When the Creditor Comes to Take

2 Kings 4:1
“Now there cried a certain woman of the wives of the sons of the prophets unto Elisha, saying, Thy servant my husband is dead; and thou knowest that thy servant did fear the LORD: and the creditor is come to take unto him my two sons to be bondmen.”

You’ve read this story many times about this lady whose husband died and she was left with bills that she could not pay. Of course, there are many lessons on finances that could be learned from this story, but there is a life lesson that every believer could glean from this popular story.

The verse above says, “…and the creditor is come to take…” Let me ask you what the “creditor” is in your life? What is it that is taking from you? We could paraphrase this little line to say, “Sickness has come to take.” “Family problems have come to take.” “Sin has come to take.” “Finances have come to take.” “Death has come to take.” “Relationship misunderstandings have come to take.” “Abusive leadership has come to take.” “Sharp disagreements have come to take.” Just look at your life and fill in the blank where the “creditor” is come to take. When the creditor comes to take, there are several lessons from these verses that can help you to get through what the creditor has taken.

First, look at what you do have. You still have something left when the creditor has taken from you. Elisha pointed this out to this dear lady when he asked, “…what hast thou in the house?” She said that the only thing she had was a pot of oil, but the Scriptures show she had many pots that had not been taken. Elisha was trying to get her to see that her life was not over. Believer, no matter what life takes from you, you still have eternal life in Heaven which no hardship can take. You still have a reason to have the joy of the LORD in your heart because your salvation can never be taken from you. If all you have in the house of your heart is your salvation, that is enough to give you joy for the rest of your life.

Second, God’s Holy Spirit is there to fill what the creditor is taking away. This lady said that the only thing she had in her house was “a pot of oil.” My friend, whatever void hardships have left in your life can be filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit. In fact, the more the creditors take, the more the Holy Spirit can fill. The only reason people are not filled with the Holy Spirit is because they have filled their life with their own agendas. Actually, God is doing you a favor when He allows the creditors of life to take from you. God knows He can fill the void with His Holy Spirit’s power if you will just yield to the Holy Spirit.

Third, go soul winning. Elisha told the lady, “Go…” Life may take many things from you, but it can’t take your ability to lead people to Christ. One of the greatest things the Holy Spirit uses to fill the void in your life with joy is to use you to lead others to Christ. You can let hardships cause you to sit and sulk, or you can go soul winning and fill the void with the joy of seeing people saved. It is your choice!

Fourth, use the creditor’s taking as a motivator to do a work of faith the only God can fill. Elisha told this lady to go borrow as many vessels as she could and to “borrow not a few.” Let me encourage you to have a vision of faith to let God do something through you greater than what you could do yourself. Don’t let hardships take your vision of faith, but let them become a motivator to let God do a great work of faith through you.