WHAT SHALL I DO FOR YOU?

Text: II Kings 4:1-7

Now the wife of a son of the prophets cried to Elisha, 

Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that your servant feared the Lord. But the creditor has come to take my two sons to be his slaves.

Elisha said to her, What shall I do for you? 
Tell me, what have you [of sale value] in the house? …..He said, 

Go, sell the oil and pay your debt, and you and your sons live on the rest.

If you are in a fix situation and someone comes to ask you this question, what will your response be? This was the question from the Prophet to the woman according to this text. A lot of people fail to give correct response to this simple but easy question because they were never prepared for something big in their lives and/or because they have no relationship with the questionnaire. Thus, they are challenged to answer with reasonable and direct answer that could have elevated them from whatever status they happen to live in.

It is always a common saying that preparation at the knock of an opportunity is a waste. You don’t start to prepare for what you will do when you are actually require to take action by making a decision. Just consider yourself looking for a job after several futile attempts of search and you are presented with the question, “How much do you want as your salary?” A lot of people cannot successfully answer that because they have no idea what the job actually pays and out of desperation, they underscore their abilities and shortchanged themselves.

The prophet also asked the woman, “What do you have in the house?” From this, it is definitely right to say before anyone comes to GOD asking for heaven and earth, one should have a relationship with the Almighty. Relationship does not mean how many days one sleeps in church by attending one program or the other. It is not about your closeness to the pastor as we erroneously think sometimes.  It does not also take into account how many crusades or seminars and/or workshops that are Christian-based that one has attended. It has nothing to do with how much tithes and offering you bring to the storehouse. It is about you realizing the fact that you truly need GOD, as you are a sinner, and with faith, you will receive Jesus Christ as your Savior. It also means that you should include God in your daily lives—Pray to Him; Study and Meditate on the Scriptures in an effort to get to know Him better.

At this juncture, turn the searchlight to yourself and if you are asked the same question, what will your answer be? Remember, the passage says the widow was once married to one of the sons of the prophet, who feared God. Can anyone say the same about you that you fear God in the way you worship Him? You, as a head of department, or a boss in your secular job, or ministry leader and/or head pastor, do you see yourself as a God-fearing someone? Do you see the people under your leadership as a problem that you are using your position of authority to threaten them? Do you ever think of how to bring up the potentials in the people that are subordinate to you and seek for ways to develop them instead of setting up innuendoes to dishonor them? If you are not having issues with several of these questions, and you are just comfortable because they speak about you, then there is a problem. How then do you come to God to seek for multiplicity of blessings or the supernatural power in your assignment or undertaking when you underrate His creation?

The woman also had something in the house that the prophet wants to use to prove the miraculous power of God. Just like the case of king Hezekiah in II Kings 20:1 where Prophet Isaiah delivered a message that he should Set his house in order, for he shall die; and shall not recover. King Hezekiah pleaded with God for more years after reminding God of his faithfulness and what he had done. Thereafter, God honored his plea, as more years were added to his day. What do you have as a reason to answer the above question successfully so that God will know that you ought to be blessed indeed?