I Can Plod
Sharon W. Betters
TODAY’S TREASURE
"When all the jars were full, she said to her son, bring me another one. But he replied, 'There is not a jar left.' Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, 'Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.'” 2 Kings 4:6-7
The Widow starts to see hope in the mundane. Elisha's directive in response to her answer had to be even more confusing, but this desperate woman immediately obeys his directions:
Go around and ask (beg) all your neighbors for empty jars. Don't ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons (I LOVE that Elisha wants her sons to witness this miracle). Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side. She left him and afterward shut the door behind her and her sons (this is a private, family miracle). They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring.
Imagine the excitement growing with the filling of each jar!
When all the jars were full, she said to her son, bring me another one. But he replied, "There is not a jar left." Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, "Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
God's response to Chuck's hopeless cries was similar to Elisha's response to this broken widow. "Chuck, what do you have in your heart?"
Chuck's response: "Nothing except disappointment, despair, weariness....well, nothing except .... a love for Jesus and His people."
God's Response: "Start walking your neighborhood and extending My love to each person you meet. Extend your love to each person in this dying church. Tell them: 'God loves you and so do I!"
Such a directive seemed like spraying a destructive roaring fire with a water gun instead of a fire hose. But each day, I watched as Chuck said those words over and over again to church members and our new neighbors. He played street ball with the neighborhood kids and sat on the steps talking with teens late into the night. People took notice of this young, vibrant pastor (who looked like an Italian priest in his white-collared black shirts) and before long, three families who lived outside the city, caught the vision of bringing the light of Jesus into our spiritually dark neighborhood.
An inner-city mom heard about this young pastor who didn’t care about skin color or past history and who was earning the respect of rival gang members. Two teenagers took their time to get to know us and then invited friends to attend a Bible study in our home. Little by little, our home filled up with friendships, laughter, and transformed lives. God slowly transformed this dying church into a place of hope and joy. People of all ages and colors filled the pews. Young people discovered a safe place to find Jesus and share their newfound faith with others. Those five years of inner-city ministry created memories and relationships deeply planted in our souls. God did something great in our midst.
Teaching Moment #4: Small acts of obedience are often the means God uses to provide for our deepest needs.
LIFE-GIVING ENCOURAGEMENT
God used our little dying church as our second School Master, teaching us our obedience to the mundane things is often the key He uses to unlock the "great things" God has planned for each of us. He showed us a new meaning for the word great and He changed our perspectives. Our needs pushed us deeper into His heart where we discovered the greatest thing He does is redeem sinners like us.
William Carey, the one credited with this great quote (Attempt great things for God, expect great things from God) was called the Father of Modern Missions and lived in the late 1700’s. If he lived today, he would likely say attempting great things for God was his mission statement, and this statement, also credited to him was his business plan:
"I can plod. I can persevere in any definite pursuit. To this I owe everything."
Obeying God’s call on his life meant great sacrifice and sorrows that he could have interpreted as reasons to question if he was really in God’s will. Throughout his life, God did “great things” but William did not live to see the exponential way his plodding impacted worldwide missions or even how his plodding continues to transform the thinking of people like me – and you today!
Elisabeth Elliot once stated:
“Does it make sense to pray for guidance about the future if we are not obeying the thing that lies before us today? How many momentous events in Scripture depended on one person's seemingly small act of obedience? Rest assured: Do what God tells you to do now, and, depending upon it, you will be shown what to do next.”
The desperate widow obeyed Elisha’s command, even though it seemed silly in the context of her terrible circumstances. Her obedience in this tiny act laid the foundation for God to do something beyond imagination.
Forever planted in my heart was a moment when one of the church members stopped by to welcome us, and Chuck declared to this older woman, “God loves you and I do, too.” She paused and quietly responded, “No one has ever said that to me before. All these years in church and I’ve never thought of God’s love so personally.” Her teen daughter had left the church but when she heard about her mother’s encounter she stopped by to check out this new pastor. She became the catalyst for drawing numerous other young people back to church and serving as they experienced newfound love for Jesus. Only the Lord could do this “great thing”.
Who knew such a small act of obedience on Chuck’s part would make such a difference in the life of this woman and our little, dying church? God did.
And so I ask, what do you have in your house – your heart – your life? To what one act of seemingly insignificant obedience is God calling you to today?
PRAYER
Lord, show me that one place where I need to plod, to keep obeying when it seems silly.
Use these hard places to pull me deeper into Your heart with the result being others see Jesus flow through me.
More free resources for help, hope, & healing:
Treasures of Encouragement, Women Helping Women
By Sharon W. Betters
Treasuresofencouragement.org Learn how God sends treasures of encouragement to help turn hearts toward Jesus and how the beauty, privilege, and power of biblical encouragement is a means to invite others to trust the Lord’s goodness and faithfulness in the mundane moments and especially in the broken places of life. Free supplemental resources.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sharon W. Betters is a mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, pastor’s wife, and cofounder of MARKINC Ministries, where she is the Director of Resource Development. Sharon is the author of several books, including Treasures of Encouragement, Treasures in Darkness, and co-author with Susan Hunt of Aging with Grace. She is the co-host of the Help & Hope podcast and writes Daily Treasure, an online devotional.
For more from Daily Treasure please visit MARKINC.ORG.
Originally published Thursday, 30 November 2023.
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