Intentional Blessings



2 Kings 8:1-6
1 Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Arise, and depart with your household, and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine, and it will come upon the land for seven years.”
2 So the woman arose and did according to the word of the man of God. She went with her household and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.
3 And at the end of the seven years, when the woman returned from the land of the Philistines, she went to appeal to the king for her house and her land.
4 Now the king was talking with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying, “Tell me all the great things that Elisha has done.”
5 And while he was telling the king how Elisha had restored the dead to life, behold, the woman whose son he had restored to life appealed to the king for her house and her land. And Gehazi said, “My lord, O king, here is the woman, and here is her son whom Elisha restored to life.”
6 And when the king asked the woman, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her, saying, “Restore all that was hers, together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now.”

Have you ever met a person who seems to be so very intentional about their relationship with you; someone who seems to care about you no matter what it going on in their own lives? It would appear that Elisha is just such a person. He maintains his relationship with the Shunammite woman whose son he raised from the dead. Because of that relationship, he warns her to flee the coming famine which was to last 7 years. She wisely listens to Elisha and moves to Philistia. Again, her family is spared from disaster. Upon her return to Israel she finds that her land has been appropriated by someone else (perhaps even the king). Being a strong leader for her family, she heads directly to the king to get her land back! Because God is always in charge, He arranges to have Elisha’s deposed servant, Gehazi, speaking with the king when the woman arrives to plea her case. Gehazi speaks on behalf of the woman and tells the king her story. Her lands are restored and Elisha’s influence stretches into her life once again.

The “little” things that Elisha does for people add up to a life well spent. His intentional care for others is seen over and over as he takes care of people in unexpected and often miraculous ways. While I haven’t worked any miracles lately, it might behoove me to take a lesson from his lifestyle and seek to an intentional blessing in the life of those around me. God’s grace has extended to me in so many ways that sharing it is the only natural response.

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