The Message of the Widow’s Oil with Sharon Epps

At Faithfi, our vision is to redeem God's design for money so that people would come to see God as their ultimate treasure. When you prioritize God above all else, your financial decisions reflect your identity in Christ. We're here to provide biblical wisdom and practical tools to help you on this journey. By becoming a monthly Faithfi partner, you're supporting us and actively participating in our vision to help people integrate their faith and financial decisions for the glory of God. You can make a difference right now at faithfi.com slash give. That's faithfi.com slash give. Now let's dive into the podcast. The Bible contains many accounts of God providing miraculously for his people, but none are more fascinating than the story of the widow's oil.

Hi, I'm Rob West. That passage is found in 2 Kings 4, 1 through 7. It's just seven verses, but they're loaded with teaching about God's provision. Sharon Epps joins us today to unpack the story of the widow's oil and how we can apply it to our lives today. And then it's on to your calls at 800-525-7000.

That's 800-525-7000. This is faith and finance, biblical wisdom for your financial journey. Well, it's definitely one of the highlights of the month when Sharon Epps stops by. Sharon is president of Kingdom Advisors and a frequent contributor to Faithfi. And Sharon, great to have you here.

Always love to be here. Sharon, I know you've broken down the story of the widow's oil basically into God's part and the widow's part, but I'd love to start today by just reading these passages from Scripture. Oh, I love hearing God's Word read.

Let's do it. So we're going into 2 Kings 4, verses 1 through 7, and I'm reading from the New International Version. Elisha said, Wow, that's a powerful portion of Scripture.

Sharon, I know we're going to unpack this. Why don't we start with God's part in this story? Well, this is my favorite probably story on God's part and our part because it becomes so, so clear. God's part in this story was he was the provider of the oil. She had no way to get oil, and he also provided the buyers to purchase the oil to pay off the debt. And so you see that she literally was totally relying on God for her increase, for her supply that she needed to meet her family needs. She was totally dependent upon God.

Yeah, that is very clear. What else can you take away from this? Well, I think that it's easy to think God doesn't do miracles like that today, and yet there's some key lessons on the widow's part too, because she didn't just sit still and wait for God to pour the oil into her hands. First of all, she asked for help from Elisha in the first place. She then obeyed the instructions.

She gathered the jars, poured the oil, and sold the oil. So even though God's our provider, she had a huge part to play in gathering what he gave to her. And I think that's so important. And when we start to think about God's role and our role in our lives, we see that although he could just pour out what we need, he expects us to participate, and yet the flip side is true too. We don't earn it on our own.

It comes from him. What a wonderful picture of God's provision and, to your point, our role in that. Now, there's something in particular you and I talked about just a moment ago, and that was what we see in verse 3. I love verse 3 because Elisha said, Go around, ask all your neighbors for empty jars.

And he said, Don't ask for just a few. And so, do you realize that the one factor that seemed to limit the oil that was given to the widow was how many jars she collected? He seemed to tie the amount of oil that would be given to be given to the number of vessels she collected. The number of empty jars she collected could be seen as a physical manifestation of her faith. That is incredible. And I love how it says right there, when there was not a jar left, the oil stopped flowing at that point.

It did. Not too much or too little. Yeah, God always provides just the right amount. Well, Sharon, we're just getting started here. We've talked about God's part in this. You've touched on our part, but we want to continue to unpack this today as we talk about this powerful passage from God's word found in 2 Kings 4.

It's the widow's oil. What can you take away and apply to your wise and faithful stewardship of God's resources with total dependence and trust in him? Sharon Epps here today, she's president of Kingdom Advisors, will continue to unpack the story of the widow's oil just around the corner. This is Faith and Finance.

We'll be right back. As the leading advocate for the Christian financial industry, Kingdom Advisors serves the public by promoting the integration of a biblical worldview across every aspect of the financial services industry. And we serve a growing network of thousands of Christian financial professionals, equipping and empowering them to carry biblical financial wisdom to their clients, peers, and community. For more information, visit kingdomadvisors.com. That's kingdomadvisors.com. I'm so thankful you're joining us today on Faith and Finance.

