What's in Your House?

One of my favorite Bible stories is found in 2 Kings chapter 4. A widow tells the Prophet Elisha that she is in trouble. Her deceased husband was a faithful servant of his, and she owes creditors who are threatening to take her two sons away.

Elisha asks, "What shall I do for thee? Tell me, what hast thou in the house"? The widow only has one jar of oil, and the prophet tells her to borrow more vessels from neighbors.

The widow gets as many jars as she can, and Elisha asks her to start pouring oil. The oil continues flowing until all the containers are full. He instructs her to pay her debts, and she and her sons can live on the rest.

A former pastor taught from this scripture decades ago, and he said sometimes what we need is right in our house.." The title of his message was "What's in your house?"

Many people make money from what is already inside their homes. Yardsales, consignment shops, eBay, and other websites make a lot of money from what people already own. Reselling game systems and games or rare books is a big online business.

As a widow, I have had to use the principle of utilizing what I already have more than once. Recently, money was tight, and I needed groceries. I looked in my kitchen cabinets to see what I had that would hold me over until I had money again.

The song Busting Loose by Chuck Brown and the Soul Searchers came to mind. There is one line that says, "Use what you got till you get what you need."

I noticed several boxes of spaghetti and cans of spaghetti sauce, but I did not have hamburger for meat sauce or meatballs. For me, spaghetti with only sauce is not filling.

Also, because I have O-negative blood, I need a certain amount of meat protein in my diet, even though I eat lentils and beans. When my protein levels drop, I can feel weak or lightheaded.

Still, I prepared the meal and gave thanks because somewhere out there, someone had nothing to eat. As I was praying, the Lord brought to my remembrance that I had a can of chili in a side wall cabinet.

I can't explain, but there is a difference between a random thought in my head and the Lord speaking to my spirit. I finished the plate of spaghetti and sauce, then returned to the kitchen and added the chili. Naturally, the spaghetti did not taste 100% the same as with meat sauce made from ground beef, but it was pretty good.

It is my prayer that every struggling widow whose income is not enough would find something in her home that would produce income for the rest of her life, like the widow in the Bible.

In the meantime, don't despise small beginnings. Remain thankful for the little blessings along the way. Each time I receive a $1.00 tip for a Vocal article, I am as excited as when I get 5, 10, or 20 dollars.

The story of the widow in 2 Kings was a one-time miracle. We don't see those today, but they can still happen. When you are down to your last, keep the faith and remember to check to see what is in your house.

You never know when you might receive the miracle that could be inside of you, rather than something physical in your home. If, like me, you write online, we could be one story away from going viral. Or as sometimes happens in restaurants, someone could leave a large tip, so keep the faith.