Making Room For God

            Making Room For God's Word

Devotional based on 2 Kings 4:8-17(KJV)

2Ki 4:8 And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was,
that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
2Ki 4:9 And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.
2Ki 4:10 Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick:
and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.
2Ki 4:11 And it fell on a day, that he came thither, and he turned into the
chamber, and lay there.
2Ki 4:12 And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. And when he had called her, she stood before him.
2Ki 4:13 And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered,
I dwell among mine own people.
2Ki 4:14 And he said, What then is to be done for her? And Gehazi answered, Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.
2Ki 4:15 And he said, Call her. And when he had called her, she stood in the door.
2Ki 4:16 And he said, About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son. And she said, Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.
2Ki 4:17 And the woman conceived, and bare a son at that season that Elisha had said unto her, according to the time of life.

In this passage we see how this well-to-do Shunammite woman had become pre-occupied with Elisha. We see that every time Elisha passed through Shunem, she made him stop in and get something to eat. Why, of all the men that must have passed through this city did she feel the need to feed Elisha?   The Bible doesn't mention that she did this with any other stranger.   We find the answer in verse 9 where she says to her husband: "I 'perceive' that this is an Holy Man of God which passeth by us continually."

Webster's dictionary defines perceive as this:
1
a : to attain awareness or understanding of
b : to regard as being such

2 : to become aware of through the senses; especially.

You see, this Shunammite woman, ATTAINED AWARENESS, REGARDED THAT, & SENSED that this was no ordinary man; he was God's Word LITERALLY walking on two feet. Please keep in mind that God's men in this period were SPEAKING the actual Word of God, for they didn't have the luxury of the greatest reference book ever written: The Holy Bible. In fact, they were actually LIVING the Bible, recording the events for posterity.

She asks her husband in verse 10 to make a room for this man of God. She realized that she was in the presence of God's Word, and she knew she had to do all she could do to make Elisha's passing through a comfortable one.
Men, please realize that if it weren't for the women in our lives, many of us would miss God's blessings because they are much more
sensitive to the things of God than we are. :-)

Now Elisha recognized the spirit of servanthood this women had, and wanted to bless her for faithfulness. We notice that in verses 12 &
13 Elisha has Gehazi bring her into his presence and ask her what can he do for her. But she insists that she has no needs and that all is well. There is nothing that Elisha could do for her because she has everything.

In verse 14 we discover that she doesn't have a child and Elisha, God's Word on two feet, tells her that she will conceive a child this time next year.   She has a bit of a problem accepting this at first, because she can't have any and her husband is old. She had come to terms with not being able to have a child. But it came to pass just as Elisha promised.

Brethren, the purpose of this devotional is to encourage all of you to always be sensitive to God's Word. As the Shunammite woman, make
yourself aware of God's Word in your life, and make some room for it. The more room you make for God's Word in your heart & life, the
less room you'll have left over for the "junk" we have been able to accumulate throughout the years.

When we make room for God's Word in our lives, God will begin to bless us beyond compare. Even when we don't ask for anything,
believing we have all we need, He gives us things that we didn't realize we didn't have. Things that we had given up hope of ever getting, because we didn't feel this was God's
will in our lives. Things that we have come to accept and grow content to do without. Things we have "come to terms" with. Now, I don't have any problems accepting the terms of how my life is to be fulfilled. As long as it is God who is setting those terms and not satan! You see, satan had the Shunammite woman living content and accepting the terms he had thought he dictated for her life, but the devil is a liar! And God decided to "re-negotiate" the terms, blessing her beyond compare because of her faithfulness to Him. He wants to do the same with you and me today.

Father, I come to You in Jesus' mighty name, Lord! I ask that You increase my discernment and sensitivity to Your Spirit, Dear God. I
am determined now to make more room in my heart & life for Your Word, Father. I ask that You keep filling my heart with You until You have been able to move out all the junk satan has deposited there throughout the years.

Thank You for breaking the chains of bondage that held me captive for 40 years, God! I will come to and accept the terms of how my life
will go as long as it is You, Father, who is making them. I belong to You by choice, it is my free will. I choose to serve You alone, and I ask that You keep ordering my steps, Father. Open the doors You want me to walk through & slam the doors shut You don't want me going through.

Give me more of You and none of satan, God. Make me whole in You alone. Replace his pain with Your joy, Lord. Take out his lies with Your Truth. Replace his hate with Your love, Lord. Replace his condemnation with Your conviction. But most important of all, cover my sins with the Precious Blood of Jesus!
I ask these things in Jesus' name, amen!

Your servant,

Joe.