Borrow To Get Blessed

2 kings 4

There was a certain widow whose husband died;

she was poor and unable to pay her husband's creditors. When the creditors threatened to take her children as slaves, she ran to Prophet Elisah for help.


The widow's husband according to the scripture was a God fearing man.

" My husband who served you is dead".

However, despite her financial state, Prophet Elisha asked the woman to go and borrow empty vases.

This is not the only case in the Bible that a prophet directed one to borrow an item, it can be recalled that in the Biblical story of the Widow of Zarephath in 1 Kings 17:8-24; Luke 4:25, 26

Prophet Elijah met the widow and requested for a meal, unaware that she was gathering sticks to make a final scanty meal out of the last cakes and oil she had.

Logical one will think, an encounter with a man of God, is to provide for these needy widows but rather the Prophets demanded from them.

Indeed the ways of the Lord is not alike with the logical reasoning of man.

Nevertheless, the widows were obedient to the man of God.

Therefore one can say sometimes it is better to endure a bit of affliction and enjoy the blessings later.

In the Biblical story of the Widow of Zarephath, though the man of God ate the widow’s only meal but according to Pastor Chima of Fountain of Life Gospel Church, said the Prophet indeed ate the widow's last sorrow.

The question that comes to mind, is it right to borrow to do the will of God?

But before you answer this question can you remember that even the Son of God, Jesus Christ also ask a boy for bread and fish to enable him perform a miracle, to feed the multitude. Likewise, in his first miracle, at the wedding in Canaan, water was demanded to fill the jars before they were changed to wine.

Furthermore, Christ send his disciples to go into a town to collect a donkey for his triumphant entry. He said if anyone ask say "The Lord needs it and will return it soon".

The reason for these examples is for readers to understand some key points on the need to borrow.

One of the moral lesson learnt from the widow’s story is never under estimate you hand work, just a jar of oil turned a poor widow to an oil baron. Nothing is too little for God to use to bless someone.

Another lesson is to always have faith in God. Nothing is impossible for God.

No matter the situation always have faith in Jesus Christ for he promised us in John 10:28-29 [28] "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand."