“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.’ 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. 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. 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.’ 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.’ 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.’” 2 Kings 8:1-6
The Shunammite woman was known for her generous hospitality to Elisha, and he in turn looked out for her. Whether or not her elderly husband had died, the prophet knew years of famine would take their difficult toll, so he sent her off to sojourn for better supply. Only God could have maneuvered the intersection, after seven years, of knowledgeable Gehazi, the king, and the returning woman. This was no chance meeting. (2 Kings 4:8-37)
We breathe and stretch and organize and go about our days in selected dress and managed plans of our doing, and all the while our sovereign God orchestrates our movements and lavishes His loving care in ways we would never have conceived. How aware are we of His attentiveness? Of the times and ways He gives abundantly more than what we ask or imagine? Do we even expect, or pay attention to, His heavenly intervention in our banal living? Are we so independent and self-controlled that we neglect to consider or seek His guidance or favor? (Ephesians 3:20)
The Lord’s grace is always sufficient, and is in its nature divinely rich and undeserved. God loves without bounds, and delights to provide for His children, returning on them blessing for blessing. He is bountiful and generous, and His ways match His character. He knows what we need, and gives in response to our asking, liberally to all without finding fault. (Proverbs 11:25; Matthew 7:7-11; 2 Corinthians 12:9; James 1:5)
How will we respond to God’s grace today? Will we trace it, relish it, and thank Him for it? Will we seek it, rely on it, and in turn offer it to others? How abundantly more can we live and give because of our Lord’s ‘abundantly more’ to us?
Father, You are good and do good, lavishly beyond my expectations. Thank you. Help me reflect Your abundance and love by extending, to all I meet, Your generous grace, for the magnification of Your glory. (Psalm 119:68)
As the rain and snow 