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Her husband had died, and creditors were at the door. She had no money to pay her debts. She had no time to lose. Her children were about to be sold into slavery.  

Since this poor widow’s husband had been a prophet, she went to Elisha for help. He was head of all the prophets. After hearing her problem, he wanted to know what she had of value in her home. “Only a jar of oil,” she told him. He told her to borrow pots from her neighbors. Lots of pots. As many as she could. Then, in the privacy of her home—with only her and her sons in attendance—she was to fill the pots with the oil from her jar.

Oil flowing into pot after pot must have been a sight to behold. The oil did not increase, nor did it decrease. It just kept flowing. Her sons saw this as they brought the pots to her. “How could this happen?” I can almost hear them asking. “How can that little jar of oil fill all these pots, Mother?” Her husband had been a faithful prophet of God.  Now she and her sons were seeing God’s provision for them.

When all the pots were filled, the oil stopped flowing. It stopped because there were no more pots to fill. She went back to Elisha and told him what had happened. “Sell the oil and pay your debts,” he told her. “The rest, you and your sons shall have to live on.” Her children saw their desperate situation resolved because God provided for them.

As we trust God to provide for our needs, our children will also see Him providing for us. Let them see the bad times, and then keep them with you as God shows Himself in answered prayers. Let them see God fill your “pots.” This will strengthen their relationship with God, even as you also get to know Him better. They may even remind you from time to time of the things He has done for your family.

Take your children along as you learn from the Lord.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)