Making Room for God to Work

Devotional

Day 1: Recognizing the Holy in the Ordinary

The Shunammite woman saw Elisha not just as a traveler, but as a holy man marked by God’s presence. True spiritual perception cuts through appearances to discern divine purpose in mundane moments. Like Paul confronting the possessed slave girl, believers must cultivate discernment to separate God’s work from empty religious noise. This requires more than intuition—it demands a heart attuned to God’s patterns. When chaos masquerades as revival or tradition stifles truth, spiritual perception anchors us. The test isn’t in the spectacle but in the substance. [30:25]

“But the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:14, ESV)

Reflection: Where have you mistaken human energy for God’s presence recently? What daily practice could sharpen your ability to discern His authentic work?

Day 2: Building Chambers for Unseen Harvests

The Shunammite woman didn’t wait for a crisis to act. She built a prophet’s chamber during seasons of normalcy, creating space for miracles she couldn’t yet imagine. Preparation often precedes provision—David’s desire to house the ark began long before Solomon’s temple. Like setting an extra plate for unexpected guests, making room for God requires intentional margins. This isn’t about physical space alone but about reserving energy, resources, and emotional capacity for divine interruptions. Obedience in calm seasons builds altars for stormy ones. [40:04]

“And let them make me a sanctuary, that I may dwell in their midst.” (Exodus 25:8, ESV)

Reflection: What “empty chamber” have you neglected to maintain? How might rearranging your priorities create space for God’s unexpected assignments?

Day 3: Preparing Tables Before the Headache

The Shunammite’s table and lampstand weren’t emergency supplies—they were daily provisions. Her preparation during peace positioned her to handle tragedy when her son died. Like Joseph storing grain before famine, faithful stewardship in calm seasons fuels faith during crises. The chamber she built for Elisha’s comfort became her son’s resurrection room. God often uses yesterday’s obedience to solve tomorrow’s impossibilities. Preparation is the bridge between discernment and deliverance. [52:34]

“Go, gather all the Jews…and fast for me…I and my young women will also fast. Then I will go to the king.” (Esther 4:16, ESV)

Reflection: What practical step can you take this week to prepare for future spiritual battles? How does today’s obedience equip tomorrow’s faith?

Day 4: Resurrection Rooms Require Risky Obedience

When her son died, the Shunammite didn’t panic—she ran to the chamber where she’d hosted God’s presence. That room, built through ordinary obedience, became a resurrection site. Her crisis didn’t create faith; it revealed the faith she’d already cultivated. Like the widow’s oil jars in Elisha’s day, empty spaces become miracles when surrendered. The bed meant for the prophet’s rest held her dead child, proving that rooms prepared in advance become theaters for God’s power. [55:49]

“And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’” (John 11:34, ESV)

Reflection: What “empty space” in your life feels useless? How might God repurpose it for His glory if fully surrendered?

Day 5: Shalom When Nothing Is Well

The Shunammite declared “It is well” while holding her dead son—not denying reality but affirming God’s sovereignty. Shalom peace thrives in prepared hearts, not perfect circumstances. Her chamber-building habit trained her to trust God’s character over visible outcomes. Like Habakkuk praising God despite barren fields, this peace comes from rehearsing God’s faithfulness in advance. True shalom isn’t the absence of trouble but the presence of a prepared heart. [57:08]

“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” (Isaiah 26:3, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you need to declare “It is well” before seeing change? How can your daily routines cultivate shalom for future storms?

Sermon Summary

Second Kings four sets a woman from Shunem before the church and calls her “a great woman.” That greatness meant wealth, influence, and standing, the very things folks spend a whole life chasing. The text shows that all of that still could not reach the deepest place in her life. Money, clout, and connections could not answer barrenness, could not raise a dead child, and could not do what only God can do.