I'm Rob West. With me today, Sharon Epps, frequent contributor and president of Kingdom Advisors. We're talking about one of Sharon's favorite passages in Scripture.

You may know it well. It's the story of the widow's oil found in 2 Kings 4 verses 1 through 7. And Sharon, we talked about how this is such a beautiful illustration, picture of God's part and our part in stewardship.

But let's begin to drill down. What principles can we glean from the steps taken by the widow in this story? Sharon Epps Well, first of all, I'd like to mention something that I alluded to earlier, and that is God doesn't work the same miracle in all of our lives. However, the same God is at work. And I think that's why we can safely take some of these principles and apply them to our lives.

So there's just a few. In fact, I'd love to hear others that people come up with. But one that's very obvious to me is God provides. And of course, we mentioned that. But I think sometimes we gloss over that and don't really recognize and understand that He even provides the energy we have to go to work.

So we certainly are reliant on Him. I think the other part is our job. And our job is faithfulness to His instruction. And I think in today's society, sometimes it's easy to dismiss our part in all of this, be frustrated with our jobs if they're not perfect, or perhaps if they're slow coming and we are looking for a job, but realize that God calls us to be faithful with whatever He's called us to do right now.

I think the third thing that might not be quite as obvious, but the importance of seeking counsel. This widow literally was destitute. She had no money, no job, and she reached out to the prophet for help.

And we need to do that as well. When we're in a place that we are having a hard time seeking counsel and help from others is one of the ways that God takes care of us. And then finally, and this one comes from perhaps the man before he died, and that is don't bet on the future. I am sure that the widow was just overwhelmed by the debt that he left. And so as you think about your financial planning and the steps that you're taking, be sure and consider what could happen if God called you home and you left your spouse with debt, because I think that's a big piece to this is how she got there in the first place.

Wow. Just seven verses and so much there that we can learn from and apply to our financial lives. And Sharon, I can't help but think that this has to be an encouragement to somebody listening to our voices today that's in that desperate situation that this widow was. Well, let's think about maybe the top five or six things to do. First of all, rely on God. Look to Him for guidance rather than your own abilities. I don't know about you, but when I'm in a tough situation, a lot of times I just start thinking about what can I do?

What can I do? And looking to Him and saying, what can you do? Secondly, seek wise counsel. We mentioned that, but the importance of finding fellow believers that can encourage you on your journey and perhaps give you alternatives you've never thought of before. Third, do your part. I just can't emphasize enough whatever He has put in front of you for today, whether it's going to a job that's not your favorite job, whether it is making a phone call to ask for a connection or a referral if you're looking for a job.

All of those things are things that God uses to develop His plan in your life. And then this one's fun for me. Involve your family. I don't know if you noticed, but the widow involved her sons in filling the jars of oil. And I think often we kind of leave the kids out because we don't want them to be burdened by our situation. And yet it actually bonds the family together and they get to see the miracle of God's provision when you involve them in the process. Then borrowing can potentially leave my family in trouble if I die or lose my income. That's just an important thing to remember as you're evaluating currently where you are financially. And then what I always love to say is, what do you already have that God might use to meet others' needs?

So that's flipping it a bit. Maybe you're not the one that's in need, but do you have jars? Do you have jars that a neighbor might use to fulfill what God has for them in their lives? Oh, wow. That is so rich and there is so much there.

We could spend hours unpacking all this. Sharon, one thing that jumps out at me as we think about this idea of God being our provider, everything coming from Him. We've been talking a lot lately about the parable of the rich fool in the New Testament. And right there in that passage, we see this rich fool saying, look what I did by the work of my hands. And it strikes me how clear the distinction is between seeing God as our provider and thinking that we do everything in our own efforts. Oh, absolutely. And somehow it really relieves the burden when I realize God's role in it all and my role. And I find so often I try to take on God's role if I don't specifically call it out.

Yeah, that's good. Sharon, I want to talk about the wise counsel piece of this for a moment, because clearly this applies to somebody in a desperate financial situation where they just don't know how they're going to pay their next bill. There can be folks out there listening today in an equally desperate situation that have an abundance.

