You Already Have It

By Steve Backlund

The Prophet Elisha asked the widow who was in a crisis of debt, “What do you have?” 

She said, “I have nothing, except a little oil.”

One of the main purposes of prophetic ministry is to cause us to take our eyes off of what we think we don’t have to actually see what we do have. This is what happened to the widow. 

You can read the whole story about Elisha and this widow in 2 Kings 4:1-7. It is a good one. It tells us that one of the sons of the prophets died and left a widow behind. She was in debt and the creditors wanted to take her children as payment. She asked Elisha for help. He asked her what she had in her house. She said she had a little oil and it became the source of an astounding miracle of debt cancellation and future provision. 

The widow started her answer with, “I have nothing.” The enemy of our souls wants us to constantly focus on what we think we don’t have as we contemplate a problem or think about our future. The lies he spews often use negative comparisons with others to try to convince us that we are at a disadvantage in life. He tempts us to believe we have nothing or too little to see significant positive change:

• Not enough intelligence
• Not enough good looks
• Not enough money
• Not enough love for God
• Not enough favor with key people
• Not enough physical strength

People ready to go to the next level do not fixate on:

• Their weaknesses
• What is missing from their lives
• What went wrong in the past
• What they think they should be

I am not saying we ignore our weaknesses or pain we have experienced, but the widow moved past it and had this revelation: “I already have it! I have everything I need for the miracle to happen.”

Let me give you a “now” word for your life: You already have what you need to see the miracle, to see forward movement, to get out of the bondage of debt, and to be a radical, positive influence. As you identify and attach faith to the advanages you have and the skills/giftings you have, it will bring a turnaround and increase. 

Peter told the lame man, “Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you” (Acts 3:6). Peter did not walk in  false-humility, believing he had nothing. No, he identified that he had power to bring healing to the physically afflicted. 

So, what do you have? What are you good at? What advantages do you have? Examples of these could be: 

• I am good at listening
• I am good at bouncing back from adversity
• I have a gift of encouragement
• I have a good job
• I have a home and a car
• I have a good sense of humor
• I have the advantage of living in the nation I live in
• I have the promises of God
• I am who God says I am
• I am a good cook

Why don’t you make your own list? Once you get started, the list will get quite lengthy (longer than you probably thought). Each one has unlimited potential in it. It certainly was true with the widow’s oil. Consider how her story unfolded.

After the widow said she had a little oil,  “Elisha said, ‘Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.’ . . .  When all the jars were full, she said to her son, ‘Bring me another one.’ But he replied, ‘There is not a jar left.’ Then the oil stopped flowing” (2 Kings 4:3-6).

I propose as we identify what we have, attach faith to its significance, and then dedicate it to the glory of God, the supernatural oil of provision and power will keep flowing. Something incredible happens when we say, “Father, I dedicate my gift of encouragement to your glory and to the breakthrough of others. I dedicate my house, my ability to listen, my favor, my cooking ability, my carpentry skill, and my healing anointing to you and the benefit of other people. Such as I have, I will give bless You and others with.” 

Woo hoo!! You already have it. You are seeing it like never before. You are going to see the oil keep flowing to you and through you. Say out loud with me: “I already have it!”