The Way God Cares for a Woman In Distress

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”  Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars..."  She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” II Kings 4: 1-7

This passage describes so beautifully how God cares for a woman in trouble. The unnamed widow is innocent in her suffering - her husband died leaving her in great debt and the creditor has no mercy.  Life has shown me that this is just how God operates  - you can count on it!

• God will send a godly counselor if you cry out.  God will provide trusted advice through His church and its leaders, if you seek and listen.  Believers ministering to other believers, stepping up and saying as Elisha did, "how can I help you?" This is God's loving provision for you. 
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• God will use what you have on hand - a talent, a person, a book, an ability, or a few assets like the small jar of oil. When your spouse has pushed you down, look around at what or who God has provided to take care of you in this season.  In my case, an old friend sent me an insightful book. And God brought me to a new mentor at church  - a woman who had already walked through what I was about to face.  
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• God will protect your children.  The widow's central fear is for her two sons.  For those of us who have looked down the barrel of the divorce cannon, we too are often more afraid for our children than for ourselves.  We have absorbed the pain in secret for a long time; we have formed scar tissue over the shrapnel beneath our skin.  But we are desperate that our children not be harmed by the brokenness of divorce.  I had to be reminded many times that God loves my children more than I do, and He will take care of them ("you and your sons can live!".  
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• God will use Christian community to take care of you.  The widow went to her neighbors for empty jars - the assets they could contribute in a time of famine. Amphorae were plentiful and disposable, but also reusable because the sediments from oil or wine settled in the pointed bottom. They were designed to be set upright into sand or a rack in the slanted hull of a ship. In my time of need, God provided Christian carpool moms from my neighborhood, women who could help with child transport, picking up a repaired car, sitting with me at school concerts. (Some things are so much harder without a second parent!) These were the gifts of my neighbors, like jars that God could fill with blessings. Who knew? It was just a carpool before the trouble started, but God knew what I needed long before I did.
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• God wants to bless you abundantly in your time of trouble.  Don't ask for just a few jars!  Follow God's guidelines and those of his prophets and things go better - the widow gathered a lot of empty clay jars from neighbors but she didn't know why. By trusting the prophet's advice, she had enough to pay off debts and supply necessities for herself and her boys - her daily bread. On some days going through divorce, I felt numb and directionless.  But I leaned into the advice of counselors when I was confused, and that leaning kept me from falling and making grave mistakes.
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• God works behind closed doors.  Sometimes His miracles are large and public, but more often, as for this widow, God provides in quiet, private moments. I treasure the private moments God tenderly cared for me within my home - through a song, a verse, or a conversation.   
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• God will use your children in healing and providing for you. The widow worked side-by-side with her sons. Amphorae, with a handle on each side, were often designed to be carried by two strong men when full. In divorce, our children are not our support system or our friends, but yet they can work alongside us through the healing process. Young children may sense the need for hugs. One of my older sons said, "I think you won't take so long to heal, mom, because you are stronger than most."  What a word of encouragement! And my teens had to learn to do things their dad had done, like mow the lawn and fix the computer, and help me lift heavy things.  
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• God will use your own efforts and that of your children. The widow did not sit idly by and hope that healing and money floated in like a cloud.  She contributed effort to the task - she and her boys were partnering with God for the miracle of debt repayment.  She labored with her sons using the assets they had.
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• God will take care of you in front of your children. Their lives will be blessed by seeing God's care in action.  By making her two sons part of the work team, they also experienced God's private miracle of healing and provision  - the entire family was rescued!  

Sink into God's loving care for you and your family during the difficult times.  Remember Peter 5: "And God will exalt you in due time, if you humble yourselves under his mighty hand, by casting all your cares on him because he cares for you." **

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