Recovery Devotional 294 Participative Welfare

JMD Devotional 294 2 Kings 4:1-7 Participative Welfare

NOW THE wife of a son 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 sons to be his slaves. Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? Tell me, what have you [of sale value] in the house? She said, Your handmaid has nothing in the house except a jar of oil. Then he said, Go around and borrow vessels from all your neighbors, empty vessels--and not a few. And when you come in, shut the door upon you and your sons. Then pour out [the oil you have] into all those vessels, setting aside each one when it is full. So she went from him and shut the door upon herself and her sons, who brought to her the vessels as she poured the oil. When the vessels were all full, she said to her son, Bring me another vessel. And he said to her, There is not a one left. Then the oil stopped multiplying. Then she came and told the man of God. He said, Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.

When another person is in a fix, the compassion in us wants to help. But saving them is not always charity; there may be more at stake than their ‘obvious’ need. If they have lost faith in themselves, then bailing them out will only increase their passive dependence upon others. Elisha wisely involved the widow in working out her own solution; which gave her something she could do, thus breaking her out of her helplessness and into something constructive. His instructions also forced her to get in touch with her neighbors (community) to borrow the jars. But the miraculous work of God was the private part, with windows closed and doors shut. In any recovery, there are all of these elements: crying out for help, self-determination, engaging a community and dependence upon a higher power who is for those who know Him, a personal God. Being involved in your own solution gives a person the courage and experience to move on with their life as an active participant rather than as a welfare recipient, it preserves their dignity.

Dear God,

Often I have wanted a handout; but thank You for wisely giving me a hand-up. You said, “stand up, and gird your loins like a man!” Tough love takes a while to understand and appreciate; but the character You build is priceless. Though we are the source of most of our own troubles; You preserve our dignity, and call us to work with You in our recovery. Good and gracious is the Lord!

Amen

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