Fri.’s Devo - The God of Abundance

Read: 2 Kings 3:1-4:17; Acts 14:8-28; Psalm 140:1-13; Proverbs 17:22
Mesha, the king of Moab had been supplying the king of Israel with 100,000 lambs and the wool of 100,000 rams a year. They decided they were done with that and rebelled. The king of Israel asked Jehoshaphat, king of Judah and the king of Edom to help him fight them. They all agreed but after a seven day march they ran out of water for them and their animals. Only Jehoshaphat wanted to ask for God’s help. He asked if there was a prophet around.
The king of Israel knew of Elisha and they called for him. He told them that the only reason he agreed to meet with them was because he had respect for Jehoshaphat, certainly not them. (You have to love the boldness God gives prophets to speak the truth!)
Elisha asked for a harpist to play while he got in God’s presence to hear his word. God’s word was to dig trenches because God was going to supernaturally fill the trenches with water. They would totally win the battle. It happened just as Elisha said it would.
We go from God using Elisha to save a nation to saving a widow and her two sons. She was the wife of a prophet who had died and was going to lose her two sons to slavery because she couldn’t pay her debts. Elisha asked her what she had and it was a little oil. She was able to fill all the jars she could find with that little oil and it sustained her and her sons the rest of their life.
Next, Elisha blessed a barren woman with a son.
God is able to take our obedience and multiply it for whatever we need. The kings needed water and God gave it in abundance. The widow woman needed money to keep her sons out of slavery and God blessed her with enough oil to sustain her through life. The barren lady needed a child and God blessed her with one. God is the God of abundance; the God of more than enough.
Our story in Acts is such an interesting story of human nature. The people in Lystra see one remarkable miracle and decide that Paul and Barnabas are Greek gods come to life in one minute and the next they are stoning them. If there is one thing we can learn from Paul it is that the church is very fickle and you have to keep your mission about God or you will fail. Paul did that and just kept going.
Lord, help us see that you are the God of more than enough. May we walk in obedience.