Unit 3- Dark Times of Depletion

Lesson: Financial Depletion
Read: 2 Kings 4:1-7

“‘Bring me another vessel.’ And he said to her, ‘There is not another vessel.’ So the oil ceased. 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 4:6-7 NKJV).

Reflect:

1. According to 2 Kings 4:1 what was the woman’s situation who cried out to Elisha?

2. What did Elisha tell the woman to do (2 Kings 4:3-4)?

3. What happened when there were no more vessels?

Answer Key:

1. Her husband had died and the creditor was coming to take her sons away as slaves.

2. Borrow many jars from her neighbors, shut the door and pour the oil into all the jars and set aside the full ones.

3. “The oil ceased” (2 Kings 4:6).

Many people struggle financially.  Sometimes it is their fault—they overspend or fail to handle their finances wisely.  These people need to get help to learn how to be better stewards of their possessions. But others are facing shortage through circumstances beyond their control.  Perhaps they’ve lost their job or experienced an illness that has left them with big medical bills.  If you’re experiencing depletion because of circumstance beyond your control, let’s look at what God can do.

Second Kings 4:1-7 records the touching story of a widow who was suffering from financial depletion. Her husband had been a man of God, and she was a fine woman of God. But, for whatever reason, her husband died, leaving her with a debt; and it was time to pay up. The creditors were coming to take her two sons in payment for the debt.

Enter the man of God, the prophet Elisha. The woman begged Elisha to help her for she had nothing with which to pay her debt. The only thing she had left of any value was a single container of oil, the kind that was used to anoint someone. But what could one little pot of oil do to clear up such a debt?

Elisha’s response to the depletion of this woman’s financial resources was astounding. He instructed her to borrow from all her neighbors as many clay pots as she could (2 Kings 4:3). God was about to do something phenomenal to help this woman survive the dark time of depletion.

Elisha also instructed the woman to bring the vessels into her house and to shut the door behind her (2 Kings 4:4). She would see God work, as would her sons, but no one else. The miracle would be performed in secret. There would be no big show here, no miracle-working crusades, television cameras or hoopla, just the quiet provision of God.
From her original vessel the widow poured oil into every vessel she borrowed until she got to the last. As soon as the last vessel was filled, the oil stopped multiplying just as miraculously as it had started (2 Kings 4:6). God will have no waste. He knows exactly what your needs are. When you are at the end of your resources, God knows just how much to provide for you.

With this bountiful provision of oil, the woman paid off her debt. A faithful God enabled her to survive her difficult times of financial depletion. God does not love this woman more than He loves you. What He did for her, He’ll do for you.

Apply:

1. Do you trust God with your financial worries?  Ask Him for help and then trust.

2. Consider Habakkuk 3:17-18. “Though the fig tree may not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines; though the labor of the olive may fail, and the fields yield no food; though the flock may be cut off from the fold, and there be no herd in the stalls—yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will joy in the God of my salvation.” Are you praising God in the midst of your financial problems? How could you praise Him more?

 

Express:
Ask God for guidance in using your finances.  Ask Him to show You how to use them more effectively.

Additional Help in Prayer:
Lord, I thank You for all the blessings on this earth and all those in the heavenly realm You have given me.  I pray that You would give me guidance and show me how to use my resources faithfully and diligently in a pleasing way towards You.

Practice This Unit:

1. Are you giving to God even in the times of financial depletion?  Consider giving to Him this week even when your resources are not abundant. Mark 12:41-44.

Lesson: Physical Depletion
Read: 2 Corinthians 4

“Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18 NKJV).

Reflect:

1. In 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 what does Paul say regarding the fact that they were hard-pressed, perplexed, persecuted and struck down?

2. What was working in Paul’s mortal body as he wrote the letter (2 Corinthians 4:12)

3. Paul said in 2 Corinthians 4:16 that though the outward man may be perishing what is happening to the inward man?  According to verse 17 what is affliction?

Answer Key:

1. They were all these things, yet they were not crushed, in despair, forsaken, or destroyed.

2. Death.

3. The inward man is renewed day by day.  Affliction is for a moment, but “is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”

Apart from our Lord’s physical depletion at Calvary, perhaps the Bible’s premier example of physical depletion is the apostle Paul. The catalog of calamities that Paul encountered reads like a definitive disaster list.

The second epistle to the Corinthians provides two passages that help us understand the deep physical depletion Paul endured. “We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8,9). Hostile forces pressed in on Paul from all sides. They threatened to immobilize him. He was struck down and forsaken, but not destroyed.

Not of robust body to begin with, Paul often found himself in life-threatening situations so that he spoke of death frequently. He was in jeopardy of losing his life at any time (1 Corinthians 15:30). Here was a man who frequently came to the end of his physical resources. Yet he never lost faith in God to help him survive his dark times.

Second Corinthians 11 lists some of the life-threatening adventures the apostle survived. Beginning with verse 23 he spoke of being beaten more times than he could count, being in prison frequently and even being near death often. Then he cataloged: “From the Jews five times I received forty stripes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods; once I was stoned; three times I was shipwrecked; a night and a day I have been in the deep; in journeys often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of my own countrymen, in perils of the Gentiles, in perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren; in weariness and toil, in sleeplessness often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in cold and nakedness” (2 Corinthians 11:24-27). And these are just some of the physical depletions he suffered.

