A Flask or a Fountain

This article was created from a sermon transcript with the help of AI. Images are also AI generated.

As a preacher’s kid, I grew up hearing countless stories from my father about his childhood. But one tale always stood out—the story of what he called “the best spring of his life.”

My father’s favorite food was avocados, a love I’ve inherited. That particular year, the family mysteriously had an abundance of this prized fruit. Avocado toast for breakfast, guacamole for lunch, sliced avocados with dinner—it was a culinary dream come true for my dad. He often recalled this time as the happiest of his childhood.

Years later, the true story behind this bounty came to light. My grandmother revealed that during a difficult period of financial struggle, a kind church member had secretly left bags of avocados on their doorstep several times a week. Without this act of generosity, she confessed, the family might have gone hungry.

This story has always struck me as a powerful illustration of God’s provision, often arriving in unexpected ways and through unlikely sources. It reminds me that even in our darkest moments, when we feel we have nothing left, God can turn our scarcity into abundance.

As I’ve faced my own challenges in life, I’ve often found myself worrying about the future, seeing the glass as half empty rather than half full. But time and again, I’ve been reminded of my father’s avocado spring—a testament to the truth that God cares for our needs, often in ways we can’t anticipate or imagine.

This realization led me to explore a powerful biblical story that echoes this theme of God’s provision in times of desperate need. It’s a narrative that not only illustrates God’s faithfulness but also challenges us to examine our own faith and readiness to receive His blessings.

The Widow’s Flask

In second Kings, we encounter a story that resonates deeply with anyone who has ever felt they’ve reached the end of their rope. It’s set against the backdrop of the schools of the prophets—small communities of faithful believers eking out an existence on the fringes of a largely apostate nation.

Having lived for a year at a self-supporting school with my family, I can relate somewhat to the sacrifices these people made. I remember learning to treasure a piece of fresh fruit in the winter. I remember going for weeks without a trip to town — not only because of the snow on the roads, but because my family couldn’t afford the gas to drive the car any more than necessary. We never went hungry, but looking back, it makes me think of the stories of the faithful ones in Scripture who sacrificed in order to serve God and teach their families about His love.

Among these stories of hardship, one woman’s plight stands out. This widow approaches the prophet Elisha in utter desperation. Her husband, a God-fearing man, has died, leaving her with an insurmountable debt. In those days, there was no bankruptcy protection, no social safety net. The creditors were coming to take her two sons as slaves to settle the debt.

Can you imagine the anguish in this mother’s heart? She’s lost her husband, and now faces losing her children—her only family left in this world. It’s a moment of complete despair, yet she clings to her faith, appealing to Elisha based on her late husband’s devotion to God.

Elisha’s response is both surprising and profound. He doesn’t offer her money or intercede with the creditors. Instead, he asks her a simple question: “What do you have in your house?”

It’s a question that shifts the focus from what she lacks to what she possesses, however meager it might seem. After initially claiming she has nothing, the widow remembers a small flask of oil. Not a jar of oil for cooking, but a small flask for pouring — perhaps for anointing. It was, if you will, the last trace of her medicine cabinet!

What happens next is nothing short of miraculous. Elisha instructs her to borrow as many empty jars as she can from her neighbors, then to pour her oil into these containers. As she obeys, the oil keeps flowing, filling jar after jar until there are no more vessels to fill.

This story has always fascinated me. It’s not just about a physical miracle, but a powerful lesson in faith, obedience, and God’s abundant provision. The widow’s small flask became a fountain of blessing, providing not only enough to pay her debts but also to sustain her family.

In our own lives, we often focus on what we lack, overlooking the small “flasks” God has already provided. This widow’s story challenges us to recognize these gifts and to step out in faith, trusting God to multiply our meager resources beyond our wildest expectations.

Lessons from the Fountain of Oil

This powerful story of the widow’s oil offers us several profound lessons that I’ve found deeply applicable to our modern lives.

Firstly, it reminds us that God often works His greatest miracles when we’re at the end of our rope. When we’ve exhausted all our options and resources, that’s when we’re most open to God’s intervention. I’ve experienced this in my own life, times when I felt I had nothing left, only to discover that’s precisely where God’s work begins.

Secondly, Elisha’s question to the widow—”What do you have?”—teaches us to focus on what we possess rather than what we lack. It’s easy to become fixated on our deficiencies, but God asks us to take stock of our blessings, however small they may seem. That tiny flask of oil seemed insignificant, yet it became the conduit for a miracle.

The story also underscores the importance of faith and obedience. The widow had to step out in faith, borrowing jars from her neighbors without knowing exactly what would happen. How many of us would have the courage to do that? Yet her obedience to Elisha’s seemingly strange instructions was key to the miracle that followed.

