“Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He will give you the desires and secret petitions of your heart”. (Ps. 37:4) That word delight means: to be soft or pliable; and pliable means: yielding readily to others. Today I want us to witness the blessings of God that fall right into the lap of a woman who has yielded herself to taking care of things that are important to God. Let’s pull up a chair and watch the story unfold…
Elisha is a man who has been appointed by God to be His voice, His hands and His feet; he’s kind of a big deal. While traveling to the town of Shunem, he meets a woman who recognizes that he is a man of God. She urges him to come to her house so she can fix him up with a nice home-cooked meal. And he is happy to be her guest. In fact from that point on, every time he came into town he would stay at her place.
Did you happen to notice that she doesn’t just invite Elisha, but she urges him to come to her house? She’s obviously discovered something of great significance in this “holy man of God” because she tells her husband, “I am sure this man who stops in from time to time is a holy man of God. Let’s build a small room for him on the roof and furnish it with a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then he will have a place to stay whenever he comes by.” Wow! When Elisha comes to visit, she doesn’t just throw a sleeping bag on the floor. No, she desires his presence so much that she builds a room for him in her house so he will have a place to dwell when he comes by! Talk about hospitality at its best!
Alright, once again Elisha returns to her house and heads upstairs to his room to rest. The kindness and concern this woman has shown him is at the forefront of his mind so he decides to express his appreciation to her. So Elisha has Gehazi, his servant, call her and say “we appreciate the kind concern you have shown us. What can we do for you? Can we put in a good word for you to the king or to the commander of the army?’” A good word to the king or the commander of the army??? Wow, what an opportunity for her to rack up some brownie points! But she doesn’t. She simply said “no, my family takes good care of me.”
Now some time goes by and Elisha still wants to bless her in some kind of way. So watch what happens next…“Later Elisha asked Gehazi, “What can we do for her?” Gehazi replied, “She doesn’t have a son, and her husband is an old man.” “Call her back again,” Elisha told him. When the woman returned, Elisha said to her as she stood in the doorway, “Next year at this time you will be holding a son in your arms!”... And at that time the following year she had a son, just as Elisha had said.”
How beautiful! This is another great example of God fulfilling our hearts desires when our eyes are focused on His Kingdom business. This is Matthew 6:33 at its best: “But first, be concerned about his kingdom and what has his approval. Then all these things will be provided for you.” This woman had great care and concern for the things of God and the presence of God. She wasn’t taking care of Elisha to get something in return. No, she did it out of the abundance of her heart. God’s business was important to her! And because she delighted herself in the Lord and yielded herself to Elisha, God remembered and fulfilled the desires and secret petitions of her heart. Beautiful, simply beautiful.