Maybe they're concerned about the wealth being passed to the next generation, and it could lead them or propel them away from God. And so it doesn't mean necessarily that I'm lacking in resources, and I could still need that wise counsel. Oh, there's so many things that we just talked about that applies exactly there. For one thing, you may be the neighbor with the jars. And so as you're thinking about that burden of your wealth, think about where your jars need to go.

Perhaps some of them go to your children, but I bet there's other people in need that you could share them with as well. Oh, wow. That's good. Now, Sharon, we mentioned that you're president of Kingdom Advisors, and whenever I think of wise counsel, I think of Kingdom Advisors. So why don't we take just a moment and talk about the importance of seeking wise counsel that can align with your values as a believer?

Absolutely. So when we certify a Kingdom Advisor, it means that that person has been through rigorous standards to know how to apply God's financial teaching into your financial decision-making, and they can help walk you through your biblical worldview so that your decisions can align with that. That's why we so firmly believe in the Certified Kingdom Advisor, and why we mention them so much on Faith & Finance. Yeah, and you can go to faithfi.com right there at the top of the page and click Find a Professional.

Again, that's faithfi.com. Let's tie a bow on this, Sharon, and maybe finish with that last point, which I know is a topic that you absolutely love, and that is look at what we already have and see how we can use it to meet the needs of others. And that's generosity, which is one of God's big ideas as it relates to our stewardship. I'm just amazed at how many times God has already placed in our hands what we can give to others, and we may have just categorized it a little differently. And so when I'm speaking with people who have a heart for generosity, I ask them to do a personal inventory first and look in not only their bank accounts but their assets. I mean, oftentimes people have a second home they're not using.

In fact, we heard that story just last week of someone that sold a second home because they didn't need it and they had a heart for giving to others. Oh, that's great. Well, Sharon, I'm so thankful for your time today, your insights into this passage. I'm confident this has been an encouragement to folks and given them practical instruction on how they can take this and apply it to their financial lives. Thanks for stopping by.

So glad to be here. Folks, the reminder today, God provides. Our job is faithfulness to his instruction. Seek wise counsel and help from others, and don't bet on the future. I hope this passage from 2 Kings has been an encouragement to you today.

Well, we're going to take a quick break. When we come back, we'll be tackling your financial questions today on any financial topic, helping you apply God's word to those decisions and choices. The number to call, 800-525-7000.

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That's chministries.org slash faithfi. Glad to have you with us today on Faith and Finance for taking your calls and questions today on anything financial. We've got a few lines open. The number to call is 800-525-7000.

Again, that's 800-525-7000. We'd love to hear from you today. A quick email. These come into us at askrobatfaithfi.com. Feel free to send them along at any point. If you've got a question you'd like for us to tackle, you can send it in addition to calling the program. Here's what 40 says.

This is Mr. 40. He says, I want to pay off my mortgage faster so that I can pay less in interest. I have some extra money that I can put towards the mortgage and I'm wondering if it would be best to make extra monthly payments or do a large lump sum.

Well, Mr. 40, I would say first step make sure you have three to six months living expenses and liquid savings for your emergency before you do this. But after that, I love the idea of you pre-paying that mortgage. That's going to save you a bundle in interest down the road. The best time to pay it off if you've got the money earmarked for that purpose is as soon as you have the money. So if you have the ability to pay that lump sum against the principal today, that means less interest on that money over time.

So all things being equal, I would rather you do it on the front end sooner rather than later as opposed to just you know doing it a little bit more each month. Now if you don't have the lump sum because you know it would deplete your emergency fund or you need you know the ability to do it over time, well then great add it to the monthly payment. Maybe you try to send an extra payment a year you know by bumping it up by one twelfth. Maybe you know just add 250 dollars extra.

