The
Miracle of Plenty
It
came as a surprise, a last minute provision most needed at the moment, and an
unexpected blessing from God. But had the Lord made a mistake in the quantity
He supplied to do the job?
“’What
can I do to help you?’”, Elisha said. “Tell me, what do you have in the house?”
“Nothing at all, except a flask of olive oil, “she replied. And Elisha said,
“Borrow as many empty jars as you can from your friends and neighbors. Then go
into your house with your sons and shut the door behind you. Pour olive oil from
your flask into the jars, setting each one aside when it is filled.” So she did
as she was told. Her sons kept bringing jars to her, and she filled one after
another. Soon every container was full to the brim!” 2 Kings 4:2-5 NLT
I
stood looking at the old Beaver Valley Store sitting on the same quiet stretch
of road since it was first built in the early 1930’s. “Looks forlorn, sad and embarrassed
to me,” I said to husband Bill.
It had
been painted a gaudy, and in uncommon colors for a country store-it was now
bright purple and brilliant red by former renters. It had been a noble effort to draw attention
to passers. Unfortunately it drew more negative comments than positive.
Bill
and I thought it was important to freshen it up with a coat of fresh paint in
soft gray. We hoped, at least, to do just the front of the store. To our
delight, God provided a blessing right away. A break in my contractor brother’s
work, schedule opened up and Steven blessed us by driving from out of town to
give us hand.
Now,
what about the paint? And how much paint would it take to cover up those very
bright colors? Would we be able to buy enough paint on our meager budget?
We had
no ideas, but God was way ahead of us. A
few days before we were planning this project we heard from a man at our church
who was retiring from his painting business and had one five gallon tub of
commercial paint left. Would we like to buy it? We said yes and were amazed by
his kindness and generosity. He sold it to us for the unimaginable price of
$10!
Before
we left from home to begin painting the store my brother prayed with us over
that one tub of paint. He prayed what he called the widow and the oil prayer.
“Let
it be like the oil for the widow Lord, let there be enough to do the whole job
ahead. We can’t do it God, but you can.”
Steve
climbed up on the roof of the porch of the store and began painting with zeal.
With every dip of the brush into the paint he said he just kept on praying for
a miracle the paint would last. The way to the end looked long and challenging
to us all. But the paint kept coming out of the tub!
Now the three of us looked in the tub of
paint, which was still half full, picked up our brushes and began what was left
to do. Another stretch down the front with thirsty shingles hungrily lapping up
the paint fast.
We
were bone tired by dusk and we there stood before a fully painted store front
with pint still left over! We shook our heads in amazement and we bowed our heads
in praise and thanksgiving to God. It was a miracle the miracle of plenty of paint
and a miracle of plenty above and beyond as only God can do.
"Faith
must be tested and tried before it becomes real in your life, so that no matter
what happens, the transforming power of God's providence transforms perfect
faith into reality. The life of faith says, 'Lord, You have said it, it appears
to be irrational, but I'm going to step out boldly, trusting in Your Word.'
Faith is the entire person in the right relationship with God through the power
of the Spirit of Jesus Christ." --Oswald Chambers, from My Utmost for His
Highest
“The
Miracle of Plenty” Another Beaver Valley Story, by Dee Kamp, Grace Every
Morning Ministries© January 20, 2016
