TD Jakes - The Gap Filler
God is the ultimate Gap Filler who steps into our extremities—whether financial debt or barrenness—using what we already have to create miraculous flow; as seen in the widow whose small jar of oil multiplied to fill borrowed vessels and the wealthy Shunammite woman who received a son despite her husband's age, showing that everyone has a gap only God can fill, and multiplication comes through stretching capacity and pouring out in faith.
A Sudden Crisis Changes Everything
This woman in the text had a good life—her husband was in the company of the prophets of Elijah. She was known in the gates, a blessed woman with two children, a home, everything taken care of, looking good. And then he died, and her world changed.
He died and her entire world changed. It is bad enough to grieve, bad enough to lose the person you slept with every night, held every night, whispered secrets to—the one you knew until you had a rhythm together. That is bad enough, but it is harder to grieve hungry, with nowhere to go, no place to move.
Such was the case with this woman. When she finally sees the prophet, she throws it in his face: "You know who my husband was, how faithful and loyal he was, and now he is dead. We are in such debt." Anybody in debt in here? This might be your message this morning.
This woman is down so low she cannot get up, cannot figure out how to get up. She is in trouble, about to lose everything. Then a prophet stops by and it changes her entire life.
Discovering What You Already Have
The prophet so revolutionized her life that she was never the same. He did not give her a dollar, did not bring anything outside into her house—no herd of cattle, no garden, no bags of gold. All he did was show her what she already had.
That ought to provoke somebody to say, "Show me what I already got." The Bible says this woman has been stepping over her miracle. She knows all about her past but nothing about her present. She knows about her husband—who he was, what he did. She is looking at yesterday so much that she is missing today.
She is telling him about what was; he is talking to her about what is. She said, "My husband was a prophet, my husband was faithful, my husband was here—now he is dead." She knows what was and what will be: "They are coming after my kids, they are going to make them slaves."
But you cannot get delivered out of "was faith" or "will-be faith"—it has to be now faith.
God Uses What You Have Left
In the present tense of the text, he asks her, "What is in your house now?" Not who left you, not who did not raise you, not who did not love you—what have you got now? Because God will always use what you have left; He will never use what you lost.
So weep no longer at the graveside of what you lost, nor mourn with salted tears the blessing you did not get. The prophet came by not to give her the miracle but to show her the miracle.
Look at how she thinks. First she says, "I have nothing at all," and then she thinks again. The first place is she thinks she has nothing. You would be surprised—pastoring people is more difficult today than ever because the have-nots get to watch the haves on TV, and it brings them to the point that they think they have nothing.
You cannot enjoy the beauty that you are for looking at other beautiful women. They redefine what is beautiful every 20 minutes—now short hair, long hair, natural. Everybody keeps telling you what you ought to look like, but you have to say, "I have got something."
I got something, baby—if you do not get it, shame on you, but I got something. You missed it—I got something. I do not have to look like her, drive what he drives, live where they live. There is gold in these here hills. Say it again, "I got something."
From Nothing to a Little Oil
She first made the mistake of talking about "I have nothing." Look at how low she thought, how much more faith she had in negativity than positivity. "I am getting ready to sell my boys; they are going to be slaves." They were not, but she was confessing negativity.
Her muscles of faith were so weak that when the prophet came, she says, "I got nothing." Then she raises it a little: "A little jar of oil back in the back—that is all I got."
The prophet does not even ask her for the oil. He tells the woman who is in debt to go get in more debt. He says you are not taking enough risk for God to help you. You are broke because you have not taken enough risk.
My daughter wrote the book "Don't Settle for Safe"—you are broke because you played safe.
Risk and Capacity Attract God's Flow
He said get your sons that you prepared for slavery and put them to work. I want your sons to go and borrow from your neighbors as many vessels as you can. It is not just more debt—it is debt that has a strategy.
Because when you bring more capacity, God is going to flow. You are not in enough trouble. When you really get out there where you cannot do it without Him, that is when you are going to get some help.
She borrowed all those vessels, and then the oil responded to capacity. This principle is also seen where he tells the prophet to dig ditches in the valley because God is attracted to capacity. He will fill whatever you will build.
The Rich Woman's Hidden Gap
Now this other sister—she is rich. The Bible says she is rich. When God says you are rich, you are rich. Rich is relative, but when the owner of heaven and earth says it, you are rich.
She has a husband, a house, and takes on a building project to add a room on the roof—a second-story suite for the prophet because he is a man of God. They build a room with a bed, chair, and table in case he comes by.
He does not live there, but in case he graces them with his presence, the accommodations must be sufficient. These are rich folk—they do not need nothing.
Elijah is laying in the lap of luxury. She has blessed him and asked for nothing. God cannot stand for you to keep blessing Him and ask for nothing. The liberal soul shall be made fat.
God said, "I cannot keep receiving from you and not give back, because that would make you God. I cannot let you be My provider." The more you give Him, the more He has to give back—just to show who is God.
Finding the Gap to Fill
The prophet is uncomfortable in the bed. He says to his servant, "Does she not need something?" She is good. "Bring her here. Woman, can I do anything for you?" "I am good." "Maybe I can introduce you to the king—influence?" "I know him."
Then the servant says, "The only thing she does not have is a child—and her husband is old."
Finally Elijah says he can do something because he has found a gap. "I cannot bless nothing that does not have a gap. I have discovered her poverty."
Standing between these two women is interesting. At first I thought the first woman was poor, but after the rich woman, I discovered the poor woman was rich.
The poor woman is rich because she has what money cannot buy. The rich woman would give everything to have the two boys the poor woman had and was about to sell.
True Riches and True Poverty
The poor woman is a mother—she has brought life into the world, collaborated with God, affected the next generation. Her seed runs up to her and calls her blessed. She might not be dressed up or fancy, but she is loved in the way only a child can love you.
You have not been loved till a child loves you. You can spank a child and they will come back: "Daddy, I love you, I forgive you."
She has love. Now I recognize the poor woman is not as poor as I thought, and the rich woman is not as rich. We let cars and stuff fool us into thinking if you got stuff you do not need anything.
If you do not have things, you need Jesus—but if you got stuff... good morning, how are you? I am not going to tell you about Jesus because you look fine.
They do not know that late in the midnight hour, this woman is crying just like the other. This woman needs God just like that woman. This woman has a gap just like that woman—two different shades of pain.
God Steps Into Every Gap
Elijah represents the God who stands in the gap. These two women's stories are butted up against each other. The same God who stepped into the poor woman's house and said, "I am going to make something flow that was not flowing," stepped into the rich woman's house and said, "I know your husband is old and lost his flow, but I am going to start a flow in his body just like in her jar."
Both are going to be blessed, pressed down, shaken together, running over. Whatever you want, need, lack, crave—God has got it. Whether black or white, Republican or Democrat, rich or poor, high or low—God is a gap filler.
The Power Is in the Flow
The power is always in the flow. He did not change the size of the container—He changed the amount of the flow. God's glory always increases when you are stretched.
It was two fish and five loaves till He broke it—the more He broke it, the more it multiplied. It was a small pot of oil, but the more she poured, the more it multiplied.
You need to pour yourself into something, pour yourself out. Stop measuring yourself while it is not happening. When you stretch yourself, God will get in the flow.
Whatever you come up against, God can fill this too. You have got something that all these vessels need. That is why the devil has been trying to kill you—afraid you will get into your flow.
I rebuke every devil and bind every spirit that has hindered your flow. I prophesy—you will flow again. Out of your belly shall flow rivers of living water.