There are MANY lessons that we can learn from the prophet Elisha. This is the ninth in a series focusing on the life of this great prophet.
“The stew was poured out for the men, but as they began to eat it, they cried out, ‘O man of God, there is death in the pot!’ And they could not eat it. Elisha said, ‘Get some flour.’ He put it into the pot and said, ‘Serve it to the people to eat.’ And there was nothing harmful in the pot.” (2 Kings 4:40-41)
There was a terrible famine in the land of Gilgal. The company of the prophets were starving. Taking pity upon them, Elisha tells his servant to make a pot of stew for the men. Because of the famine, the stew’s ingredients would have to be procured from the wild, and the men went out to gather in what they could find. But one man found a “wild vine”. Filling the folds of his cloak with its gourds, he hurries back. Though he doesn’t know exactly what they were, he knows that his find would add much-needed substance to what might otherwise have been a very thin, watery soup! And quickly he cuts the fruit into the pot.
But something is very wrong. When the prophets take their first taste of the stew, they quickly spit it back out to the ground. Cries of dismay fill the air: “O man of God, there is death in the pot!”
Elisha’s calm response must have surprised the men. Instead of panicking, instead of dumping out the pot of stew, Elisha simply asks for some flour. Then he proceeds to put a handful or two into the stew, and commands them to eat it! And the Bible records: “there was nothing harmful in the pot.”
It doesn’t take much, my friends to destroy whatever you have worked to build. Something as small as a negative word, or maybe just a new idea–one that appears harmless enough! Even a negative attitude can permanently ruin the presentation you are trying to make, or a single church member can cause the split of a congregation. Even worse, an innocent-looking movie or book–even an innocent website–can, unknown to you, work the seeds of evil into your heart.
Once this has happened, you have two choices. You either “throw out the stew”, or you call for a little “flour”–the Word of God, Truth. No matter how “bad” the situation has become, the God who used a little flour to heal a pot of stew can heal whatever situation you find yourself in. All you have to do is to stop focusing on the facts–the split church, the ruined presentation, the addicted mind–and start focusing on the “flour”–our Healer, Jesus Christ!
All we have to do is release whatever problem has arisen into His hands. By doing so, we have added a little “flour” to the poisoned pot! Then we have to trust Him to bring it to pass! We have to trust that He makes “everything beautiful, in its time!” (Eccl 3:11)
So the next time your pot of stew goes sour because of some little thing that has gotten in, don’t fret and worry. Just add a little flour! Turn it over to Jesus!
“Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass.” (1 Thess 5:24)
See next Saturday’s edition of The Nugget for Elisha, Part 10.
Love in Christ,
Lyn
Lyn Chaffart, Moderator, The Nugget, Scriptural Nuggets ( www.scripturalnuggets.org ), Answers2Prayer Ministries, www.Answers2Prayer.org
(To access the entire “Lessons From Elisha” mini-series, please click here.)