In the Quiet Place

 October 25, 2021

She was not just poor; she was destitute. Her husband had died, leaving her with two sons who were about to become slaves to pay off some indebtedness. This practice, abhorrent to us, was commonplace around the world for most of history. When she appealed to the prophet for help, he asked a simple, but profound question: “What do you have in the house?” All she had was a little cooking oil. 

“Borrow containers from everywhere, from all your neighbors…don’t gather just a few,” he instructed. She did as told, and followed his further instructions to shut herself and her sons in and begin pouring oil from her little jug into the containers. She did so, and filled every container to the brim. Only then did the oil cease. She was able to pay off her husband’s debt and had enough left over to live on.

It’s such a fanciful story that skeptics are, well…skeptical. But there are important truths here we should not dismiss lightly.

1. She had a debt she couldn’t pay. We are in the same boat, indebted by our sin and unable to pay the price of our redemption. 

2. God used what she had before providing what she didn’t have. Too often, we see only our lack, and miss the miracle God wants to perform with the little we do have. When we focus our attention on our lack, we become blind to God’s ability to make something great of something insignificant.

3. This widow involved others—her sons and her neighbors. Already in debt, she indebted herself even more by asking to borrow vessels. Sometimes progress looks like regress. God started with what she had, but required her to borrow what she didn’t have. It is a stretch of faith to go deeper in what looks like the wrong direction simply on the basis of a word.

4. She shut herself in. This is where miracles happen. God often does his best work in secret; not all Jesus’ miracles were public. It was behind closed doors where only she and her sons could see what was happening. Everyone else was left wondering where all this oil came from. Inner provision and strength come from time spent behind closed doors, pouring out our souls to God.

So where is my desperate need? Who will I enlist to help? Am I ready to shut myself away so God can do his work in me?