Tostino's Pizza and A little Faith

What if your spouse died and you found you were left with nothing but a Tostino's pizza? What if the creditors came to collect your credit card debt and demanded your children for payment? Who would you turn to for help? How would you respond?

Today I studied 2 Kings 4. Elisha the prophet was minding his own business when a widow came to him and explained that her husband was dead and the creditors were coming to take her 2 sons as slaves. Elisha simply asked, "What do you want? What do you have?"

The woman's answer was typical of most of us. "I have nothing," she said, "EXCEPT this jar of oil." Isn't that our first response? "I have nothing." We can't see all we do have because life's problems are so huge in our minds we are blinded to the amazing possibilities.

Elisha ignored the nothing and focused on the exception. He told her to go to her friends and borrow as many empty containers as possible. "Not too few," the Bible says. The lady and her sons rallied the neighborhood and filled her house with all the jars, bowls, cups, and containers they could find.

She headed back to Elisha and asked, "What next?" The wise prophet told her to pour the little bit of oil she had into a jar. When it was full, move on to the next jar. Keeping filling until each container held it's limit. The lady and hers sons diligently obeyed. As they poured and moved jars, the room was covered with pockets of oil.

Reading the Bible can often leave us removed from the reality of the moment. As I thought about what this woman experienced, a strange idea came to mind. What if I was that widow?  Suppose my husband passed away, the creditors came for my credit card debt and threatened to come back tomorrow to take my son and daughter. What if all I had was a Tostino's pizza? Suppose, I quickly ran to church and explained to my pastor the situation and he replied, "What do you want? What do you have?" I simply replied, "Nothing except a Tostino's pizza."

Imagine my pastor saying go to all your neighbors and get as many cookie sheets as you can. Take them home. Lock yourself and your kids in your house and begin to cut the pizza. Fill each cookie sheet with pizza. What? Would I have looked at him like he was crazy? Would I have begged my neighbors for cooking utensils and really cut the pizza? What if I did? What if with each cut the dough grew and replaced the removed piece? What if I somehow filled every cookie sheet with pizza from that one cheap little $1.25 plastic tasting pizza?

After the widow filled the jars, she returned to Elisha and told him what happened. He said, "Sell all the oil and you will have enough for you and your sons to live." She must have been ecstatic as she ran home yelling at her boys, "Come on guys, let's go to town and get rid of this mess. We are going to survive!"

After thinking about this experience, I read Matthew 9:2,

“According to your faith let it be done to you." 

Think of the amount of faith required to go to Elisha and ask for help. Trust his advice. Beg your neighbors for help. Pick up the only possession they owned and pour it out. 

What if the widow had laughed at Elisha, ignored his advice, doubted God's plan, created her own scheme, or quit? Instead, she BELIEVED and according to her faith, she and her family lived!

In what area of your life is God calling you to BELIEVE? Is there a relationship, situation, problem or trial that God is waiting to provide, heal, or fix? Do you feel like he'll never answer? Maybe...He's responding according to your faith. Is he waiting on you to truly BELIEVE so He can amazingly respond? 

Put your faith in Him and take action. Look for the oil or nasty cheap pizza He wants to use to answer your greatest need. Talk to Him and get moving putting your faith in motion!