Make Room for Your Miracle (6 page)

I lay hold of wisdom as she would come to me and did not let her go. I had a strong will, and I found peace at last—shalom, my mother’s word. “All is well.”

Then one day Elisha came to Shunem.

The laws of hospitality run deep in our culture. We have no inns, so travelers would sit by the city well or gate or in the open square and wait for an invitation. Any city that left a traveler to find his own shelter in a street corner or along an alleyway was one whose residents had no nobility. That city could be subject to a curse. Our hospitality was mostly, though, an act of human kindness. To share a cup and eat from the same table could bind men, families, even nations together. Covenants were cut at the board; peace was negotiated between enemies. There are many stories in Israel of the angel of the Lord guised as a stranger in our midst. Abraham, Gideon, Rahab all welcomed strangers, and the blessing of the Lord came down to dwell.

But my mind was not on entertaining that day.

I had just come from my weekly round of visiting widows of several poor families. Their trembling hands would take the
pithori
filled with olives and
lebne
or figs and the shawls we had woven from our wool. I was giving to my mother. I was feeding and clothing my grandmother and keeping them alive. I was remembering my own heritage, and my longing for God was fulfilled in my action.

As it was nearing the noontide, Joktan and his workers would be coming in from the field, and my maids would be making preparations for our meal. I passed the city gates to return home, nodding a greeting at the clan chiefs gathered there. Every matter of importance was conducted within this fort. Here a man could make an appeal for mercy and receive justice. Just beyond the entrance I entered the bustle of townsfolk mostly known to me and most of them related by some limb of our family tree. They moved with txra quickness because the evening would herald Shabbat and everything would come to a halt.

I was crossing the main square, my housemaid Rachel behind me, when I noticed him. The man and his servant were making their way along the thoroughfare that led away from the city well. His bearing caught my attention in the way that a whisper causes one to turn toward the speaker better to catch what is being said. He was politely wending his way upstream in the opposing flow of the foot traffic.

Looking back I see that I had had a soft quickening in that part that moves one to guidance before the mind is fully assisting. Perhaps you know it. For me it is like taking up a honeybee for a moment, clasping it in my palm and feeling the tiny wings buzzing against my skin. Deep calls to deep where logic and rationale do not comprehend at first. It is partially woman’s intuition, perhaps, but more, I think, the strum of the finger of the Lord upon the strings of one’s spirit. That unction turned me that day from my own business to that of the travelers making their way along Shunem’s high street, and I found myself following.

I suppose I would have passed him over in a crowd. He was dressed in the ordinary garb of an Israelite, the
beged
, and his neatly trimmed beard showed the slightest gray along his jaw. His mostly bald pate was rimmed with neatly trimmed hair. One particular piece of clothing stood in contrast to his noble bearing: Over one arm was draped a roughly made garment of goat’s hair, the kind of which the sprawling tents of desert herders are made. He looked to be my age.

With him was another stranger who appeared to be a serving man. He was smaller, younger. But it was his master’s regal demeanor that caught my attention. I saw no baggage with them, just a walking staff and a skin for water.

The words fluttered within my belly: Invite them.

I did not think further. I approached the men and said, “Have you anything prepared, sirs?”

Perhaps startled that so straight an invitation had come from a woman walking out alone, the taller man stared at me a moment. The second man brightened.

I asked again, “Have you any place to rest or take your supper?”

“Thank you, lady, but we are going down to my city in the south,” the master replied. “We shall sup there for Shabbat.” He indicated the freshly wet skin of water his servant carried. “We had only stopped to refill our skin at your cistern. Our business here is finished, though I thank you for your kindness.”

“Let it not be said strangers were not entertained in Shunem,” I said. “Allow me to offer my table before Shabbat. It would be more bountiful with your presence, and we could receive a blessing.”

The servant looked pleased at my insistence. His master adjusted the black hair coat and appeared to be adjusting his disposition toward my invitation as well.

