2 Kings 4:2 “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”.
In August of 1923, Walt Disney took a train to Hollywood from Kansas City with few drawing materials and $40 in his pocket. Today, the networth of “The Walt Disney Company” is $122.18 Billion. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the first feature film produced by Walt Disney was hand drawn and painted with watercolours. The small investment of $40 exploded to billions. The way to get started is to quit talking and begin doing – Walt Disney.
The widow of a prophet inherited a huge debt at the death of her husband. If widows had no money or property to repay the debt, their children were abducted as slaves by the debtors. The desperate widow fled to Prophet Elisha for refuge. Elisha did not make an appeal to his prayer partners and prophets and raise funds to bail out the boys. He asked her a profound question. “Tell me, what do you have in your house?”. Elisha deployed the 100ml olive oil to repay a 100 thousand dollar debt. When we cry for help, God will set our gifting and skills on flame and increase our intrinsic worth. He is the one who gives you power(skill) to be successful (Deuteronomy 8:18b). God will only empower us, the onus is on us to explore and employ our skills.
Employ your skills:
1. Invest: The resource of 24hours a day is the same for both the rich and poor; prince and pauper. A recent study shows that an average person wastes 21.8 hours a week which is about 3.11 hours a day! Procrastination, social media and unproductive entertainment are the time-thieves of the modern society. Don’t spend your time but invest it. Investment increases whereas spending depletes the resources. Elisha blessed the little oil in the jar and taught the widow to turn the tub into a tank. Investing the time that we spend on social media in reading, reflecting and ruminating on the Word of God will make us productive.
2. Manifest: What we do behind closed doors will manifest as achievements or failures. Growth doesn’t happen automatically – Growth is intentional investment. If we are growing, we are always going out of our comfort zone – John C Maxwell. Elisha gave the widow sound financial advice but he instructed her to shut the door before she executed the plan. Growth, increase and expansion always augments in private and manifests in public. Manifestation on the stage is only a result of toiling behind shut doors. Disciplined time, character and money management will manifest as success.
3. Asset: Investing into assets that can be transitioned from the terrestrial to the celestial is more important than our success on earth. Success on earth is only short-term and short-lived but investments into divine assets are permanent treasures. Give the little oil, the rustic unrefined talent and the unfinished ambition into the hands of the Lord. God is in the business of polishing the antiques into valuable assets. Dream big. Start small. Most of all start – (Simon Sinek) and turn your ambitions into eternal assets.
Small is big when the resources are maneuvered by the muscle of the Almighty God.
2 Kings 4:7 “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”
Prayer: Dear Lord Jesus, Let me never waste time as my time on earth is precious. Help me to invest my time into divine assets for it to manifest for your Glory. Amen.
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