Where have you stopped praying for a breakthrough?
At a conference a while back, pastor Craig Springer talked about a miracle-stopping mistake revealed in an empty jar.
The story found in Second Kings begins as a terrible dilemma. A woman’s husband had just died leaving her with two boys and crushing debt.
Cried Out
In desperation, she cried out for help to the mighty prophet, Elisha. He replied, “Tell me, what do you have in your house?”
The place was barren. She had nothing… “except a small jar of olive oil.”
Empty Jars
Elisha’s instructions were cryptic at best. He told them to go door-to-door asking their neighbors for empty jars, as many as they could get.
Once inside, they were to pour oil into all the jars. When one filled up, they were to put it aside and fill the next one.
Amazingly, the oil in this one small jar filled all the jars they had! It was only when they ran out of jars that the oil stopped flowing. Now they could sell the oil, pay their debts and have plenty to live on (2 Kings 4:1-7).
How Many?
How many empty jars are you placing before the Lord these days?
Every prayer we ever pray is an empty jar we are asking God to fill. Yet in some cases, we have stopped praying. We have stopped desiring to see change or believing it can happen. We feel defeated, so we quit. This is a miracle-stopping mistake. It happens inside us.
Where does defeat have a hand on the wheel right now?
Breakthrough
For breakthrough to occur around us, it first must occur in us. Hope must be rekindled to defeat defeat.
God says, “What do you have? What resource could you release to me, so I can multiply it and give you a breakthrough?”
Do you have any empty jars you could place before the Lord?
An Outpouring
Craig framed it this way: “What if God’s outpouring matches our outcry?”
Don’t be like the guy who stands in the rainstorm with a Dixie cup. Let’s put out every empty jar we can find to catch the miraculous outpouring God longs to give.
ROGER IS SPEAKING AT FIRST UMC SPRINGFIELD, IL, MARCH 30 at 10:30 AM
I’d love to see you there! First UMC, 2941 S Koke Mill Rd, Springfield.
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Roger Ross
A native of Cambridge, Illinois, Roger has served as a pastor in Texas, the British Channel Island of Guernsey, and Illinois. While in Illinois, he led teams that planted two new churches and served for 10 years as the lead pastor of one of the largest United Methodist Churches in the Midwest. It was his privilege to serve as the Director of Congregational Excellence in the Missouri Conference before coming into his current role with Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI).
Roger now comes alongside pastors, non-profit leaders and their leadership teams as an executive coach, specializing in leadership that inspires change. As a side gig, he loves teaching evangelism and church planting as an adjunct professor at SMU’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas.
Other passions of his include SCUBA diving in warm blue water, Krispy Kremes, and board games with family and friends. He also has a weakness for golf.
Roger is the author of three books, Meet The Goodpeople: Wesley’s 7 Ways to Share Faith, Come Back: Returning to the Life You Were Made For, and Come Back Participant Guide, all through Abingdon Press.
Now for the best part. Roger is married to Leanne Klein Ross, and they live Bloomington, Illinois. God has blessed them with two adult children, a son-in-law, several tropical fish, and one adorable granddog.
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