THE GREAT SUSTAINER
Cast your burden on the Lord, and He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved. —Psalms 55:22
1 A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.”
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few.
4 And when you have come in, you shall shut the door behind you and your sons; then pour it into all those vessels, and set aside the full ones.”
5 So she went from him and shut the door behind her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured it out.
6 Now it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said to her son, “Bring me another vessel.” And he said to her, “There is not another vessel.” So the oil ceased.
7 Then she came and told the man of God. And he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debt; and you and your sons live on the rest.” —2 Kings 4:1 - 7
1. He will sustain you in a season of desperation.
A certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets cried out to Elisha, saying, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. And the creditor is coming to take my two sons to be his slaves.” —2 Kings 4:1 ‘‘has not appeared to you.’ ”
1 James, a bondservant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad: Greetings.
2 My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.
4 But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.
5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.
6 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind.
7 For let not that man suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord;
8 he is a double-minded man, unstable in all his ways. —James 1:1 - 8You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You. —Isaiah 26:3
Casting all your care upon Him,
for He cares for you. —1 Peter 5:76 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:6 - 7
2. He will use what you already possess to sustain you in this season.
So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” —2 Kings 4:2a
1 Then Moses answered and said, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord ‘‘has not appeared to you.’ ”
2 So the Lord said to him, “What is that in your hand?” He said, “A rod.” —Exodus 4:1 - 237 But Jesus said, “You feed them.” “With what?” they asked. “We’d have to work for months to earn enough money to buy food for all these people!”
38 “How much bread do you have?” he asked “Go and find out.” They came back and reported, “We have five loaves of bread and two fish.” —Mark 6:37 - 38 (NLT)
3. He has given us His Spirit to sustain us.
So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.” —2 Kings 4:2
As His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through
the knowledge of Him who called us
by glory and virtue. —2 Peter 1:3Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? —1 Corinthians 3:16
By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. —1 John 4:13
20 But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.
21 So I am writing to you not because you don’t know the truth but because you know the difference between truth and lies. —1 John 2:20 - 21 (NLT)But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you. —Romans 8:11
4. He has give us His promise to sustain, but we must make room.
2 So Elisha said to her, “What shall I do for you? Tell me, what do you have in the house?” And she said, “Your maidservant has nothing in the house but a jar of oil.”
3 Then he said, “Go, borrow vessels from everywhere, from all your neighbors—empty vessels; do not gather just a few. —2 Kings 4:2 - 3God is not a man, that He should lie, nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? —Numbers 23:19
For all the promises of God in Him are Yes, and in Him Amen, to the glory of God through us. —2 Corinthians 1:20
So shall they fear the name of the Lord from the west, and His glory from the rising of the sun; when the enemy comes in like a flood, The Spirit of the Lord will lift up
a standard against him. —Isaiah 59:19I have been young, and now am old; Yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, Nor his descendants begging bread. —Psalms 37:25
Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” —Matthew 11:28 - 30