I did not know why he hesitated. Perhaps my dress as a nobleman’s wife was hindering him. It was not uncommon for noblemen to be in league with Israel’s king, even in his pay. Joktan was generous, and I sported his jewelry in the custom of our married women. My nose ring was half a shekel of gold, and the bracelets on my wrists weighed ten.

I pressed my offer.

“You are both welcome,” I said. “Rest at our house just until the heat of day passes. You will surely be home before the shofar.”

He glanced through the gates as if calculating the delay.

“What do you think, Gehazi?” he said to his servant. “Shall we accept the lady and delay here in this city?”

Gehazi rubbed his slim belly.

“A compelling invitation, my lord,” he said. “Food would certainly be welcome.” An enthusiastic smile spread over his face. “We should not offend so gracious a hostess.”

“We are pleased to receive you,” I insisted. “It’s just a short way and our table will be full. After you have been revived be on your way.”

Tucking the end of his shirt into his leather belt, the man finally acquiesced.

“I suppose we are the servants of your urging,” he said. “We thank you, mistress. My man and I will follow your lead.”

“Welcome, sirs,” I replied. “Welcome to Shunem and to the house of Joktan and our fathers.”

Just as I spoke the words, others came to offer hospitality. With a smile I explained quickly that they were to be guests at Joktan’s house. Their looks of disappointment caused me to feel as though I had gained some grand prize!

This guest was different from any other we had entertained. I was struck by his unpresuming nature even though he was knowledgeable about many things. We learned that his name was Elisha and he was from Abelehoma. He told us of his youth and that he came from a land and home not unlike ours. His father’s clan had land holdings to the south and west along the Jordan River. Joktan knew of them.

The guest did not speak of a wife or sons and daughters, but he knew about farming and persuading the land to yield its strength beneath the plow and treader. The men became engrossed and animated comparing notes about seeding and plowing stock and angles and lengths of plow blades used on terraces in comparison to the open plain. They laughed until the conversation turned from soil to war.

Issachar’s militia had gone with the tribes earlier in the season when our King Joram called a coalition to rein in Moab and bring back the tribute they paid into Israel’s coffers under Ahab. Sons of Shunem were among the offended ranks who returned to tell of the terrible spectacle on the wall when Mesha sacrificed his son to end the siege. Our guest had been a witness when Jehovah opened springs beneath the desert and watered Israel’s men and cattle.

I sat breathless listening until the man and his servant rose to leave. Gehazi gathered up the garments and skin of water lying near his feet. He took two or three more olives for his cheek. I handed Gehazi the food stuffs I had prepared for their journey and went down with the men to the courtyard. As our guest passed over the threshold into the afternoon, bright sunlight streamed in. But something much brighter than the sun seemed to flood our house that day. It was a Presence, a sense of fulfillment and hope in things unseen. And when the guests had gone it seemed to me Another lingered. And thus a day that began like any other would be the most important of my lifetime. It was
moed
, that special moment when time and destiny meet in a simple occasion to kiss the prayers of hope and patient obedience. Not that I believe you can buy a miracle with all the prayers of the saints or obedience of donkeys. But prayer and faithfulness will sustain you while you are waiting.

And We Listen . . .

The King James Version of the Bible tells us that the Shunammite “constrained” the great prophet to eat bread, that is, to come for dinner. Literally the word means
laid hold of him
. She basically reached out and took him by the arm and said, “You are coming with me, and I won’t take no for an answer!” Something was compelling her to bring him into her house. Obviously hospitality was at work, but there was more. She was hungry for something that she discerned this man had.

As you read the story in the Bible you realize that the Shunammite did not know at first that this was one of the great prophets in Israel. Maybe she saw him at the city well; maybe she saw him at the marketplace. Before she knew his identity she discerned something of the glory that compelled her to invite Elisha home. So you see, she was not chasing after a “personality.” She did not hear in advance that “the great prophet is coming to your city, and if you go to such and such a place at such and such a time you can meet God, too.” No, she was doing what she normally did, which for an Israelite woman likely included benevolence in her town. It is clear that she was a woman who feared the Lord. She was going about her everyday business. As she was faithful and righteous and pious and believing God, her path crossed with that of a man in whom she discerned the Presence of the Holy One. And when she recognized that she acted.

