Gather Your Jars

“Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few.” These were the words of Elisha to the widow who cried out to him to help her in her distress. 2 Kings 4:1-7 These verses took new meaning for me while serving in the Philippines. All around us were people who are empty, desperate, in need of filling. But it is not just there, but here at home, as well. Our lives are full but there are many around us who are empty inside.

The woman in Elisha’s time was experiencing emptiness but she was instructed to go to her neighbor and gather their emptiness as well. God is desiring to fill that which is empty. In the Philippines we were serving with those who gather the empty people around them and prepare them for the filling of God. Here at home do we have faith enough to gather the empty people around us expecting and believing that God will fill them? The oil ran out at the end of the widows faith and obedience, not at the end of God’s ability!

The beauty of a life transformed by God, filled, overflowing, radiant. It was our joy to share with many from the Philippines who are full, who have traded their despair for a garment of praise, their mourning for gladness, and their ashes for a crown of beauty. We thank God for the work he is doing in their lives. We look forward to what he will do here as well. So join with me in gathering those who are empty preparing them in eager expectation for the filling of God.