Episode 38: The Cost of a Calling

It’s fun to think about miracles and being “used” by God as we fulfill our calling, but rarely do we talk about the cost of a call. Every purpose crafted by God has a cost. If it didn’t, it wouldn’t be worth the time or effort. 

In 2 Kings 4:1-7, we see a woman at the crossroad of a call. She’s experienced a tragic loss in the death of her young husband. He was a good man, and the widow reminded the prophet, Elisha, that her husband served the Lord. Suddenly, the creditors were threatening to take her sons as slaves to pay the family’s debts. The widow is beside herself with grief, as anyone would be in her situation.  

Sometimes you can be doing everything right, and everything still goes wrong.

Elisha asks the woman what she has in the house—and she responds “Nothing…except this small jar of oil.” He instructs the family to go and ask all their neighbors for empty jars—and then, the widow was to shut the door and pour the oil into the vessels.

The first thing the widow had to do was to surrender. She had to let go of her pain, disappointment, and preconceived notion of what her life was supposed to turn out like. 

o   Pain can often distort our reality. When she saw the end of hope, God saw the promise of a miracle.

o   Our “nothing” is the exact something God wants to use to show His provision and grace.

Second, the widow had to separate herself from the outside world. She had to shut the door to any negative voices, fearful frets, and deadly self-pity. Separating ourselves from outside influences might mean we can no longer do the things we used to do. To be separate, is to be set apart.

Finally, the widow had to be sensitive to what God said. She didn’t argue with the prophet when he gave instructions. She didn’t worry that she might look stupid to the neighbors, or like a bad mom to her boys. God gave instructions and she immediately followed them. 

God needed vessels to exhibit His miraculous provision of oil. Without the vessels they collected, the oil would have no place to live. This is how the miracles of God work. Without human vessels (bodies, minds, hands, and feet) God’s miracles have no way of being exhibited. He needs us, His vessels, to be sensitive to the ways He wants to show Himself to the world through our lives. This woman’s story changed the life of her town, and the legacy of her boys… forever. What miracles could God do in and through you if you were willing to pay the cost of a calling?

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