THE SMALL UPPER ROOM

By Jemima Rayan

The Shunammite woman, in the Bible made a small upper room for the man of God. She demonstrated the love she had for God, by providing food and a place to stay for the prophet of God, Elisha. It was a 'small upper room'.

She said to her husband, 'Look now, I know that this is a holy man of God, who passes by us regularly. "Please, let us make a small upper room on the wall; and let us put a bed for him there, and a table and a chair and a lamp stand; so it will be whenever he comes to us, he can turn in there" (2Kings 4:9,10)

We notice a small upper room, a bed, a table, a chair and a lamp in these verses. Let us look at what the Bible has to say about these five things.

1. Room:

A room is a dwelling place. God says, 'I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people' (2 Cor 6:16). Jesus says, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will COME IN to him and dine with him and he with me' (Rev 3:20).

Jesus wants to come into our lives. But our part is to open the door of our heart and invite Him into our lives. Do you have room for JESUS in your life? You may say, what good is my life for Jesus! But Jesus is asking if there is room in your heart for Him?

2. Bed:

A bed is a place where we lay our head and rest. Jesus said,' Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head' (Lk 9:58). Jesus said,' If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make OUR HOME with him (Jn 14:23). It is one thing to come in and it is another thing to make our home! The disciples constrained Jesus saying, "Abide with us, for it is toward evening, and the day is far spent." And He went in to stay with them" (Lk 24:29). The Lord Jesus who stayed with those disciples will stay with you. He wants to make His home with you.

That Shunammite woman made a bed for Elisha to rest his head. Do you have a place in your heart for Jesus to stay? Will you open the door of your heart for Jesus so that he can come into your life and have a resting-place in you? Jesus wants to be with us. Once you invite Jesus into your life, He says, "I will not leave you not will I forsake you"(Josh 1:5).

3. Table:

Table is where we dine. The Bible declares, 'Behold, I stand at the door and knock, If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and DINE with him and he with me' (Rev 3:20). The first thing Jesus wants to do after coming into your heart is that, he wants to dine with you. The moment the prodigal son returned home, the father prepared a table for him (Lk 15:23). In the weddings, there is always a banquet. Why? A banquet marks the relationship.

Even in the house of God we as children of the Most High God, partake in the Holy communion which is called the 'Lord's table' (1Cor 10:21, 1Cor 11:23-26). The Psalmist says,' You prepare A TABLE before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over' (Ps 23:5). God prepares a table before our enemies. The Bible says, 'Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb' (Rev 19:9). We see the 'table prepared' every where in the Bible.

You can sit with Jesus and dine. Are you in God's family? You can become one today. Just invite Jesus into your heart and become His child. God loves you.

4. Chair:

A Chair is where you sit. The Bible warns us from sitting in the seat of the scornful' (Ps 1:1-3). Blessed is the one who meditates on the law of the Lord day and night.

The feet of Jesus became a chair for Mary. The Bible says, 'Martha had a sister called Mary, who sat at Jesus' feet and heard His word' (Lk 10:39). Jesus healed a demon-possessed man. 'When the people went our to see what had happened, and came to Jesus, they found the man from whom the demons had departed, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind' (Lk 8:34,35). He had the right mind!

Praise God for the people who have the right mind! Some people ask, 'when is a good time to meditate the word of God'. My answer is 'all the time'. Any time is a good time to meditate the word. Do you take the time to sit at the feet of the Lord and learn from Him? Never become a 'busy bee' when it comes to sitting at the feet of Jesus!

5. Lamp:

The Psalmist says, 'Your word is a lamp to my feet, and a light to my path' (Ps 119:105). The Bible says,' You shall teach these words to your children, and talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way when you lie down, and when you rise up' (Deu 6:7).

We normally sit or stand or walk or lie down. The Word of God instructs us to teach our children the word of God all the time. Because, our children need some light as they grow up. We need to illuminate their path by teaching the Word of God. Unless we feed on the Word of God, we can no way teach our children! May the Lord give us the grace to sit at His feet and meditate His word!

May the Lord help us to 'have a small upper room' in our hearts. Amen.