We ask God to bless us, we believe God will bless us, but are we ready for God to bless us? What if God really did bless you with more finances, a better job, more people in your church, children, or whatever it is you’ve been asking God to provide? Are you prepared to handle God’s blessing?
We all think we are ready, but let’s look at an example in the book of 2nd Kings that demonstrates the need to be ready for God to do more than we could ask or think.
2 Kings 4:1-7 (ESV) 1 Now the wife of one of the sons of the prophets cried to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord, but the creditor has come to take my two children to be his slaves.” 2 And Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me; what have you in the house?” And she said, “Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil.” 3 Then he said, “Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few. 4 Then go in and shut the door behind yourself and your sons and pour into all these vessels. And when one is full, set it aside.” 5 So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her. 6 When the vessels were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another.” Then the oil stopped flowing. 7 She came and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts, and you and your sons can live on the rest.”
Notice how Elisha said to go and ask for empty jars from the neighbors and added, “Don’t ask for just a few.” The oil supply finally stopped when there were no more jars. Don’t you think the woman must have thought of what could have been had she borrowed more jars?
What have you asked God to do lately? We all have a dream list of things that begin with, “Wouldn’t it be great if God did this…” Well, what if He did? Are you ready for it? Could you handle it? Would you run out of jars because you weren’t really ready for Him to exceed your expectations? When God tells us to prepare – He means prepare.
Isaiah 54:2 (ESV) “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let the curtains of your habitations be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your cords and strengthen your stakes.
Just as it is important to prepare for Him to open the heavens and pour out a blessing, so it’s every bit as essential to demonstrate our ability to handle a greater blessing in the way we have handled what He has already provided.
Luke 16:10-13 (ESV) 10 “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much. 11 If then you have not been faithful in the unrighteous wealth, who will entrust to you the true riches? 12 And if you have not been faithful in that which is another’s, who will give you that which is your own? 13 No servant can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.”
We all agree with the exclamation of God’s ability to blow our minds by going over and beyond our greatest expectations, but the question remains; “Are you ready for this?”
Ephesians 3:20-21 (ESV) 20 Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, 21 to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
Godspeed,
Bob Brubaker
