What do you have in the house?

A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the LORD. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”

So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.

“And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.

Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.

Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.”

2 Kings 4:1-7

The widow was in a desperate situation.  

Her sons were about to be sold as slaves to pay off her debt.  

She went to Elisha for help.  

The first thing Elisha asked her was, 

“What do you have in the house?” 

We don’t always recognize it or believe it, but we often have the beginnings of what we need for our situation within our own house. 

We come to the Lord with a request for assistance and He turns the question back on us, 

“What do you have in the house?” 

As Elisha did with the widow when he used the little bit of oil she had left, the Lord will often take the things in our life that we see as “little” and use them for His glory and our good.  

What are you asking of the Lord today?  

What will your answer be when He asks, 

“What do you have in the house?” 

Nothing we have is too “little” to be used by the Lord!