At our InScribe Fall Conference last September,
Grace Fox, our guest speaker, told the story from the Scriptures of a destitute
widow who cried out to Elisha, “My husband is dead, but now his creditor is
coming to take my two boys as his slaves!”
Elisha
asked, “What do you have in your house?”
“Nothing except a little flask
of olive oil.” Elisha instructed her to borrow from her neighbours all the empty
jars they had available. And secluded with her sons, she was to pour oil into
the jars. In expectancy, she did as he said. From that little flask, oil flowed
into each container until they were all filled to the brim. Elisha directed
her to sell the oil, pay her debts, and live on what was left over (2 Kings
4:1-7)
Grace Fox then related that
when she was writing a book of devotionals under an impossibly tight deadline,
she needed 90 devotionals—90 "jars"—to be filled in 30 days, and that
meant three “jars” a day. God filled her with His presence and purpose and she
succeeded.
“God will never give us
an assignment without giving us the creative resources to get it done,” Grace
concluded.
God is
able to give abundantly what we need through the “oil” and power of the Spirit.
What “jars” do you need God to fill so you can complete your writing projects?
Pray
with anticipation, “Lord of Creativity, from my little flask of ideas, fill me
with expectancy that You will supply what I need today and in the future. With
gratitude I praise You.”
Image by Pinterest
What a wonderful story of hope, dear Sandi.
ReplyDeleteAnd I appreciate the prayer of expectancy you ended with. Perfect and timely for so many of us.
Blessings.
Thanks, Wendy. It's a prayer we all need--I need--on a daily basis.
DeleteI remember this story as told by Grace Fox. What an inspiration!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tracy. So glad it was an inspiration to you, too!
DeleteExpectancy. What a wonderful word and so fitting for our entire life of faith. So many applications. Thank you, Sandi.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sharon, for your comment. I agree that the application goes beyond writing to many facets of our lives!
DeleteDear Sandi. This is a timely message for me. I was feeling a bit down lately about personal health matters. This even impacted my writing energy. Last week an unexpected door opened for me. I was asked by a rep from The Compassionate Friends organization to submit article/poems for their online magazine. I submitted my first article today (May 4). Thank you for your encouraging message, my friend.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing such an affirming message, Alan! He comes and brings an answer to our needs just when we need Him. How wonderful He is!
DeleteSandi, this was the boost I needed today for a writing project that is giving me trouble. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad my post was the boost your needed, Joy!
DeleteExpectancy and hope are twins. Thank you for being a hope dispenser, Sandi.
ReplyDeleteYes, it's true expectancy and hope are twins. I would also add faith.
Delete