“GOD’S PLAN FOR FINANCIAL FITNESS”

II Kings 4:1-7

INTRODUCTION

The story is told of a young and successful yuppie who took an afternoon drive in the mountains in his new BMW. He became careless and drove the car off of the road and down a ravine. As officers arrived they quickly noticed that the driver had been flung away from the car and was laying on the side of the roadway. He looked up and muttered, “Where is my car?” The officer became irritated and angrily told the young executive that he was so materialistic that he did not even notice that his left arm was severed and missing. The yuppie replied, “Oh, no, not my Rolex also!

We live in materialistic world dominated by a hunger for possessions which are often nothing more than status symbols. As Elijah’s protégé, Elisha’s ministry was during the period 848-797 B.C., a time when evil and idolatry and spiritual lethargy dominated the landscape.

God’s goal for each of us is to enjoy spiritual, emotional, relational, and financial freedom. Elisha had been used by God to perform miracles such as the provision of money for a widow, the raising of a dead young boy, and the raising of an ax head from the bottom of the river. In this unique encounter with the widowed wife of a fellow prophet, Elisha gives insight into God’s plan for our financial freedom.

I. FINANCIAL FREEDOM MUST BECOME A PRICELESS POSSESSION (4:1-2)

Elisha encountered a young widow and her two needy sons. Her husband had passed away leaving her destitute with no visible means of support. The situation had become desperate. Fear controlled her emotions and she was frightened by her future.

In verse one, she described her husband as “your servant” in re-lating her dilemma to Elisha. Perhaps her complaint was that God had not rewarded her as a result of her husband’s faithful years of service to God, a common complaint of many who are serving God today as well. Notice the common symptoms of a loss of freedom, whether
financial or otherwise.

  1. Tension -never a relaxed moment, her situation worsened
  2. Anxiety -she feared the worse as creditors were on her trail
  3. Cynicism -referring to her husband as “your servant,”
    perhaps she questioned the value of service.
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