He uses what we have - and we have enough

2 Kings 4:2 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."

This is part of a story where Elisha helps a widow by using what she has. She was distraught, not knowing what to do after her husband died, about the creditors who would likely demand her sons as payment for the debt they had. She asks Elisha for advice. So, Elisha asks her what she has. She says nothing, nothing at all but adds that, well, there is a little oil.

Kind of reminds me of when the disciples told Jesus that they only had a couple of fish and some loaves of bread. (See Matthew 14:17) (Boy, the Bible uses repetition, doesn't it!?) The widow thought her situation was hopeless. The disciples thought there was no way they could feed all those people; it was hopeless.

But in both cases, God used what they had. The Bible doesn't tell us what kind of oil it was, likely olive oil, which was used for lamps, cooking, etc. It would have some value to people who needed oil - if there was enough to sell. So God used Elisha to make the little oil she had be enough. Jesus used the disciples to make the small amount of food they had be enough.

God uses what we have and makes it enough. He pours out blessings on us to be enough, enough for His purposes, even when we don't think it is enough. I don't have a great voice, but I have good enough voice to add volume to the people who sing at the nursing home. I don't have enough creative abilities but I have enough to write this blog, create skits for church and narratives for cantatas. God uses what we have and makes it enough. We need to be satisfied with it because God is, or He would give us more.

The next time you think you don't have anything, or that what you have is not enough, you should evaluate the situation. Perhaps you don't have enough for your purposes. If you don't, your purposes may not be God's purposes......or the timing isn't right. You can bet that if it is for God's purposes, when the timing is right, you will have enough.

God, thank you for using what we have, meeting us where we are and supplying enough of whatever we need to meet your purposes. May we be grateful and generous with what we have. Amen.

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