GROW PLAN
October 12-18, 2026
Day One
Miracles of Caring
Elisha’s ministry was characterized by a number of miracles, usually done to take care of people, in this case the widow of one of the sons of the prophets. Widows and orphans are used to symbolize poverty in much of scripture, and the case of this woman shows us why. Her husband died with debts, and she had no way to pay the debts. That gave her husband’s creditor the right to seize her sons as slaves. This was a common practice in that region at the time. Slavery was used as bankruptcy is in our society. It was a way to settle debts when someone had no other options. If this woman’s sons were taken from her, she would have no one to work the family’s land, and her financial condition would grow worse. If she didn’t have a relative to marry her, her only options would be begging or prostitution. She went to Elisha with her problem. He told her what to do, and she did it. The extent of her faith would be shown in how many jars she borrowed for the miracle. Elisha told her to get more than a few. Her meager supply of oil miraculously filled all the jars she had borrowed, and she went back to report this to Elisha. He told her to sell the oil. This is refined olive oil which was used for cooking, fuel and light. It was easily sold. Because she had shown the faith to gather many jars, there was enough to pay off the debts and to provide for her and her sons.
The Lord took care of this faithful family, and He takes care of us as well. When you pray, asking for His favor or a miracle, do you gather all the jars you can, expecting Him to meet your needs? Or do you pray and then act as if He won’t come through?
Day Two
A Son Restored
The Lord not only cares for the poor, He cares for the well off as well. Elisha traveled through Shunem often and met a woman there who offered him a meal and then built him a small room on the flat roof where he could stay when he came through town. We can see the faith of this woman in her desire to please God by aiding the mission and work of His prophet. Elisha wanted to do something to repay the kindness of this woman, and he and his servant, Gehazi, asked her what they could do for her. Elisha’s offer to speak to the king or the army’s commander shows that he had more influence with the government than Elijah had. But the woman didn’t ask for anything. “I have a home among my own people” is a way of saying she was satisfied with her life. But Elisha still wanted to do something for her and Gehazi pointed out that she had no son, a major problem in Old Testament society. The woman had a hard time believing Elisha when he told her she’d soon have a son, but she did. When the boy died, she went straight to Elisha. Her husband apparently indulged her faith but his own was rooted in rituals. He didn’t see the point of going to the man of God unless it was a religious occasion. She probably told him everything was all right because he may not have let her go if he knew the boy had died, insisting on proper mourning customs. Once she reached the prophet, he reacted quickly, even sending Gehazi on ahead of him with his staff, but the staff had no power. It took a living prophet to pray over the boy to spur the living God to revive him.
The Shunammite woman acted with faith. She contributed to the Lord’s work, and in her darkest moment, she ran straight to the Lord’s prophet. Do you go straight to the Lord when you are in need?
Day Three
Feeding the Hungry
Famine came quickly when crops were poor in an era without effective long-term storage of food or effective food transportation over long distances. When people are hungry, they do desperate things, like eating wild plants even when they don’t know what those plants are. The unknown gourds probably added a horrible taste to the stew, but it was made safe and edible when Elisha put some scarce flour into it. The next miracle foreshadows the miracles in which Jesus fed 5,000 and 3,000. Elisha fed 100 people with 20 loaves of barley bread. These were not big loaves of white bread. They were small flat loaves, but the Lord used them to provide enough for all the people — probably the sons of the prophets — to eat and have some left over. The Lord looks out for His people and provides for them. This is true in good times and in famine. If we have enough to eat now, it’s because the Lord is providing for us. We may not see the miracle of it, but we know that He provides our needs.
Do you trust the Lord to provide for your needs? Or do you trust your employer or your own efforts?
Day Four
Look in the Right Place
This is a familiar story. Naaman was not a Hebrew, not a worshiper of Yahweh. In fact, he was a military leader of Israel’s enemy Aram, later known as Syria. This can be seen by the fact that he had a captured Israelite girl as his servant. Naaman and his wife must have treated her well, because she cared enough to let them know that there was a prophet in Israel who could cure Naaman’s skin disease. Even so, Naaman didn’t leave with a letter for the prophet. He left with a letter to the king of Israel, demanding that the king cure Naaman. The officials in Aram thought that if there was a cure in Israel, the king would have it rather than the prophet. They were wrong. The king had no idea what to do and thought he was the victim of a political provocation. A young girl who was a servant in Aram knew where to find the cure for leprosy, but the king didn’t. Apparently, others in Israel failed to seek healing from Elisha as well. When Jesus talked about how “no prophet is accepted in his hometown,” he also said that: “And in the prophet Elisha’s time, there were many in Israel who had serious skin diseases, but none of them were healed — only Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27) It’s certainly tragic to be seriously sick and be close to a cure but not know where to look. We are surrounded by people who are spiritually sick, terminally sick, and they don’t know where to look for the cure that is available to them.
Who will you talk to about how Christ has cured you and how he can cure them?
Day Five
Do It God’s Way
When the people who were supposed to be in charge, the king and Naaman, had no idea what to do, Elisha stepped in and told the king to send the man to him. Naaman, who may not have liked being sent from the king to a prophet, probably liked the situation even less when Elisha, rather than meet with him himself, sent a messenger to tell Naaman how to be cured. Naaman was angry. He thought he was important, and he had brought serious wealth to help him obtain this cure. But Elisha just told him to wash seven times in the Jordan, which was a muddy river. This wasn’t at all what he expected. We wanted a quick miracle, and the level of attention he had been given had not suited his pride. He “went off in a rage,” but his aides calmed him. Washing in the Jordan seven times was no risk. There was no reason not to try it. So Naaman did wash in the river and was healed. The Lord often handles things differently than we would. He gives us instructions that we don’t expect or don’t like. And when we’re arrogant, He’s likely to humble us. But we have to be willing to do things the Lord’s way. It’s the only effective way.
Are you willing to do things God’s way? Or do you tend to reject His way when it doesn’t fit your preferences?
Day Six
Acceptance
Naaman was amazed at his healing. The healing he received was more than he expected. He thought the prophet would erase the spot from him, but his skin became like that of a young boy. He went straight back to the prophet with his declaration of faith: “Now I know that there is no God in all the world except in Israel.” The Aramean commander had experienced the power of the Lord and now knew the God of Israel better than the king of Israel. He offered Elisha some of the riches he had brought with him, but Elisha refused. Naaman asked to take some soil back with him, thinking he would need some Earth from the territory of the Lord to worship the Lord. He also asked Elisha whether the Lord would tolerate him bowing in an idol’s temple when he accompanied his master. Elisha told him to go in peace, allowing him this exemption. It’s a remarkable change in attitude from an arrogant, entitled commander, bristling at Elisha’s instructions, to a new worshiper of Yahweh, humbly asking Elisha for some dirt and permission to continue escorting his idolatrous king.
Meeting the Lord and experiencing His power makes changes in us and our attitudes. What changes have you seen the Lord make in you?