Hi, I am Jennifer Mallan from Reliant Family Church in Tampa, Florida. Welcome to God Today. Listen, you are human and I am human. You love Jesus and I love Jesus. You are a Christian and I am a Christian. There are just days when we feel dry, when we feel empty, where we are hanging on by a thread, where we are wondering, “God, where are you? I am on ‘E’, I am on fumes, I need to be touched, I need to be filled. Come quickly and do something, God.”
I imagine that is how this widow woman felt in the book of 2 Kings 4:1-7. If you go and look at it later on today, or when you get a chance, here this widow comes to Elijah. This is, by the way, one of Elijah’s greatest miracles. She says, “Hey! Your servant, my husband.” She had an attitude like “Why did this happen?” “He is gone. I have got my sons. What am I supposed to do? I have nothing. Do something about it.” She came to Him and she was saying, “Look I am on ‘E’ I am on empty.” So he asked her a question. Jesus did that a lot too, He asks a powerful question. He does that to me – I get so upset when He does it, but there is always a good answer and I go on that path and explore it. You should do that too.
The widow said, “I have a small amount of oil.” He said, “Go borrow containers, get containers.” She does. Then he begins to do the miracle of pouring the oil, multiplying the oil, filling her up, giving her fresh oil. A lot of times we think about the oil, but I want to tell you something. What was required of the vessels? What was required of the containers? See, you and I are containers. We live on this Earth in vessels. We have cracks and we leak. We have issues. So what does it take? First of all, we have to be empty. We have to get rid of our baggage, we have to get rid of our garbage, we have to get rid of the pain, and trauma, and triggers, and the strongholds. All of the stuff, this junk in our trunk that we come with. That comes through renewing our mind and being transformed, and not being conformed, going through deliverance, and spending time in the word, and all those things I am sure you know to do. We have to keep doing it. We have to be empty. Right?
Sometimes we despise empty because we feel so vulnerable. But we need to come empty. Secondly, we have to be open, willing, desperate, teachable, not closed, not scared. Not, “God – you on my terms.” No, we have to be open to being filled. What else? We have to be in position – the right place at the right time. Only God can do that. None of us are smart enough to be at the right place at the right time. Then what happens? He can come and He can fill us. He can multiply us. Listen – pots – I am not a great gardener, but if you have pots, there are holes in the bottom of them. It is where the water comes out, or whatever you pour into it comes out. That is the human condition. What does that tell me, what does that imply? We have to be filled again and again. We have to come to our Father again and again. We have to rely and lean on Him to fill us with the precious Holy Spirit with His joy, and with His strength.
Let’s pray. He wants to fill you. He cares about your empty condition. I pray, Father, Ephesians 5:18, over my brother and my sister. That they would be continually, habitually filled with the Spirit of God. That they would come empty, that they would be desperate, that they would be in position. That they would want more of you. Thank you that you will never leave them in their condition. Thank you that you would have more for them today and right now. Be filled in Jesus’ name.