2X: Keys to Living a Double-Portion Life

Excerpt taken from 2X: Keys to Living a Double-Portion Life by David Cerullo

 

Why the Oil Stopped Flowing

God had honored Elisha’s passionate, persistent quest for the double portion blessing. From the moment he caught his master Elijah’s mantle at the Jordan River, Elisha began to experience a supernatural life like never before. The ordinary things of life became extraordinary, and the Lord enabled him to do many more miracles.

On one occasion, Elisha was approached by the widow of one of his fellow prophets. She was in a dire financial situation and wondered if Elisha could help in some way:

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 Kings 4:1 ESV).

How would you respond to a request like that? People today don’t literally become “slaves” if they can’t pay their bills—but they end up in financial bondage nevertheless. Maybe you’ve experienced this kind of torment yourself, for the Bible warns, “The borrower becomes the lender’s slave” (Proverbs 22:7 NASB).

If a poor widow told you about a dire situation like this, you no doubt would feel sorry for her. But what could you do to really help? Perhaps you would just reach in your pocket and give her some money to help alleviate her immediate troubles. But without some kind of true breakthrough, she would be right back in the same financial pit again.

Instead of just giving this distraught woman a handout, Elisha took a much different approach. Realizing she needed God to do something supernatural, he asked her an important but surprising question: “Tell me; what have you in the house?” (2 Kings 4:2 ESV).

The woman probably thought his question was completely misguided—even cruel. She had already told him of her desperate financial plight. He sure had a lot of nerve to ask her what supplies she had on hand in her house.

“Your servant has nothing in the house except a jar of oil,” she replied (v. 2 ESV).

Elisha’s question and the woman’s reply are both extremely significant for you or anyone else who is seeking a double portion blessing. Notice that she started by saying that she had “NOTHING …” But later in the same sentence it came to light that she actually did have SOMETHING—“a jar of oil.”

Perhaps, like this widow, you are facing overwhelming needs today. In comparison to the serious lack you’re experiencing in your finances or some other area of your life, you’re tempted to feel that you have NOTHING.

But don’t give up so soon! In all likelihood, you truly do have SOMETHING—small and inadequate as it may seem.

A ‘More Than Enough’ Miracle

As the story unfolds, we see that God took this woman from the “Land of Not Enough” to the “Land of More Than Enough.” To her amazement, it all began with the small jar of oil that she had described as “nothing.”

Recognizing that God was about to give the widow and her sons a turnaround, Elisha gave her some urgent instructions:

Go outside, borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels and not too few (2 Kings 4:3 ESV).

Once again, you’ve got to wonder if the woman was thinking to herself, “This guy must be crazy! He knows that all I have is this tiny bit of oil. What would I ever do with a bunch of empty vessels?”

But it turned out that the empty vessels played a critical role in what God was about to do. The woman already had a “single portion” of oil, easily contained within the one small jar. Yet more vessels would be needed to handle a double portion—and the Lord ended up doing far more than just double her amount of oil.

Elisha’s instructions continued:

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.” So she went from him and shut the door behind herself and her sons. And as she poured they brought the vessels to her (2 Kings 4:4-5 ESV).

Why did the prophet tell her to “shut the door” behind her? Friend, this is a lesson you must not miss: It will do little good for God to give you a breakthrough of abundant provision unless you’ve shut the door on the thief who comes “to steal and kill and destroy” (John 10:10 ESV).

Jesus warned that we have an enemy who is intent on stealing our seeds before they ever get into the ground (Matthew 13:3-4). We must shut the door on the devil’s schemes and refuse to listen to any naysayers who would undermine our faith.

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