Make Me a Vessel

Now a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD; and the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2Elisha 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 except a jar of oil.” 3Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels at large for yourself from all your neighbors, even empty vessels; do not get a few. 4“And you shall go in and shut the door behind you and your sons, and pour out into all these vessels, and you shall set aside what is full.” 5So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons; they were bringing the vessels to her and she poured. 6When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not one vessel more.” And the oil stopped. 7Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons can live on the rest.” 2 Kings 4:1-7 NASB

This woman answers the question of Elisha in verse 2 by saying "Your maidservant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil." This woman had to go out in verse 3 and borrow vessels from her neighbors to fill them up with oil. She didn't even have extra vessels to use! But thank God for good neighbors. I'm sure these neighbors needed those vessels for something, yet they gave them to this woman as a blessing. Their sacrifice of simple vessels did more than they could have imagined in this woman's life. 
Paul, in 2 Corinthians 4:7 refers to Christians as "earthen vessels" that are carrying and stewarding the "Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ" (2 Cor 4:6). Paul goes on to explain in verse 7 that these earthen vessels are not meant to receive the glory, but to shine forth the glory of God.
In today's world, we get caught up in what our earthen vessels look like more than what they are carrying. We sacrifice time, money, and energy all to make sure that our earthen vessels look like or better than other earthen vessels. But all the while disregarding the fact that our very physical bodies are nothing more than dust. No matter how pretty dust is, it is still dust. What if we spent as much time, money, and energy on what our vessels are carrying? Which according to Paul is the glory of God which will never cease to exist! When this woman in 2 Kings 4 received these vessels from her neighbors, she could care less about what they looked like; she just wanted to see the glory of God on display. 
In this story in 2 Kings 4, we see two things taking place that are of significance to us today as "vessels of God". 

1. It is through our selfless living and sacrifice as "vessels of the glory of God" that others who may be weak can find help in a time of need. This woman needed these vessels desperately in her life; and there are others today who desperately need the vessels of God to come around them. Imagine if this woman's neighbors would have denied her the help she needed because of selfish motivations. They would have missed out on the blessing of God, and we wouldn't even be reading about this story today! In my life I have personally seen that there is a blessing in sacrificial living and a curse from selfish living. I have had the privilege of having people in my life that have lived sacrificially as an example to me. I never saw slander from these people, gossip from these people, or back-biting from these people. Why? Because their sacrificial living infiltrated the rest of their life as a sanctifying tool to "deny themselves". No one else may remember their name, but I certainly remember their example. 
2. This woman, from her lack, was God's instrument for filling up these empty vessels. She only had a tiny bit of oil, but through the power of God she was able to fill up multiple vessels. Sometimes we think we must be filled up completely in order to fill up others. That we must become perfect before we can minister to others. But what we see in this story is that just a little bit of the Holy Spirit can fill up multiple vessels. If this woman would have said "I can't fill up all of these vessels with what I have!", she would have been correct. But that's the issue, she wasn't the one filling up these vessels, she was just the instrument that God used to fill up the vessels. It was God miraculous hand doing the work through a woman who had nothing. 

​I believe that God spoke to me years ago out of Micah 4:5-7 regarding the last days church, that there will people who are outcasts in society, people who have been afflicted from sin and the world, and broken, hurting people that are going to start coming in droves to the church. That God is going to assemble them as His strong, remnant church in the last days. These people are not coming to be filled up by a pastor or a group of pastors. The filling of these people will be dependent upon all of God's vessels in His church. Whether His vessels are overflowing or are just a tiny "jar of oil", the salvation and filling of these people will come through God's sanctified vessels. 
As a church, let us wake up every day with the prayer that God would make us vessels that shine forth the glory of God so others may become partakers of the same.  

Questions to Consider:

1. Do you know someone who is an "outcast" of sorts? Maybe it's a person you have been praying for that you know only God could change. How can you be a vessel to shine the glory of God to them? 

2. Leonard Ravenhill said: "Christianity is not marked by success, but by sacrifice." What are some ways that you can deny yourself and sacrifice for someone who is in need today? You may be the exact vessel that they need right now.