I mean whatever you can do, you take a look at your budget and then just send that. That's great, but all things being equal let's pay it sooner rather than later. We've gotten a couple of questions lately by the way on how amortization works and you know it's this idea that when you buy a house an amortized loan, a conventional mortgage, what they do is they look at the length of period of the payback. They look at the total interest that you owe for each 30-day period based on the balance which means you know with the highest balance on day one you're of course going to have the highest portion of that payment going to interest because you're in a fixed payment for the life of the loan because you want to pay the same amount every month, but because the balance is really high at the beginning you're going to pay the vast majority of that to interest in a very small to principal and then that's slowly going to come down and then eventually it's going to flip where you know you're sending more to principal than to interest as that balance comes down which means that every time you refinance you're trying to get a lower rate but remember you're resetting that and so if you continue to keep the term the same, so I get a 30-year mortgage, I pay on it five years, I refinance, I get a new 30-year mortgage and pay on it five years, I'm continuing to extend the mortgage but on top of that I'm reverting back to that season in the early days of the mortgage where the vast majority is going to interest so you're just not going to see very much in the way of principal reduction. Now I realize not a lot of people are refinancing right now rates are super high but just keep in mind when that time comes because those of you who've gotten mortgage recently will probably be looking to refinance here in the next year or two what I would recommend is get a new mortgage with a term equal to the remaining years on your mortgage or if you did get a new let's say you have a 30-year you get a new 30-year pay it like it's a 25 if you've been in it five years and so you're sending extra every month which is going to principal that would be another way to do it and the benefit there is if you ever got into a real squeeze you lost your job you could drop back down to the the minimum scheduled payment but you don't have to you pay it like it's a a 25 or better yet get a 30 and pay it like it's a 15 if you have the ability to do it so anyway something to think about as you as we get into possibly a refinance season here in the next couple of years all right let's head to the phones I've got three lines open 800-525-7000 you can call right now to indy indianapolis john go ahead uh yes rob appreciate the ability to call in here my wife and I have been paying for long-term care insurance for well about 15 years now we're in our mid to late 70s there has been a class action suit against the long-term care company informing us that their the company's rating now is c++ with the note that that means that they're marginally able to pay for future and so they're forecasting that we even though we've had some pretty significant increases in these long-term care payments in the last decade they're forecasting more to come so they've offered some options at this particular point in time I don't know what the overall state of the industry is but it's concerning enough that we're wondering if we should we're not canceling the account but they offer some reduced options and I guess the question is what kinds of things should we be thinking about to make a decision about what would you do yeah wow that's a tough one because I don't like that c++ rating at all there's been a lot of consolidation in the industry and we're left with a much smaller group of long-term care insurers that are really committed to this space and have the you know financial health to do it there have been a lot of increases across the board in these premiums in some cases dramatic increases and that's just in line with what's going on in healthcare the cost of healthcare is you know up dramatically and these policies that are funding that are having to go up with it and so it's it's affected you know what's going on just in the long-term care insurance space but there are some clear leaders in this space and so I think the question is do you have the option to move over to one of those policies or is it going to be too cost prohibitive for you just based on your age to try to start that process over if you were to cancel the policy or let it lapse I'm assuming there's nothing that would come back to you is that right well they actually do the options are to make no more payments at all and but to reduce the almost half million benefit at this point by up to about 20 percent of that but then locked in for that total amount not have to pay anything more that obviously assumes that the company remains solvent yeah exactly needing to tap it yeah so that's where that's at sure I mean we have a pension that that is is very strong so that if we were in long-term care facility we'd be able to handle that so I don't have to rely on an IRA or anything like that for it okay so yeah I mean that may be your best option I'm hesitant to say that that's definitively the right option just because I don't I mean I don't know what the company is I don't know what the options are but I don't like the C++ rating on top of these dramatic premium increases so I wouldn't continue just at a surface level I wouldn't continue to throw more and more money at it I think I'd probably be more inclined to stop paying and just ride it out with a greatly reduced benefit but I think before I made that decision you've got a lot invested here I'd probably get an independent agent who specializes in long-term care to look at this with you help you make a good choice if you don't have one I'd reach out to a certified kingdom advisor there in Indianapolis on our website at faithfi.com click find a professional any of them could refer you to an insurance agent who's independent who's a long-term care insurance specialist I'd do that before I made the final decision sorry about this John I know this is tough thanks for your call that's going to do it for us let me say a big thanks to my team today Anthony, Amy, Dan and Jim couldn't do it without them also the rest of the team here at Faith Buy come back and join us tomorrow we'll see you then bye-bye Faith and Finance is provided by Faith Buy and listeners like you