in your house?"  She told him, "I have nothing there at all....except a little oil."  It's almost an afterthought, that little bit of oil.  But it is something of value that she has, and he sees that as the opportunity that she needs.  God loves multiplication.  He loves that we have with us something useable.  I think He likes that even more than Him creating something out of nothing, because in multiplication, we also play a role in what He is doing.  It's an inclusive miracle!

I see this passage as a push to gather into my spirit all that I need.  If I store up in my heart the Words of God and the wisdom of His Spirit at work in my life, then when times of trial come, I will have something that He can use.  It's like canned jars of vegetables on a shelf.  I don't run around thinking about them all day long, but when all the fresh veggies are gone from the kitchen, and I have a house filled with hungry people, I can always open a can or a jar of vegetables that were stored up earlier and use that to start a meal. 

So...when you find yourself wondering how will I handle this situation?  Take inventory.  Find out what is already stored up in your heart.  Lean on the knowledge that God has worked things out in your life in the past, and use that to boost your faith in the present.  And if you are in a time of spiritual plenty, store up all that you can gather, spiritually speaking.  We can never understand too much about God's Word.  So just keep studying.  When trials come, you will have something in your heart that God can use in His glorious way to work your miracle!