God Will Fill Your Every Need to the Brim
Then he said, Go, borrow you vessels abroad of all your neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few. — 2 Kings 4:3
My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. — Philippians 4:19
Author
Charles Spurgeon
Summary: God will fill to the brim every need we bring before Him. Our many needs are like empty vessels: they should not lead us to fear but move us to trust, for the more room there is, the more space there will be to receive His provision. His supply does not cease as long as a need remains. He deals in the same way with our spiritual needs: He grants us forgiveness, clothes us with the finest things, and transforms our dejection into abundant comfort. Being conscious of our need is equivalent to presenting a request for fresh mercy. God does not bestow His favors sparingly or measure them out carefully; He gives as a King, pouring them out generously upon those who thirst and upon the dry ground.
The present passage from Philippians might be translated thus: “My God will fill to the brim all your need.” The illustration that will best explain the meaning is that of a woman whose children were going to be sold by her creditor to pay the debts of her late husband. She had nothing she could call her own except some empty vessels for oil, and the prophet instructed her to set them in order and to bring the little oil that remained in the container. She did so, and then he told her, “Go and borrow vessels for yourself from all your neighbors—empty vessels, and not just a few.” She went to one neighbor and then another until she had completely filled her room with these empty vessels, and then the prophet said to her, “Pour into all the vessels.” She began pouring from her nearly empty vessel of oil into all the other containers and, to her surprise, filled even the largest ones. Then she went to another vessel and filled it, and then to another and another. She went on filling all the vessels with oil until at last she said to the prophet, “There are no more vessels.” Then the oil stopped flowing, but not until then.
The same will happen with whatever you lack. You were frightened because you had so many needs just now, were you not? But now be so kind as to think of them as nothing more than several empty vessels that must be filled. If the woman had borrowed only a few vessels, she could not have received much oil; but the more empty vessels she had, the more oil she obtained. So, the more lacks and needs you have, if you bring them before God, the better it will be, because He will fill them to the brim, and you can be thankful that there is so much room to fill. When you have no more needs—but, oh, when will that be?—then the supply will cease, but not until then.
How gloriously God gives to His people! Once we needed forgiveness: He washed us and made us whiter than snow. We needed clothing, for we were naked. What did He do? Did He give us some rough garment of one kind or another? Oh, no! Rather, He said, “Bring out the best robe and put it on him.” It was fortunate that the prodigal son’s clothes were in rags, for then he needed clothing, and the best robe was brought out for him. It is a great thing to be conscious of spiritual needs, for they will all be supplied. What is a conscious need in God’s sight but a prevailing request for fresh mercy? Sometimes we have asked Him to comfort us because we were deeply downcast; but when the Lord has comforted us, He has filled us with such delight that we have been inclined to cry out with the old Scottish theologian, “Stop, Lord, stop! It is enough. I cannot bear any more bliss. Remember that I am only an earthen vessel.” When we relieve the poor, we generally give no more than we can help, but our God does not stop to count His favors; rather, He gives like a king. He pours water upon him who is thirsty and streams of water upon the dry ground.
Source: http://www.spurgeongems.org/schs3231.pdf
A New Year’s Wish (Sermon #3231, published January 5, 1911)