There’s a miracle in your house, part two

Last week, in There’s a miracle in your house, part one, we reviewed the story found in the Old Testament of a woman raising two children on her own; she had lost her husband and her means of supporting her family; she owed a lot of money and didn’t have the means to pay and a creditor was at the door ready to take her children away from her. But, through faith and obedience, a miracle of God’s abundant help and provision took place – right in the midst of despair.

Rev. Tommy Barnett wrote about this miracle and came up with what he calls the “10 Commandments” for the making of a miracle. In part one we learned of the first five of these commandments:

1) Know where to go when you don’t know what to do.

2) Look to God as your source.

3) Find out what’s in the house.

4) Don’t be blinded by negative thinking.

5) Action is required.

We are now going to learn of the other five. They are:

6) Don’t put limits on God.

Can you imagine the local gossip? “What’s that silly widow going to do with all of those empty jars? Did she borrow yours too? She’s finally lost her mind, poor thing. Bless her heart!” Of course, when you’re desperate for a miracle as this woman was, you’ll do just about anything. But she was being obedient to the instructions that God’s prophet had given her: “Go around and ask all of your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Get as many as you can, and get them from everywhere,” Elisha had said. I wonder if she had any idea what was about to happen? (Would she have gotten more?) The point is, she obeyed and had faith.

When God has given instructions or a promise, it’s good for us to attempt things so big for God that unless God helps us, we’ll fall flat on our face. Only then will God get full credit for what is accomplished, and only then will this knowledge keep us humbly aware that it wasn’t us. It is God’s work and God’s success – not ours! Make it a God-sized request.

Don’t put limitations on God’s ability to provide. God works through positive expectations, those dreams filled with faith and passion. It comes down to this; you can’t do great things if you don’t attempt great things!

7) Shut the door on doubt.

A key factor in this miracle story is what happened after the woman borrowed the empty jars from her curious neighbors. Elisha told her, “Go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons.”

There will always be plenty of people around who say, “We’ve tried that before and failed,” or “We can’t afford it.” Negative energy – naysayers.

Elisha knew how quickly seeds of doubt grow in the soil of human despair. He realized that the woman’s neighbors might think her actions a little strange and ridicule what she was doing – even though they knew the tough situation she was in. They’d call her foolish for believing in something so impractical. Today it would be like collecting empty cans that didn’t even have a CRV value. Elisha insisted that she shut out the skeptics and be deaf to doubt.

Jesus cautioned, “Consider carefully what you hear.” Jesus knows we act on and react to what we hear from those around us. There is power in our words – remember that.

Like Mary, the mother of Jesus, we must ponder some dreams in our hearts rather than see them killed cruelly in casual, flippant conversation. Rev. Barnett says, “Many miracles are stillborn because doubt is invited into the delivery room.”

8) Pour until there is no more.

The woman provided the effort while God made the miracle. As she poured, the oil flowed. I hope she borrowed every empty jar and container available in her town because, if there had been more jars, there would have been more oil – think about it.

9) Move beyond the miracle.

What happens to some people is that they get so mystified by the miracle that they stay frozen in that position and fail to move on. It wasn’t enough for the widow to witness the miracle; she needed to see God’s purpose for the miracle. “Sell the oil,” Elisha told her, “pay your debt and live on the rest.”

I believe God gives great miracles for divine purposes, not just for our entertainment. Look for the purpose behind the miracle. Sometimes we glorify the miracle – and then can’t get on with the work that God has called us to do. What good would it have done for the woman to open up her home and let people walk through, looking at the jars that were miraculously filled with oil, and still have the creditor take her children away?

Move beyond the miracle and look for the purpose behind the miracle.

10) There will always be enough.

One of the most comforting principles from this story came when Elisha told the widow, “You and your sons can live on the rest.” God provided enough to ensure her family’s needs would always be met. God’s help and provision for us is abundant – and it’s sufficient – for today and for tomorrow.

There’s a miracle in your house. Let those words give you hope in hard times and inspiration for the future. Take these principles, think about them, see how they can apply to your everyday situations – and let them make a difference in your life beginning today.

P.S. You are invited to attend the wild and crazy Follies at The Met Saturday, Oct. 15 at 7 p.m. Tickets can be purchased at the door ($15) and a spaghetti dinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. ($10). It will be a fun time.

Rev. Dan Koeshall is the Senior Pastor at The Metropolitan Community Church (The Met) in San Diego, California, themetchurch.org.