Notes of Faith August 21, 2026
Missed getting this out on Friday the 21st of August…enjoying time with the kids and grandkids at Great Wolf lodge in Ohio.
Believing for a Miracle
More Than You Can Imagine
When all seems hopeless, what does it look like to believe for a miracle in faith? In the book of 2 Kings we read how this played out in the story of the prophet Elisha. (The following account is my creative paraphrase of 2 Kings 4:1–7.)
One day, the widow of a prophet came to Elisha and cried out, “My husband who served you is dead, and you know how he feared the Lord. But now a creditor has come, threatening to take my two sons as slaves.”
Elisha listened intently, opened his hands, and asked, “What can I do to help you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” The woman’s shoulders dropped, along with her gaze. She replied, “I have nothing at all. Nothing, except a flask of oil.”
Unwavering and with full confidence, Elisha’s energy surged. He said, “Go! 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’s filled.”
The woman at once turned and did exactly as Elisha had instructed. Her two sons hurried around the neighborhood, gathering jars and bringing them to their mother. She filled one jar after another until each one was full. Soon, every jar was filled to the brim!
Excitedly, she turned to one of her sons and shouted, “Bring me another jar!” He replied, “There aren’t any more, Ima. That’s all of them.” Once every jar was filled, the olive oil stopped flowing. She ran out to Elisha and told him what had happened. He smiled kindly and said, “Now sell the olive oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on what is left over.”
Imagine the loss for this dear woman! Her God-fearing husband had passed into eternity and was no longer there to guard and guide her. Women in ancient culture were especially vulnerable without their men. If a woman lost her husband, she needed her sons. Imagine being a grieving widow who is facing the loss (and enslavement) of her two sons. Hebraic law allowed people to pay their debts by selling themselves or their children. But they were not to be treated as slaves. It sounds like this creditor’s threats defied the spirit of the law.
Did she just lie down and allow this misfortune and injustice? Absolutely not! She remembered her history with God! First, she went to God’s prophet and did what he told her to do. Then she called her friends and asked them to offer their jars in her time of need.
God is still a miracle-working God
There are certain benefits in walking with God and trusting in His name. We all want miracles, but who wants to experience the kinds of crises that call for them? We like to be self-sufficient, but we are not meant to attempt this journey alone, without our people. So what can we learn from her on our journey toward discovering our most redeemed selves through faith in desperate times? Let’s break down this story a bit.
First, the woman refused to settle in her day of crisis. She believed there was an answer for her. Far too many Christians settle in times of crisis. They either fight in the flesh or don’t fight at all. Certain privileges come with being a child of God. A perfect, suffering-free life is not one of them. But in our sorrow, in our hardship, we have an Advocate. We have a Defender. We have a
Provider. We have access to the presence of the living God. Scripture tells us that His faithful promises are our armor and protection (Psalm 91:4). We’re never without help in our times of trouble.
Even if you look at your situation and see no way out, know this: There’s always a way out, or through, or around. God makes a way where there is no way. He’s the Waymaker. Involve God in your process and you’ll see God intervene in a way that only He can.
Second, this dear woman refused to believe that her life would be marked by only loss and no miracles. Yes, her crisis was serious, but God ensured she had something to work with. Elisha asked her what she had, and what she had was a little oil. God multiplied the oil. In this story, we’re dealing with literal oil, but in the Scriptures, oil often represents the presence and power of
the Holy Spirit and the endorsement of almighty God.
But what else? Third, she didn’t do it alone (2 Kings 4:3). In this time of crisis, Elisha encouraged her not to isolate but to include her friends in the miracle. She needed their jars— their expectancy—that something was about to happen. God would fill the jars she gathered, and God will fill our hearts beyond our level of expectancy. Whatever you need in your crisis, you have in abundance in God, your Father.
But here’s an important point to remember: God gives us help, yes, and you can borrow someone’s faith in the short run (friends’ faith can carry us through the most difficult times). But to run your race, you need your own thriving, activated faith.
God will use circumstances, miracles, community, His Word, and the power of His Spirit to activate our faith. We grow and heal in community, but our faith must be our own.
Will you, like the widow in 2 Kings, refuse to settle in the day of crisis? Will you choose to believe right here and now that God is still a miracle-working God? Will you allow others into the vulnerable parts of your story, maybe borrow their faith if necessary, and watch God provide? Are you ready to make your faith your own? Reflect on those questions today.
Written for Devotionals Daily by Susie Larson, author of More Than You Can Imagine.
All too many have lost their hope in the miracles of God! But God is still doing His miraculous work every day! May you trust in His authority and power to do what only He can do and walk in faith and obedience each day!
Pastor Dale