Do you appreciate how extensive this list is? Five times the Jews beat him with 39 stripes, one less than 40; so if they made a miscalculation, they would not exceed the sacred Law. Yet we know nothing about the difficulties of these five occasions. Three times he was beaten with rods. We know of once at Philippi (Acts 16:22,23), but what about the other two? We have no idea! When was he stoned? The stoning took place at Lystra when he was left for dead (Acts 14:19). He also says he suffered shipwrecks three times. We know he was shipwrecked on the way to Rome (Acts 27:39-44), but that was three years after this letter was written. We don’t know about any of the three shipwrecks Paul was in before he wrote this letter. Look at the other perils he endured, the other times physical depletion was his lot. He was weary and in pain. He was hungry and thirsty, cold and naked. He was left in the sea for a night and a day. He surely would have drowned had God not helped him survive these times of physical depletion.

Paul suffered severely, but he never lost his sense of God’s love. He never believed that any of the physical calamities that befell him could separate him from the love of God (Romans 8:35-39). Paul had faith that God would help him survive, and God did.

Apply:

1. Do you feel in pain and think you may never come out of it?  Consider Paul’s words.  “We are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9 NKJV).  Though hardship was certainly upon Paul he was not destroyed because He was serving our Lord Jesus.  Are you willing to serve God in what ways you can, whether great or small in spite of your physical difficulties?

2. Have you asked God to give you strength to bear though pain even though it may not be His plan to take illness or weariness away from you? Look at Job’s response to illness when it overtook him in Job 2:10 “Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?”  Are you willing to let God take care of your physical needs as He sees fit?

 

Express:
Pray for those who are ill around you.  Pray that they would not be discouraged from serving God in the way they are able.

Additional Help in Prayer:
Father, I thank You for giving each human life here on earth life.  I pray that You would be with those who are hurting and that You would give them strength.  As their health declines I pray You would sustain their spiritual health and keep them diligent in serving You.  Please wrap Your loving arms around them.

Practice this Unit:

1. Look again at all the things Paul endured listed in 2 Corinthians 11, yet he did not complain.  Are you spending more time complaining and dwelling on your illness than in praising God?  God cares when you are sick, but don’t lose sight of the fact that God still does not want you to quit living for Him.  Challenge yourself not to complain this week.

Lesson: Spiritual Depletion
Read: Mark 10:17-22

Reflect:

1. What was Jesus’ response to the rich man who asked what he should do to inherit eternal life (Mark 10:18)?

2. How did Jesus look at the man in Mark 10:21?

3. According to Mark 10:22 how did the rich man feel when Jesus told him to sell all he had and follow Him?

Answer Key:

1. “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, that is, God.”

2. With love.

3. Sad.

If ever there was a man who came to the end of his spiritual resources, it was the rich young ruler of Mark 10. Falling at Jesus’ feet, he recognized there was something special about this teacher. “Good Teacher, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life?” (Mark 10:17). He recognized Jesus as the one who knew the truth.

Jesus looked at the young man and loved him. He wanted the ruler to see that his attempts to possess eternal salvation by moral living were futile. Jesus reminded him of the Ten Commandments, and the man insisted that he had kept all these since he was a boy (Mark 10:20). The young man thought he still had sufficient spiritual resources to be acceptable to God. Jesus had to teach him otherwise.

The Master instructed him to sell all he had and give to the poor. Mark 10:22 records the devastating consequence: “But he was sad at this word and went away sorrowfully, for he had great possessions.” This is the only man in the Bible who went away from Jesus unhappy. He had now come to the end of his spiritual resources, and they weren’t enough to save him. He was suffering from spiritual depletion.

But unlike the woman in Elisha’s day or the apostle Paul, this man did not survive the dark time of his depletion. As far as we know, he died in his sins without salvation. What made the difference in these three stories about surviving the dark hours of depletion? There is only one answer. The woman had faith in God to pull her through her dark time of financial depletion. The apostle had faith in God to pull him through his dark time of physical depletion. But the young man had no faith in God to pull him through his time of spiritual depletion, and thus he did not survive.

When we give up hope, we are hopeless. When we do not seek help, we are helpless. The rich young ruler did not survive his dark time of spiritual depletion because he did not have faith in God. Don’t make the same mistake. You can survive the dark times of depletion. But you must have faith in God. Faith is the key that unlocks the door to survival. Be a survivor. Have faith in God.

Apply:

1. Do you know Jesus as Your personal Savior or are you spiritually depleted because you are not filled of His Spirit?  Ask Him into your heart right now.  It will fill you up and change your life.

2. Is there a sin you need to confess, something you’ve done which you feel cannot be forgiven?  Is there something that is acting as a hindrance in your relationship with God? Don’t let yourself be enslaved anymore!  God will forgive you and draw you close to Him again. Remember that Jesus understands anything you’ve done and wants you to be full of Him, not spiritually depleted.  “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet was without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16 NIV).

 

Express:
Ask God for a strong faith in Him. Remember that faith is “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1 NKJV).  Ask God to help you see anything in your life which is keeping you from being spiritually filled and serving Him fully. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting (Psalm 139:23-24 NKJV).

Additional Help in Prayer:
Heavenly Father, I pray that You would develop a strong faith in me that is able to survive any sort of depletion.  I thank You for forgiving me for my sins and I pray that You would help me to see anything in my life which is negatively affecting my relationship with You.

Practice This Unit:

1. Are you going through a time of slow spiritual growth and feel like your backsliding in your faith?  Ask God for His help and strength to come out of this slump so you can be fully used by Him.  Consider committing to pray for this every day until you come out of this slump.