2 Kings 4:6
"And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed."
Two stories are very similar, but they both have very different outcomes. Each story had a man of God. Each story had a widow who was in great need. In each story the widow had some oil, but the outcome of the oil was very different.
The first story is found in 1 Kings 17. God commanded Elijah to go the to widow of Zarephath during the time of famine. When Elijah arrived at her house, he saw her gathering sticks to prepare a final meal for her and her son. The only thing she had was a handful of meal and a little oil in a cruse. When Elijah saw her, he asked her to cook him some bread to eat. Elijah didn't change his command when she responded that she didn't have much. She obeyed, and went and drew from the barrel and poured oil from the cruse. To her surprise meal reappeared and the oil didn't fail. As long as she kept pouring from the cruse the oil never stopped.
The second story is found in the verse above. This widow came to Elisha to ask him what she should do. Her husband had died and left her with several bills, but she had no money with which to pay these bills. Elisha asked her what she had in her house. She responded, "Thine handmaid hath not any thing in the house, save a pot of oil." He then told her to go and borrow as many vessels as she could. He even said, "...borrow not a few..." After she gathered the vessels, at the prophets command she began to pour the oil into these vessels. When she had no more vessels to pour into, "the oil stayed."
It is interesting that one widow kept drawing from the cruse and the oil never stayed, while the other widow became satisfied with the vessels she had and the oil stayed. The difference between the two widows was their vision and faith. One kept going to the cruse while the other simply poured into what she had instead of gathering more to keep the oil from staying. One gathered what she thought she needed and stopped, while the other kept making the trip to the cruse to keep drawing from it. Both of these widows saw miracles, but the one widow who kept going to the cruse kept seeing the fresh oil every day.
Friend, yesterdays oil is not good for today. Too many Christians have stopped going to the cruse and the oil has stayed in their lives. What God did yesterday should not be your satisfaction today. You need to go to the cruse of oil everyday and keep drawing from its oil. As long as you keep going to the cruse, you will find the fresh oil you need; but, when you stop going to the cruse, the oil will stay in your life and you will have to live on yesterday's oil.
Let me encourage you to increase your faith and keep going to the cruse. If you will keep attempting greater things for the LORD, you will find that you will have to keep going to the cruse; however, when you become satisfied with what you have, you will find that your trips to the cruse will stop and the oil will stay.
Are you living on yesterday's oil? Have you stopped going to the cruse of oil? Has the oil stayed in your life? Friend, let me encourage you to never stop going to the cruse of oil. God will continue to give you the fresh oil you need as long as you keep going and pouring from the cruse of oil.