The Shunammite woman had perception. She watched Elisha pass by continually, and she said, “I perceive that this is an holy man of God.” Her eyes could see more than a traveling preacher needing a meal. Her spirit could recognize the hand of God on a man’s life. Spiritual discernment must be able to tell the difference between God’s presence and a flesh meeting, between the Word of God and a patty-cake sermon, between a good-sounding message and the wrong spirit behind it.

The Shunammite woman also had preparation. She did not wait until crisis hit before making room. She told her husband to build a little chamber on the wall, with a bed, a table, a stool, and a candlestick. That room said there was space in Shunem, space in her home, and space in her heart for God to work. David had the same kind of heart when he saw the ark behind curtains while he lived in a house of cedar. Nobody had to command him. The work of God had become precious enough that he wanted to make space for it.

The call to make room presses into schedules, homes, finances, relationships, and the church house. A packed life can leave no room for ministry. A proud heart can fill a whole room and still leave no place for God to move. The Shunammite woman could not do what Elisha could do, and Elisha could not do what only God could do, but she made room for both.

The problem came when her barrenness was named, and later when the promised son died in her lap. Yet the same room she had prepared in advance became the place where death was carried. She laid that boy on the bed of the man of God and said, “It is well,” meaning shalom, peace. God manifested His work in her life, her home, and Shunem because she had made space before she ever knew how badly she would need it.

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Key Takeaways

1. Discernment sees God’s hand clearly The Shunammite woman did not just see a hungry traveler passing by. Her spirit perceived holiness, and that perception opened the door for the work of God. A believer without discernment may mistake noise for presence, hype for power, and smooth words for truth. [30:43]
2. Preparation makes room before crisis The little chamber was built before the barrenness was answered and before the child ever died. Faith made space for God while nothing was being demanded, begged for, or desperately needed. That kind of preparation reveals a heart that values God’s work, not merely God’s rescue. [41:28]
3. Busy lives can crowd God out A schedule can be so full of work, entertainment, and worldly demands that God gets the leftovers. Making room for God is not about adding religious clutter, but clearing real space where His work can take root. A home, a calendar, a bank account, and a church can all become places where God is either welcomed or squeezed out. [44:16]
4. Prepared room becomes resurrection ground The same room built for Elisha became the place where a dead boy was laid. The Shunammite woman’s earlier obedience became the ground where God’s power was later made manifest. The place prepared in quiet faith may become the very place where God meets the deepest grief. [55:31]
5. Peace speaks before sight changes The woman said, “It is well,” while her child was still dead. That was not denial, and it was not shallow optimism. Shalom stood in the gap between devastation and resurrection, because room had already been made for God to work.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[25:46] - Reading Second Kings 4
[26:58] - Making Room for God to Work
[27:42] - The Great Woman of Shunem
[29:53] - Her Spiritual Perception
[31:26] - Discernment and the Wrong Spirit
[33:19] - Recognizing God’s Presence and Word
[39:10] - Her Preparation for God’s Work
[44:16] - Making Room in Daily Life
[47:55] - Making Space for What Only God Can Do
[51:06] - The Problem Money Cannot Fix
[54:02] - The Promised Son Dies
[55:31] - The Room Prepared in Advance
[58:08] - God Brings the Dead to Life
[59:17] - Invitation to Make Room for God

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

2 Kings 4:8-10
“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. And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually. Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall; and let us set for him there a bed, and a table, and a stool, and a candlestick: and it shall be, when he cometh to us, that he shall turn in thither.” [25:46]

Acts 16:16-18
“As we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit of divination and brought her owners much gain by fortune-telling. She followed Paul and us, crying out, ‘These men are servants of the Most High God, who proclaim to you the way of salvation.’ And this she kept doing for many days. Paul, having become greatly annoyed, turned and said to the spirit, ‘I command you in the name of Jesus Christ to come out of her.’ And it came out that very hour.” [31:26]

1 Corinthians 2:14-15
“The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. The spiritual person judges all things, but is himself to be judged by no one.” [38:52]

