Hold Nothing Back

The key to your blessing is your willingness to surrender whatever you have at the feet of Christ.

In 2 Kings 4 we read about the testimony of a woman who had reached the place of bankruptcy in her life. Her husband had died and left her with tremendous debt so that her only recourse was to throw herself upon the mercy of Elisha, the man of God.

When this widow came to the prophet Elisha, he asked her a question, “[W]hat do you have in your house?” (2 Kings 4:2).

The woman replied, “Your servant has nothing there at all . . . except a small jar of olive oil” (v. 2). She could easily have answered, “Oh, I have nothing. All I have is a bunch of bills,” not bothering to mention the oil because a drop of oil in a little jar couldn’t make a difference, could it? She could have dismissed that small supply; we do that all the time. However, had she done that, she would have missed out on the blessing.

Elisha’s question wasn’t really about what the widow had. It wasn’t even about what she would give. It was about surrender; it was about not holding back. Likewise, if we would experience the blessings of God, we must surrender whatever we have—whatever we are tempted to hold back or dismiss as worthless.

When Elisha heard that the woman had a little oil, he thought, “Lady, you have everything.” That’s all you need. A drop of oil. A drop of oil plus God equals untold blessings.

If you have turned your life over to Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God is within you, whatever you have is enough. When you surrender whatever you are holding back from Him, the Holy Spirit of God will use it to bless your life.

Prayer: Father, even though it may not seem like much, help me to surrender the things I’ve been holding back from You. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.