When the Oil Looks Low: Building Anyway

Fifteen years.

When I think about that number, I don't just think about the years I have practiced law. I think about the prayers, sacrifices, setbacks, victories, disappointments, lessons, risks, and moments when I wondered if I had enough left to keep going.

This week was one of those weeks that reminded me of a powerful truth: sometimes God asks us to build with what we already have.

Not what we wish we had.

Not what we used to have.

Not what someone else has.

What we have.

As I reflected on my fifteen-year anniversary and the themes from Restoring What Obedience Rebuilt, I found myself in a familiar place. There were projects I wanted to move forward. Investments I wanted to make. Resources I wished were available.

Instead, I had to work with what was already in my hands.

Free resources.

Existing tools.

Long hours.

Faith.

And a belief that the time I am investing today can create opportunities tomorrow.

To the natural eye, that may not seem like much.

But neither did a small jug of oil.

What Is In Your House?

One of my favorite stories in Scripture is found in 2 Kings 4.

A widow found herself in a desperate situation. Her resources were depleted. Her future looked uncertain. Her question wasn't how to expand. It was how to survive.

When the prophet asked her what she had, her response was essentially, "Nothing... except a little oil."

Just a little oil.

Yet that little oil became the very thing God used to change her circumstances.

She followed the instructions she was given. She borrowed vessels. She poured what little she had. The oil continued flowing until there were no more empty jars.

Then she was instructed to sell the oil and live from the proceeds.

The miracle didn't begin with abundance.

It began with obedience.

Sometimes as business owners, we become so focused on what we lack that we overlook what God has already placed in our hands.

A skill.

A relationship.

Knowledge.

Experience.

A network.

A laptop.

A vision.

A testimony.

Something is already in your house.

The question is whether you are willing to pour.

Be Delirious Enough to Believe

Entrepreneurship requires a certain level of holy audacity.

Sometimes you have to be just a little delirious about what God can do with almost nothing.

You have to believe a social media post can become a client.

You have to believe a conversation can become a contract.

You have to believe a free resource can become the foundation of a profitable system.

You have to believe one opportunity can create ten more.

You have to keep showing up before the results arrive.

Not because the circumstances make sense.

Because your calling does.

There are seasons where logic says shut it down.

Take the loss.

Accept defeat.

Lower your expectations.

Yet there are other seasons where God simply asks you to keep pouring.

Keep building.

Keep planting.

Keep trusting.

Sometimes You Have to Be Your Own Nehemiah

The story of Nehemiah has always inspired me because the people had become accustomed to broken walls. They had accepted conditions that were never meant to be permanent. Then Nehemiah arrived with a different vision.

He reminded people that restoration was possible.

He inspired them to rebuild.

He helped them see beyond their current condition.

As entrepreneurs, there are moments when no one else is coming to inspire us. No motivational speech is scheduled. No investor is knocking on the door. No applause is waiting around the corner.

In those moments, we have to become our own Nehemiah.

We have to remind ourselves why we started.

We have to revisit the vision.

We have to encourage ourselves.

We have to pick up the bricks and continue building.

Even when distractions arise.

Even when criticism comes.

Even when people misunderstand the mission.

Even when resources seem limited.

The walls still need to be built.

Take Inventory Before You Quit

Before you decide to walk away from your dream, take inventory.

What resources do you already have?

What opportunities have you overlooked?

Who is already in your network?

What knowledge have you accumulated over the years?

What doors are still open?

Could it be that there is more in your hands than you realize?

Sometimes the answer is not obtaining something new.

Sometimes the answer is maximizing what is already available.

The widow's miracle began with a small jar.

Nehemiah's restoration began with a burden.

Your next breakthrough may begin with a simple decision to keep showing up.

Keep Building

As I celebrate fifteen years, I can honestly say that not every season has looked the same.

Some seasons felt full.

Some felt uncertain.

Some felt like rebuilding.

But I have learned that obedience often produces outcomes that planning alone never could.

When resources seem scarce, don't assume your story is over.

When the future looks unclear, don't assume there is no path forward.

When you feel drained, exhausted, or ready to give up, take a step back and evaluate what remains.

Then build with that.

Pour with that.

Work with that.

Pray over that.

Trust God with that.

Because sometimes the greatest testimonies are born from seasons when there appeared to be almost nothing left.

And sometimes what looks like "not enough" is exactly what God intends to multiply.

The goal is not simply to survive.

The goal is to thrive.

Keep building until your next assignment arrives.

Don't give up.

Don't give in.

The oil may be lower than you would like, but if God is involved, the jar is not empty yet.

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Closing Reflection: What is one resource, skill, relationship, or opportunity already in your hands that you may have overlooked? Before searching for something new this week, consider what God might be asking you to build with what you already have.

Written with the assistance of Microsoft CoPilot.