You may find as well that your
kairos
moment comes out of just being faithful to do what is required or customary. As you are going about your business, God will cause your path to intersect with His glory. When you step into that crossroad you will want to be able to discern it so you will know what to do. That is, after all, the point of being prophetic. When you understand the times and seasons you will know what to do within them.

Elisha and the Shunammite were both descended from Issachar. First Chronicles 12:32 tells us that “the sons of Issachar . . . had understanding of the times, to know what Israel ought to do.” These people were prophetic. They were not asleep at the wheel. This gifting is part of the reason that when she met him in town she discerned something. She did not know who he was at that point, but she did recognize the glory that resided in him and, with that discernment, she knew what to do.

What Is Discernment?

One day, out of nowhere, I, Mahesh, felt compelled to go speak a word to our daughter Anna, who was home studying. It was not a hurricane-force word; just a little nudge of the Holy Spirit. I said to her, “Anna, tomorrow don’t drive Daddy’s car to school. Drive your mommy’s car.”

She said, “Okay, Dad.”

As she was driving the next day, she crossed an oil slick in the road, and the car crashed. It was a terrible crash; the whole car was crushed. But she was in a car that had air bags—my car, the one she usually drove to school, did not—and it saved her life. The Spirit had given me just a gentle nudge, and I was able to flow in it. And I thank God today that she was willing to listen to that discernment.

Discernment means “to recognize and distinguish between.” Discerning of spirits is recognizing and distinguishing between spirits. But then there is discretion. The Hebrew word comes from a root that means “to plan or to plot.” It is used of God in a positive sense. When God has given discernment, discretion is knowing what to do with it. Proverbs 2:11 says, “Discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you.” Like your own personal security detail, discretion and understanding are there for your protection to see that nothing harms you. By them you are able to be as Jesus advised: “harmless as the dove but as cunning as the serpent.”

The ancient priests carried the Urim and Thummim over their hearts. Those stones represented the voice of the Lord resting on the heart of the believer.

Just as we have physical senses of seeing, smelling, tasting, touching and hearing, we have these same abilities in the spiritual realm. The Word says, “Taste and see that the Lord is good” (Psalm 34:8). Revelation 2:7 says, “He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” You might “smell” the presence of evil. God does not want us to ignore these senses.

Think of it this way. In the physical realm, a mom will choose meat for her family’s dinner that is a good color and smells fresh. If the meat has rotted, she will notice it right away. The spiritual senses operate in much the same way as the physical senses. If something is not quite in sync with God, His nature, His Presence, you will be just as aware of that as you would rotten meat. Hebrews 5:14 speaks of developing the spiritual senses by using them. When you have grown in discernment, you really have to work hard to ignore some of the things you will sense! This helps us choose the good and not indulge in anything that comes from a perverted or dark spirit.

Some people shut the door on everything spiritual so that they are not susceptible to deception, but they will miss the good things that God is doing. We should be men and women of discernment—not for the sake of being judgmental or trying to “tell the future,” but for the sake of fulfilling our call to be mature believers.

Discerning the Voice of the Lord

Discernment is not a skill that comes to us automatically. A lot of people tend to think that once they are born again they will hear God’s voice automatically. No, we need to learn to recognize how God talks to us.

The Holy Spirit generally trains us through three particular means. The first is the means of Scripture. Some discernment can be achieved fairly easily as we grow in knowledge of His Word. If a person dresses as a witch and rides into your house on a broomstick, for instance, your discerner should be telling you that this is not of God. If a person says she has a prophecy for you and spreads out her Tarot cards on your table, you will not need txraordinary discernment to realize that would be evil in God’s eyes. The Bible tells us to avoid these things.