Perhaps most strikingly, we see that God’s provision was proportional to the widow’s preparation. The oil flowed until there were no more jars to fill. This makes me wonder: How often do we limit God’s blessings by our lack of expectation or preparation? Are we, as a church, ready for the outpouring of God’s Spirit, or are we constraining His work by our small faith?

I’m reminded of a recent experience in my new church. Seeing a basket full of baptismal certificates, my first thought was one of doubt—”That’s a lot of certificates–I wonder how long it will take before we baptize that many candidates!” But then I caught myself and said, “We’re going to need to order more certificates!” It was a small shift in perspective, but an important one. Are we preparing for God’s blessings, or are we limiting them by our lack of faith?

These lessons challenge me daily. They remind me that God can use whatever we have—our talents, our resources, our very lives—and turn them into fountains of blessing. But it requires our faith, our obedience, and our willingness to step out and act on God’s promises.

In a world filled with uncertainty and need, this widow’s story stands as a testament to God’s faithful provision and the power of trusting Him with what little we have. It encourages us to hold our “flasks” up to God, trusting Him to turn them into fountains of His grace and provision.

Our Source of Power

In the widow’s story, oil plays a central role—and it’s no coincidence. In ancient Israel, oil was a precious commodity, painstakingly extracted from hand-harvested olives. During my visit to the Holy Land, I saw a reconstructed olive press, giving me a newfound appreciation for the labor involved in producing this valuable resource.

But beyond its practical uses, oil in the Bible often symbolizes something far more powerful: the Holy Spirit. This symbolism offers us a deeper layer of understanding to the widow’s miracle and our own spiritual lives.

The prophet Zechariah provides a vivid picture of this spiritual oil in a vision of a golden lampstand. Unlike the temple menorah that required daily refilling, Zechariah sees an endless supply of oil flowing directly from two olive trees. The angel interprets this vision with a profound message: “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of hosts.”

This imagery reminds us that our true source of strength isn’t found in our own abilities or resources. It’s not about unlocking some hidden potential within ourselves, as some popular philosophies suggest. Rather, our power comes from the continuous flow of God’s Spirit in our lives.

The Apostle Paul echoes this truth when he writes, “The weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.” In our daily battles—whether they’re financial struggles, health issues, or spiritual warfare—we’re not left to fight with our own limited strength. We have access to a power far greater than anything this world can offer.

This concept has been a game-changer in my own life. When faced with challenges that seem insurmountable, I’m learning to stop relying solely on my own resources. Instead, I’m striving to tap into the endless supply of God’s Spirit—the true oil that can turn our small flasks into overflowing fountains.

It’s a humbling yet liberating realization. We don’t have to have it all figured out. We don’t need to possess vast resources or extraordinary abilities. Like the widow with her small flask of oil, we simply need to trust in the Source of all power and be willing vessels for His work.

In these uncertain times, when we often feel depleted and overwhelmed, this truth offers immense comfort and hope. Our strength doesn’t come from our own might or power, but from the Spirit of the living God. And that Spirit, like the oil in the widow’s story, never runs dry.

The Promise of Provision

The Apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 4:19 offer a powerful promise: “And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.” This assurance sets the stage for our final reflections on God’s abundant provision.

Throughout Scripture, we see God repeatedly providing for His people in miraculous ways. When the Israelites were thirsty in the desert, God commanded Moses to strike a rock, and water gushed forth. This wasn’t just a one-time event; the water followed them to the borders of the Promised Land, a constant reminder of God’s faithful provision.

This image of life-giving water reaches its pinnacle in Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well. Tired and thirsty, Jesus asks her for a drink, then offers her something far greater: living water. “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,” He tells her, “but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

These stories—from the widow’s oil to the rock in the wilderness to Jesus at the well—all point to the same truth: God is the source of all we need, not just for physical sustenance, but for spiritual fulfillment and eternal life.

In my own life, I’ve often found myself like that woman at the well, seeking satisfaction in things that could never truly quench my thirst. I’ve worried about tomorrow’s provisions, forgetting that God has always provided for today. But time and again, God has shown me that He is the fountain I’ve been seeking all along.

I want to challenge you—and myself—to examine the source of our strength. Are we relying on our own limited resources, our small flasks of oil? Or are we tapping into the endless fountain of God’s grace and power?

Today, I invite you to lift your cup to the Lord. Ask Him to fill it, not with temporary satisfactions, but with His living water. Allow Him to transform your life, turning your small flask into a fountain of His goodness.

Remember, it’s not about what we lack, but about what God can do with what we have. It’s not by our might or power, but by His Spirit. And He promises to meet all our needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.

So let us come to Him with empty vessels, ready to be filled. Let us trust Him with our meager resources, believing He can multiply them beyond our imagination. And let us live each day in the confidence that our God is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine.

May we all experience the transformative power of God’s grace, allowing Him to turn our flasks into fountains, our scarcity into abundance, and our thirst into everlasting satisfaction in Him.