Empty but Overflowing

What would you say if I told you that God wants to do something miraculous in your life today? I could name dozens of examples from the Bible of this very thing, but the story of Elisha and the poor widow in the Old Testament is a great place to start.

In 2 Kings, a widow was facing a mountain of debt, so she asked Elisha for help to keep her creditors from selling her two sons into slavery (4:1-7). Elisha had great compassion for the widow and asked her if she had anything of value in her house. She replied, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”

Elisha said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors – empty vessels; do not gather just a few. And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”

Upon hearing Elisha’s instruction, the widow gathered as many vessels as she could and began doing everything that the prophet told her to do. She went home with her sons, closed the door, and began filling each vessel with oil.

And that’s when her faith ignited her breakthrough! God began multiplying her oil, and the flow of oil did not stop until she ran out of jars. She was then able to sell the oil, pay her debts and live off the proceeds … hallelujah! What an incredible story of faith!

The widow’s obedience led to amazing blessings and breakthroughs for her family. But notice it was up to her to gather the empty jars and BELIEVE for her miracle. God was pouring out supernatural blessings into her life, but He required empty vessels to POUR INTO … otherwise, the breakthrough couldn’t have occurred!

Emptying the Jars

Do you see how powerful this message is for you and me? Like the widow, we’re being called to great things … supernatural things … things much bigger than we could ever accomplish without His miracle-working touch.

God wants to use us in a mighty way, but He wants us to be emptied of everything first. He only uses the jars of clay that He can fill Himself. So it’s up to us to submit ourselves to Him, obey His Word, and humble our hearts.

Of course, this is never easy. And we may become discouraged if we think it’s a quick or simple thing to do. But it’s worth the sacrifice if we desire His intimacy and blessings above all else. Like Paul, we can experience the revelation of what it means to be one with Christ and empowered by His Spirit. As we are reminded in Galatians 2:20:

I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.

What this says to us as believers is we have to die to ourselves in order to remain alive in Jesus. We have to surrender everything before we can be complete in Him. He alone gives us our value and meaning in life. And only He can create within us what we lack in ourselves: our sense of who we are and what our true purpose is.

Luke 9:46-48 (NIV) talks about the time Jesus’ disciples were arguing about which one of them was His greatest follower. These men had the wrong idea about what it meant to be great in God’s Kingdom, and the Lord challenged them on this:

Jesus, knowing their thoughts, took a little child and had him stand beside him. Then he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in my name welcomes me; and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me. For it is the one who is least among you all who is the greatest.”

You see, the path to God’s blessings does not lie in exalting yourself and trying to get ahead of others. On the contrary, true greatness means humbling yourself before God and becoming an empty vessel.

Paul describes this true humility and servanthood reflected in Christ:

Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2:5-8).

Can you think of a better example of true servanthood? Jesus voluntarily humbled Himself and became “of no reputation.” Although He was the Lord of Glory, He allowed Himself to become an empty vessel for God so that He could pour Himself out as a living sacrifice for many.

If you’re wondering whether it’s possible to experience a complete transformation of your mind and heart … to escape the bondage of worry and fear … please be encouraged. God can do miraculous work in you as long as you stand in faith for your breakthrough. He is faithful to complete everything He’s started in you and will transform your heart and mind if you surrender everything to Him.

The key to it all is becoming an empty vessel and letting Him fill you completely with His power and love. If you learn to humble your heart and submit your life to Him, then God can use you powerfully – for His plans and purposes.

You’ll know you’ve been changed when you have a true revelation of God’s peace and joy in your life. His strength will empower you to be an overcomer. And His Spirit will work in you and through you … to be an outflow of His love and grace on others.

Your friend and partner,

David Cerullo