“ ³ Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for a few.’”

(2 Kings 4:3)

So, the verse above comes from a passage in 2 Kings chapter 4.  To be more specific, verses 1 through 7.  Here is a little run down of what is happening in this passage.

A widow, is seeking help to keep her two sons from being taken away as slaves by a man that their family owes money to.  She goes to Elisha and ask him for help.  He then ask her what she has, to which she replies they have nothing.  Elisha then tells her to go around and ask her neighbors for empty jars (and lots of them).  Then he instructs her to go home, shut the door and begin to fill the jars with oil, so that she can sell them and pay off the debtor.

Maybe you are asking, “what does this have to do with overflow?”  Good question!  Let us break down this passage and see how it applies.

When the widow, ask Elisha for help, he instructs her to gather as many jars as she can, but not just any jars.  He specifically tells her to retrieve empty jars.  Why empty jars?  Well, would you want a jar full of oil and whatever else just happened to be mixed in?  No!  You would want a jar filled with just oil because it would be of more value.

Well guess what, the same applies to you and I.  Like the oil that the lady was pouring into the jars, God wants to pour out His Spirit into us.  This is why we should empty ourselves, so that our selfishness does not dilute the Spirit that is given to us from God.

The passage doesn’t stop there!

As we read in 2 Kings 4:1-7, we see that when the woman and her sons get the jars and begin to fill them, they are able to fill up every jar as it says, “But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing.” (2 Kings 4:6)  Don’t miss this!  They were able to fill up as many jars as they were able to gather.  You see, God’s blessing (the oil) was poured out to them for as much as they were able/willing to go and get!

“She went and told the man of God, and he said, ‘Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” (2 Kings 4:7)

Now, they had enough to pay off the debt they owed AND an overflow that they were able to live off of. So let me ask you, are you emptying yourself to allow God’s Spirit and His blessing to pour into your life? I pray this is something that we are all actively seeking.