Elisha: Trusting God When You Don’t Have Enough

February 1, 2026

What do you do when life gives you more than you can handle? There are so many problems in our country and in the world. It’s not easy! Then we have our own problems that can shake us to the core. But we have a very good God. God is powerful, and he cares about you. So if you find yourself feeling I don’t have enough of whatever: not enough money, or I don’t have enough strength to deal with all I need to deal with, or I don’t have enough faith that God is good and things will be alright. Today’s message may speak to you. We’re talking about trusting God when you don’t have enough.

We’re in a sermon series about Elisha. The first week, we learned a great prophet threw his cloak on him, which meant Elisha would be the next prophet. Elisha  was eager and willing! He left his home to learn to be a prophet and follow God. We learned God’s not looking for ability, he’s looking for availability. He’s looking for someone to say, “I’ll do it!” The second week three kings came to Elisha for help when their armies had no water. Elisha called for a harp player! He took time out to worship. While the harp was playing God told Elisha he’s gonna send water, though it won’t look like they expect it to. We learned things may look bad, like help isn’t coming, but God is sending help!

This week we’re talking about a time when a widow comes to Elisha for help. She tells Elisha her troubles. Her husband died. Her husband wasn’t just some random guy; he was a prophet who studied under Elisha. He was a man of God. But he died. Now she’s in debt and her creditor is going to take her two sons.  What does that mean? Well, at that time, it sounds crazy, but if you owed money to someone they could legally come and take your children as temporary slaves. Not for forever, but your children would have to work off the debt for 4,5 or 6 years.

So, she’s devastated. How much can a person take? Elisha listens to her story, and then asks, “How can I help you? What do you have in your house?”

If someone asked you or me, what do you have in your house, well, we don’t even know everything we have in our house, there’s so much! Furniture, clothes, appliances, TVs, food, toothpaste, a glow in the dark frisbee…that’s what I have in my house. In Elisha’s time, your average home had very little. She’s been trying to deal with a terrible amount of debt. She probably sold everything she could. So, she says, “You servant has nothing.” Nothing in the house! She continues, “Except a little jar of oil.” She starts off saying she has nothing, but that’s not the whole truth. We can’t judge her for being pessimistic: she’s going through a very difficult time! The truth is that when you’re hurting, it’s very easy to see what you don’t have! And she’s focused on what she doesn’t have! She doesn’t have a husband, she doesn’t have savings, she doesn’t have a job. In her mind she doesn’t have hope!

Have you ever been there where you’re losing hope, and you think you have nothing? I remember when my husband, Kevin, and I graduated from seminary, where you learn to be a pastor. We finished and had no church to go to. Kevin was in a different denomination, the Christian church Disciples of Christ. We were looking for a Christian church Disciples of Christ congregation to call Kevin, and a United Church of Christ congregation to call me, that were in the vicinity of each other. Those two denominations are often in different places. There are a lot of UCC churches in Pennsylvania, but not many Disciples of Christ congregations. There are a lot of Disciples of Christ churches in Texas, but very few UCC churches there. We spent two years living with Kevin’s parents in Iowa, working other jobs while we waited. I felt like we’re never going get to work as pastors. I’m never going to use my gifts. No one’s going to respect me. I was losing hope. But finally, we were called as co pastors in the Mahantango valley. The conference bent the rules, said it’s ok if Kevin’s a different denomination! God came through for us!

Fear makes us feel hopeless, like I’m sick and I’m never going to get better. I’m addicted and I’ll never get past it. God doesn’t love me or answer my prayers. He’s forgotten me. Sometimes we let the fear of what we don’t have drown out our faith in what God has already given us!

Elisha asked the widow what she had, what was valuable in her house. She said, “Nothing at all, except for a small jar of olive oil.” Olive oil was valuable back then! You could cook with it, you could burn it in your lamp at night, you could mix it with herbs and make medicine, you could take some oil and anoint someone a priest or prophet to serve God.

The widow had something valuable. It was a little jar of olive oil, but she had something. When you don’t have enough, you still have something, just not enough. You have something. Not enough is where God starts. Elisha knew that. He knew she didn’t have much. But she had to have something. Because everybody has something. God could do something with her something. Not enough is where God starts.

God has a history of starting with not enough to make a miracle. There was David, a teenager, who defeated the giant, Goliath, with a slingshot! There was the boy whose 5 loves and 2 fish, blessed by Jesus, multiplied to feed 5000 people! Jesus said all you need is faith the size of a tiny mustard seed, and you can move a mountain! Not enough is where God starts.

The next thing Elisha tells the widow is “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.” He’s saying, you go to every house, ask everybody for a jar! This isn’t the miracle yet. This is the widow going to all her neighbors, who, it turns out, are willing to help. It feels like a miracle sometimes, to have the courage to ask for help. But so many people want to help, we just don’t ask. Did a neighbor or friend help you shovel snow this past week? There are so many nice neighbors out there! I saw on Facebook people offering to clear snow for free. This widow asked her neighbors, and they gave her a lot of empty jars. God would help her fill those jars.

Next, she had her sons come inside and she close the door of her house. Her sons brought her jars, and she poured oil from her small jar of olive oil. The small jar of olive oil kept filling jars! It was bottomless! She poured and poured, until there were no more jars left. As the last jar was filled, the oil stopped flowing. She went and told Elisha what had happened, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.”

Notice, what kind of jar did Elisha tell her to ask for? He didn’t! It could be any shape and size. A peanut butter jar, a milk jug, a salsa jar. The only requirement was it had to be empty! Sometimes we need to be empty. We need to empty the fear out; we need to empty the doubt from our hearts. We need to empty ourselves of pride when we don’t want to ask for help. We need to clear out those comparisons we make: like I’m no good at what other people are great at. The only way God can fill us with his power and presence and purpose and work a miracle, is if we clear out what poisons our mind. We make room for God to fill us with hope, faith, confidence, humility and trust.

So, my challenge for you this week is to ask yourself, what in your life, or in your mind, do you need to empty, so God can fill you with what matters, so his Holy Spirit can work in and through you?

When you empty your life of sin and self, he’ll fill you with his purpose, presence and power. When you’ve come to the end of your rope, God is there. God was with the widow at the worst moment of her life. She listened to Elisha and went and asked all her neighbors for empty jars. The neighbors came through! She and her sons filled all the empty jars. The olive oil didn’t run out until she had enough. She got to keep her sons! We have a good God who cares about you! When you only have a little, God can do something. Because not enough is where God starts! Amen.