PREPARE TODAY FOR WHAT GOD WILL DO TOMORROW
Main Text: 2 Kings 4:8–37
Key Verse: 2 Kings 4:10
Supporting Thought: Proverbs 24:27
Central Truth:
You may not know what God is going to do tomorrow, but you can prepare yourself today to be ready when He does it.
INTRODUCTION — TOMORROW REQUIRES SOMETHING FROM TODAY
Church, one of the great mistakes we make in life is waiting until tomorrow to prepare for what we could have prepared for today.
A farmer does not wait until harvest time to plant his seed.
A student does not wait until the examination begins to start studying.
A builder does not wait until construction begins to draw the plans.
An athlete does not wait until game day to start training.
A preacher should not wait until Sunday morning to begin seeking God for Sunday's Word.
Why?
Because tomorrow often reveals what we did—or failed to do—today.
That's what preparation is.
Preparation is today's response to tomorrow's possibilities.
And faith takes preparation one step further.
Sometimes God tells us to prepare for something we cannot yet see.
Noah built an ark when there was no flood.
Joseph stored grain while Egypt was experiencing abundance.
The wise virgins carried extra oil before the midnight cry.
The disciples waited in Jerusalem before Pentecost came.
And here in 2 Kings 4, a woman prepares a room without realizing that the room she prepares today will become connected to what God will do tomorrow.
She wasn't asking for a son.
She wasn't bargaining with God.
She wasn't saying:
“God, if I build this room, You owe me something.”
She simply recognized God's servant passing through her community and said:
“Let's make a room.”
But church, she didn't know...
God was already working on tomorrow.
She was preparing a room.
God was preparing a promise.
She was preparing a bed.
God was preparing a son.
She was making room for the prophet.
God was about to make room in her life for something she had stopped expecting.
And that's our message:
PREPARE TODAY FOR WHAT GOD WILL DO TOMORROW!
THE BACKGROUND
The woman lived in Shunem, a town in the territory of Issachar.
Elisha regularly traveled through the area.
The Bible describes her as a “great woman.” This likely points to her being a woman of standing or means.
Initially, she simply provided Elisha with meals whenever he passed through.
But after observing him, she realized:
“This is no ordinary traveler.”
She told her husband that she perceived Elisha was “an holy man of God.”
Then she moved from hospitality to preparation.
1. PREPARATION BEGINS WITH PERCEPTION
2 Kings 4:9 (KJV)
“And she said unto her husband, Behold now, I perceive that this is an holy man of God, which passeth by us continually.”
Notice her words:
“I PERCEIVE.”
Before she prepared anything, she recognized something.
Everybody could see Elisha walking through town.
But she discerned something different.
She recognized that God was connected to this man's ministry.
Preparation often begins with spiritual perception.
You need to recognize:
What season am I in?
What is God doing?
What is God saying?
What opportunity is passing in front of me?
What should I be preparing for?
Illustration
A farmer watches the seasons.
He doesn't plant merely because he feels like planting. He recognizes when the season is right.
Spiritually, we need discernment to recognize our season.
“You cannot properly prepare for what you fail to perceive.”
2. PREPARATION REQUIRES YOU TO MAKE ROOM
2 Kings 4:10 (KJV)
“Let us make a little chamber, I pray thee, on the wall…”
I love her language.
She didn't say:
“Let's see whether we have room.”
She said:
“LET US MAKE A ROOM.”
There's a difference.
Sometimes room isn't available.
You have to make it.
We say we want more of God.
But have we made room?
We want a stronger prayer life.
Have we made room for prayer?
We want to understand Scripture.
Have we made room for study?
We want stronger families.
Have we made room for family time?
We want God to use us.
Have we made room for preparation?
Application
Sometimes our lives become so crowded that God gets whatever time remains.
But preparation says:
“God will not merely get my leftovers. I'm making room for Him.”
“If God is important to you, make room for Him before everything else fills the room.”
3. PREPARATION REQUIRES INTENTIONAL DETAILS
Look at what she placed in the room.
2 Kings 4:10
She provided:
A bed.
A table.
A stool.
A candlestick.
Nothing elaborate.
But everything necessary.
The bed gave Elisha a place to rest.
The table gave him a place to work or eat.
The stool gave him a place to sit.
The lamp gave him light.
She didn't merely have a good idea.
She followed through.
That's preparation.
Preparation is not saying:
“One day I'm going to…”
Preparation says:
“I'm starting now.”
Illustration
Anybody can say, “I'm going on vacation.”
But preparation means booking the transportation, packing the luggage, arranging the hotel, and making plans.
Intentions talk about tomorrow. Preparation does something today.
4. PREPARATION WILL COST YOU SOMETHING
That room wasn't free.
Materials cost something.
Furniture cost something.
Labor cost something.
Time was involved.
Space in their home was surrendered.
Preparation has a price.
Noah sacrificed years building the ark.
Joseph sacrificed space storing grain.
The wise virgins carried extra oil.
The disciples sacrificed time waiting in Jerusalem.
This woman sacrificed resources to prepare a room.
2 Samuel 24:24 (KJV)
David said:
“Neither will I offer burnt offerings unto the LORD my God of that which doth cost me nothing.”
If you're preparing for greater things, don't be surprised when preparation requires sacrifice.
It may cost time.
It may cost comfort.
It may require discipline.
It may require getting up earlier.
It may require saying no to something good so you can prepare for something better.
“Preparation has a price, but being unprepared can cost even more.”
5. SERVE GOD TODAY WITHOUT TRYING TO CONTROL WHAT HE DOES TOMORROW
This point is very important.
The Shunammite woman did not build the room to get a son.
There was no transaction.
She wasn't manipulating God.
She simply wanted to serve.
Later Elisha asked what could be done for her.
2 Kings 4:13 (KJV)
“Behold, thou hast been careful for us with all this care; what is to be done for thee?”
Elisha even offered to speak to the king or military commander for her.
Her answer showed contentment:
“I dwell among mine own people.”
She wasn't looking for political favors.
She wasn't looking for recognition.
She wasn't saying:
“Now that I've done something for God, what is God going to do for me?”
That's mature faith.
We should serve God because God is worthy, not because we're trying to force a blessing.
“Prepare faithfully today, but leave tomorrow in God's hands.”
6. GOD KNOWS WHAT YOU STOPPED ASKING FOR
Then Gehazi noticed something.
2 Kings 4:14 (KJV)
“Verily she hath no child, and her husband is old.”
Suddenly we discover an empty place in this woman's life.
She had a house.
She had resources.
She had a husband.
She had influence.
But...
She had no child.
And her husband was old.
Perhaps she had prayed years earlier.
Perhaps she had cried.
Perhaps she had hoped.
Perhaps disappointment had taught her to stop talking about it.
When Elisha told her she would have a son, her response revealed how sensitive that wound still was.
2 Kings 4:16
“Nay, my lord, thou man of God, do not lie unto thine handmaid.”
In other words:
“Don't play with my emotions.”
“Don't make me hope again if this isn't real.”
Some disappointments hurt so deeply that we protect ourselves by no longer expecting anything.
But God had not forgotten her.
“You may have stopped talking about it, but that doesn't mean God stopped knowing about it.”
7. GOD CAN PUT SOMETHING IN YOUR TOMORROW THAT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TODAY
2 Kings 4:17 (KJV)
“And the woman conceived, and bare a son at tha
