Making Lemonade

One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 2 Kings 4:8

Meet a woman who defined the meaning of the idea of going ‘beyond the call of duty.’ She knew Elisha was doing God’s work and all she wanted was to serve him, starting with feeding him. Then she took it further. She had a room to be built for him, complete with home comforts. She did all of this meeting-of-needs, despite having some pretty massive needs of her own. We learn through the story that she was absolutely desperate for a child, but with her husband well past his baby-making sell-by-date, it didn’t seem likely. That hole in her life didn’t stop her from serving to fill someone else’s needs – she simply got on with loving God and reaching out to others. You might think that she had every reason to be bitter. But this woman refused to live a life of sour lemons. Elisha, grateful for her serving heart, wanted to give back to her. And he did … God enabled him to correctly prophesy the arrival of her baby. Jesus says, ‘Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and He will give you everything you need’ (Matthew 6:33). Even though she was living hundreds of years before these words were spoken, the woman of Shunem instinctively knew this was true and gave us a powerful example to follow.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, help me always seek the good and welfare of others above my own needs, trusting You to supply what I need. In Jesus’ Name, Amen