The Great Woman

II Kings 4:8- And it fell on a day, that Elisha passed to Shunem, where was a great woman; and she constrained him to eat bread. And so it was, that as oft as he passed by, he turned in thither to eat bread.
This is the only woman in the Bible who is called 'a great woman'. There are many ladies in the Bible that we should aspire to be like. Certain characteristics that they possess will make us into the women that God wants us to be. And, if they possess these characteristics, shouldn't we examine what they are so that we may incorporate them into our lives?
The first thing I see is that she had self-control.
II Kings 4:26- Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well.
She was in anquish of spirit here! Her one and only son who was miraculously given to her by God was dead! And yet, she held her emotions in control. How many times have we freaked out over the smallest things? Self-control is definitely something that the Lord would like to see in more Christian ladies.
The second thing she possessed was a knowledge that she should turn to the Lord with her needs.
II Kings 4:22-23- And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. She didn't seek out any doctors. She wasn't looking for the best physicians. She knew the answers she sought were only going to be found when she took her problems to the Lord. Another thing, she didn't burden her husband with her problems. Many times we want to unload our disappointments on our husbands, but this lady knew that that would do no good. Only the Lord's ears needed to filled with her grievances.
Next, we see that she was earnest.
II Kings 4:24- Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
There was a great urgency to her request. She had been up nursing her sick child for quite some time, and as mothers we know that can be very draining! She had a desire to get to her destination no matter what her body was feeling, and we all need that as mothers!
She was humble.
II Kings 4:13- And he said unto him, Say now unto her, Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee? wouldest thou be spoken for to the king, or to the captain of the host? And she answered, I dwell among mine own people.
Man! That convicts me right there! I would have a list ready. But this lady wasn't looking for fame or riches, she was looking to be a blessing to others just for the sake of being a blessing. Would to God there were more ladies out there like that! Can you imagine how they would upset this world?
Fourthly, she was prayerful.
II Kings 4:33- He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
Okay, it says "he", but do you really think she was just sitting in the other room twiddling her thumbs? How often have we gotten so stressed out in the day, and yet, we never stopped to pray about it? Do we think that God is too busy? Or, is it the fact that we are too busy? God died for us! He wants to hear about our day! He wants to help us through it! But, we have to let him know we want that help!
And lastly, but definitely not the least, she was thankful.
II Kings 4:37- Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.
Human nature normally isn't thankful. It's very self-righteous and thinks that we deserved the good and the blessings that have come our way. Ten lepers were healed by Christ, and yet only one thought to say thank you. I'm sure the others were thankful in their hearts, but Jesus wanted to hear it! And, it's the same for us today- he wants to hear a thank you from us every now and then!
This woman was great in God's eyes, or the Bible wouldn't have said it. God gave her the increase from what she already had! She had taken the time to ready the room and the things that were necessary for the work of the Lord. We are not to make promises that we will do such and such a thing if the Lord does what we want, but rather give back from what we have already.