The Scripture Reference for this post is found in 2 Kings 4:1-7

The story is about a widow and her sons trying to survive after her husband passed away. And Elisha, God’s Prophet came through the area and was desperately confronted by her. Elisha asked her “How can he help her? and What does she have in her home?” She responds that the creditors are coming to enslave her sons, and she has nothing in her home (well except a small jar of oil).

Elisha then gave her and her sons a task that was doable, but it would take some humility to step out and ask everyone they knew if they could borrow as many empty vessels as they could get their hands on.

So after they went out and gathered up all the vessels and brought them into the house, they shut the door and went to work. The work now was to take the small jar of oil and begin pouring it into all the vessels until every pot was filled.

After all the vessels were filled there was no more work to do and the oil dried up. So the next step was to launch a business selling fresh oil.

Then with the profits of this new business they were able to pay all their bills and all their debts. But it didn’t stop there. The Bible says that the money that is left over from the sale of this oil business was for her sons to be able to live their lives!!

So let me break down what I have captured from this incredible story and how I believe it applies to our lives today if we are willing to partner with God.

1. No matter what situation you are in or how desperate you may be if you would turn your attention to the Lord He is ready and willing to help. (Psalm 46:1 – God is our refuge and strength, always ready to help in times of trouble.) But we have to remember that God has given us free will to choose. We must choose to allow the Lord into our situation and be willing to accept His help and His instruction.
2. What do you have in your house? You may feel like you have nothing to give, you have nothing of value, or you are bombarded with all the latest hustle culture business advice. But the Lord is asking you to take inventory of what skills, relationships, assets, ideas, expertise that you have in your house and be willing to trust Him with it. I have had to evaluate this in my own life recently, what am I holding on to in fear of losing it?
3. Now make the choice to commit what you have to God. This can be scary, for the widow she had a little oil left that probably was going to afford her the ability to continue making some very meager meals for her and her sons, but not for long. She made a choice to commit the thing she had to the Lord.
4. Now you must step out in faith and follow God’s leading. So Elisha’s instructions were go out to everyone you know and ask to borrow as many pots as you can get your hands on. Now I have to imagine that would be quite humbling having to go out and make yourself vulnerable to the people around you. There would be lots of questions from the neighbors what are you going to do with these pots? You may even be questioning yourself, but this is the faith phase. The Lord said do it whether it makes sense or not.
5. Next step is get your business organized inside and shut the doors to the house. When the Lord is dealing with you about your business and your finances you need to be very careful who you allow in your house. You may have friends who seem like they care coming around trying to understand what you are doing or help you define it in human terms or want to try and help. This is the stage where you have to shut the doors to those outside of this business, stay off social media, and get quiet because this is where God is going to take what you have and your obedience and turn it into something that no one could believe and no man can get the credit.
6. God Shows up in a supernatural way. So now you have been obedient to what the Lord has asked you to do, and this is when He takes what you have and multiplies it. So inside closed doors just you and the Lord we get to see a Kingdom business unfold. And a Kingdom business God’s way does not resemble anything the world has to offer. Now the widow poured this small jar of oil into every pot until they were full and then the oil ceased flowing. You see this is the moment that we got to do our part and God did His part and together we created a Kingdom Business. (Think about this: She did not have land, she did not plant olive tress and wait for them to mature, she did not harvest the olives, she did not press the olives into oil. But what the Lord did with her obedience is create a full functioning “Olive Oil Business” that was highly profitable. Imagine when she opened her doors to the community and said come on over to purchase the purest finest olive oil. The questions! The amazement! The realization that God had shown up. Now don’t you think her and her kids were extremely proud to open up their new business and show the world? They also had a choice on who to give the credit to. Sure they went and got the pots, sure they had some oil in their house, and yes they filled all the pots with oil and readied them for sale. But remembering that partnering with the Lord turned what seemed to be mundane into the divine.
7. Final Step is Stewardship. So the business was a success and it was short lived. This wasn’t a lifestyle business of olive oil making this was a business that was created to sell and create a legacy for the family. Now I have seen the Lord do this is so many different ways with people I have met. But what I think is important to keep in mind from this story is how they stewarded the profits of the sale of this business. They first paid off all creditors and became free from debt bondage. (Proverbs 22:7 – The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.) Now of course some debts are used as leverage and are used strategically in business. But that’s not what I am talking about. I am talking about being free from the debts that keep you and your family from being able to fulfill the desires of their hearts. The inability to be able to move if they feel God leading them, the inability to give to those in need. You see they were able to become free from those debts, and I would assume pay back all their neighbors for the pots they borrowed. But the final words in this passage is that her sons would live their lives on what was left. A Family Legacy Business

Meditating on this scripture made me reflect on not only my own journeys through entrepreneurship, but recognizing so many of my friends that have reached out in the last 6 months wrestling through some of the same situations.

A. Some people’s current business model has seemed to have dried up and they are not sure what to do next?

B. Some have been downsized or their positions have been eliminated and has left them looking around and asking what’s next?

C. They may be in transition or just not happy with their current situation but not sure where to go next?

Regardless of where you may be in your journey this passage of scripture and the miracles it reveals is so important for you to read and understand.

My prayer and challenge to you today is What is in Your House? And are You willing to submit it to the Lord?

For His glory!!