Can we trust God to provide for us? What if we lose our income? God forbid, what if we lose our loved ones? Can we really trust God to give us what we need?
Elisha’s remarkable ministry took him to places of deep dependence on God. As he trusted in God, he offered others the opportunity to trust him. So when a member of the school of the prophets died, the widow was unable to pay his debt. Creditors claimed her kids as slaves. She went to Elisha. He told her to fill up as many jars as she could from a small cruse of oil. The oil was multiplied so that she had enough to pay off her debts and provide for her kids. This miraculous multiplication would be mirrored by Jesus at Cana when he turned water into wine (John 2:1-13).
Another woman welcomed Elisha as a holy man into her home. He wanted to do something good to help her. She asked for nothing. He promised her she would conceive and bear a son. She did, but while the child was young, he died. The Shunammite woman went to Elisha to get his help. He brought the boy back to life. Once again, God provided through his prophet. This miraculous healing reminds us of Jesus healing the nobleman’s son (John 4:46-53).
When a man gave barley loaves to Elisha, he insisted that they be shared with others. The man deemed the twenty loaves insufficient to feed one hundred people (think Olive Garden breadsticks or German brotchen). Elisha insisted, the loaves were sufficient, and food was left over. This reminds us of Jesus’ miracle of multiplying fish and loaves to feed thousands (John 6:1-13).
In each story, Elisha depended on God and asked others to do so. Not once did God fail. In a relatively new song, we sing, “We’re calling on the God of Moses . . . David . . . Mary . . . You are the same God.” God has often taken me to places where I was forced to depend on him. At the time this felt uncomfortable. Those times of forced dependence have demonstrated to me the sufficiency of God. His power is perfectly proven in our weakness. We can trust him to give us what we need.