Observation questions

In 2 Kings 4:8-10, what details show that the Shunammite woman did more than simply offer Elisha one meal? What exactly did she ask her husband to prepare? [39:10]
What was it that the Shunammite woman said she perceived about Elisha, and what did that perception lead her to do? [29:53]
In Acts 16:16-18, what made this situation confusing on the surface, and what did Paul recognize that others could have easily missed? [32:20]
What are some specific places where room can be made for God to work—according to this message—in ordinary life? [44:16]

Interpretation questions

The Shunammite woman was called a great woman, yet her greatness could not solve her deepest need. What does that reveal about the limits of wealth, influence, and social standing? [51:54]
The woman prepared a room before any crisis showed up. What does that suggest about the difference between valuing God’s work and only wanting God’s help when life falls apart? [41:28]
Acts 16 shows that a message can sound right while the spirit behind it is wrong. How should that shape the way believers think about discernment in church life and ministry? [31:26]
The same room built for ministry later became the place where the dead child was laid. What does that say about how earlier obedience may prepare a person for later grief? [55:31]

Application questions

What currently fills up most of the room in life right now—work, entertainment, stress, pride, routines, something else? Where does it feel like God is getting the leftovers? [44:16]
Spiritual discernment is needed to recognize what is truly of God. In this season, where is there a need for clearer discernment—in relationships, media, church life, decisions, or opportunities? [33:19]
Making room for God often shows up in very ordinary places. What would it look like this week to create real space for God in a schedule, a home, or finances? [46:10]
A life can be so tightly packed that there is little room left for ministry. Are there people who cannot get close because life is too crowded? What might need to change so there is room to serve and help others? [46:32]
The prepared room became resurrection ground. Looking back, has there ever been a time when a quiet act of obedience became something God later used in a much bigger way? [58:46]
“It is well” was spoken before the situation changed. Is there an area of pain, fear, or confusion where peace needs to be trusted before answers are visible? [56:46]
Pride can fill a whole room and still leave no place for God to move. Are there attitudes, habits, or self-protective walls that may be taking up too much space in the heart right now? [49:52]

Sermon Clips

54s

#MakeRoomForGod

“``Here's what I realized about this human woman. She could not do what Elijah could do. And Elijah couldn't do what only God could do, but she made room for them both. I see it this way. I may never be able to open blinded eyes. I may never make the dumb to speak, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see. But I know a man who can. And since I know a man that can, miss Deb, you know what I'm gonna try to do? I'm gonna try to make room. I'm gonna try to make space for him to work.”

64s

#ServeFromTheHeart

“That's what this woman did. I've noted that many people today become interested in the things of God when they have a need. Many people pray when there's a problem. Many people seek God when there's a crisis. make room for God when they desperately need something from him. That's when they began to make room for God. woman, she didn't come asking for anything. didn't come begging for anything. She didn't come as a needy individual. She just had a heart that said, I want to make room for Elijah because God is doing something in his life. And she saw God and she wanted to make room for his work.”

55s

#NoRoomForPride

“you said, preacher, there's plenty of room. If that's what you say, then you're not taking this med this message the right way. I'm not talking about square footage. I'm talking about have we sincerely made room for god? Because there's a lot of times, even in a room this big, god can't do nothing because we got a bunch of prideful, haughty spirits that it's more about us than it is about him. Can I get a witness right there? And our heads are so inflated that there's no room for God to do anything else. I'm talking about this woman made room for God to work.”

69s

#MakeTimeForGod

“You said, preacher, what's the question of the hour? Question of the hour is, I wonder if we would passionately pursue and make room for that which creates space for God to work. I wonder as a church, would we make room for God to work? You say, preacher, how can I do that? You can create space for his work in your schedule. We're gonna say amen or owe me right here. A lot of times we pack our schedule so full of the world and entertainment and work and all of those things and we leave god out of our schedules. But can I tell you that if we really wanna see a work of God in our lives, we're gonna have to create space for God even in our schedules?”

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Carolyn Baptist church Dalton GA This sermon · AI assistant

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