2 Kings 4:8-36, “One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a rich and influential woman lived, who insisted on his eating a meal. Afterward, whenever he passed by, he stopped there for a meal. And she said to her husband, behold now, I perceive that this is a holy man of God who passes by continually. Let us make a small chamber on the [housetop] and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp. Then whenever he comes to us, he can go [up the outside stairs and rest] here. One day he came and turned into the chamber and lay there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, Call this Shunammite. When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to Gehazi, say now to her, you have been most painstakingly and reverently concerned for us; what is to be done for you? Would you like to be spoken for to the king or to the commander of the army? She answered, I dwell among my own people [they are sufficient]. Later Elisha said, what then is to be done for her? GEHAZI ANSWERED, SHE HAS NO CHILD AND HER HUSBAND IS OLD. He said, Call her. [Gehazi] called her, and she stood in the doorway. Elisha said, at this season when the time comes round, YOU SHALL EMBRACE A SON. She said, No, my lord, you man of God, do not lie to your handmaid. BUT THE WOMAN CONCEIVED AND BORE A SON AT THAT SEASON THE FOLLOWING YEAR, AS ELISHA HAD SAID TO HER. When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father with the reapers. BUT HE SAID TO HIS FATHER, MY HEAD, MY HEAD! THE MAN SAID TO HIS SERVANT, CARRY HIM TO HIS MOTHER. AND WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT TO HIS MOTHER, HE SAT ON HER KNEES TILL NOON, AND THEN DIED. And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door upon him and went out. And she called to her husband and said, send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may go quickly to the man of God and come back again. And he said, why go to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath. AND SHE SAID, IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT. Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, ride fast; do not slacken your pace for me unless I tell you. So, she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her afar off, he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite. RUN TO MEET HER AND SAY, IS IT WELL WITH YOU? WELL WITH YOUR HUSBAND? WELL WITH THE CHILD? AND SHE ANSWERED, IT IS WELL. When she came to the mountain to the man of God, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came to thrust her away, but the man of God said, let her alone, FOR HER SOUL IS BITTER AND VEXED WITHIN HER, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. THEN SHE SAID, DID I DESIRE A SON OF MY LORD? Did I not say, do not deceive me? Then he said to Gehazi, gird up your loins and take my staff in your hand and go lay my staff on the face of the child. If you meet any man, do not salute him. If he salutes you, do not answer him. The mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as my soul lives, I will not leave you. And he arose and followed her. Gehazi passed on before them and laid the staff on the child’s face, but the boy neither spoke nor heard. So, he went back to meet Elisha and said to him, the child has not awakened. WHEN ELISHA ARRIVED IN THE HOUSE, THE CHILD WAS DEAD AND LAID UPON HIS BED. So, he went in, shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. He went up and lay on the child, put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself on him and embraced him, THE CHILD’S FLESH BECAME WARM. Then he returned and walked in the house to and fro and went up again and stretched himself upon him. AND THE CHILD SNEEZED SEVEN TIMES, AND THEN OPENED HIS EYES. Then [Elisha] called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So, he called her. AND WHEN SHE CAME, HE SAID, TAKE UP YOUR SON.” (AMPC)
But, before we get to talking about our Great Physician, let us talk about our Scripture above.
The Shunammite Woman did such a wonderful thing for Elisha the Prophet. In return, he asked his servant Gehazi what can be done for her for her kindness. Gehazi notes that she does not have a child. And then the prophecy goes forth that she would embrace a child. In time, she does, a son. I guess you would ask what is so bad about that? Well, nothing is…. until you keep reading. “…When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father with the reapers. BUT HE SAID TO HIS FATHER, MY HEAD, MY HEAD! THE MAN SAID TO HIS SERVANT, CARRY HIM TO HIS MOTHER. AND WHEN HE WAS BROUGHT TO HIS MOTHER, HE SAT ON HER KNEES TILL NOON, AND THEN DIED…” Can you imagine losing a blessing that you did not even ask for in the first place? She did not ask for a son, but she was given one. And in old age no less! She goes from having her LIVE son CARRIED to her to having her DEAD son LAID on her knees. From GOOD too BAD in one moment! How many of us can relate to that?! One moment all is WELL and then in the blink of an eye, all is HELL! That’s like having a job today and standing on the unemployment line tomorrow; having a refrigerator full of food today to standing in line waiting to be next at the soup kitchen tomorrow; from having a clean bill of health to the doctor diagnosing a disease; from a happy marriage to a miserable divorce; from well-adjusted children to pregnant and drug addicted teens; from visiting your parents at home to visiting their graves in the cemetery; from having a best friend to having the worse enemy; from purchasing a house to reading the eviction notice on the front door; from starting a ministry to watching it stop; from opening a business to watching it close; from attending school to dropping out; from expecting a baby to leaving the hospital empty-handed. Truth is, we have all been there, and to tell a harder truth, many of us are STILL there. So, clearly, we can all relate to this woman’s hurt, pain and frustration.
Before we address the above story, listen to this.
Maybe you are in a similar situation. Be it physical, emotional, mental, financial, spiritual, you have many symptoms that you may have thought were small and unimportant and insignificant…at first. However, now a lot more time has passed, and things are not getting BETTER…but WORSE! Well, sometimes our symptoms must get so severe, so painful that we just must finally go to find out what is wrong, and to be healed by the only One who can heal us! However, there are some things that only the Great Physician can fix, heal, make whole and well!
Then, the Bible goes on to say: “…THAT I MAY GO QUICKLY TO THE MAN OF GOD and come back again. And he said, why go to him today? It is neither the New Moon nor the Sabbath. AND SHE SAID, IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT…” For one, I love that as painful as the situation was for her, she immediately went into action. And that action was not to her family and friends, but she went straight to her husband and did not even ask questions or hold a full conversation about what happened. Nope, she went straight to the Man of God. And one of the things we must learn to do is to go straight to God. Not even to family, friends and certainly not to social media or to host a pity party for our feelings/emotions. No, head straight to God! And do so without delay! She not only wanted to get to the Man of God, but the Scripture says: “…THAT I MAY GO QUICKLY…” Enter into prayer with God as quickly as this woman went to enter the presence of the prophet! Do not try to figure anything out, do not listen to any second-hand advice, especially from people who have never walked in the shoes your feet are in. Go straight to God…QUICKLY!
Now another thing to acknowledge is her speech, she says, “…IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT…” Now, how can this woman make such a strong declaration that “…IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT…” and the son just died! I will be the first to tell you that words of faith are not the first words that precede out of my mouth when a life struggle hits. But I am encouraged by this woman to work on changing the declaration of my lips when life hits below the belt. She already spoke a word of faith before she even left the house! She did not even get to the prophet yet, and still she spoke “…IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT…” The term ‘All Right’ is defined as: ‘satisfactory; agreeable; safe; a term of approval; beyond doubt; certainly; fine; good; and WELL,’ She spoke an IT IS WELL, while she was still in the WORST of it! Let this be your encouragement today that you too can speak words of faith that “…IT WILL BE ALL RIGHT…” it is WELL already! Ask God to increase your faith; renew your hope and deepen your trust. Call out to God quickly with everything you have within you! And speak your words of faith BEFORE anything about your situation even changes!
The Bible continues: “…Then she saddled the donkey and said to her servant, RIDE FAST; DO NOT SLACKEN YOUR PACE FOR ME unless I tell you. So, she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel…” Another thing you need to beware of is distractions when you are trying to get to God! Let nothing and no one hinder you from reaching your help in God. And there is a statement that people make that is not necessarily a bad statement, but one you should pay attention to. People will say, ‘I know what that’s like, I’ve been there, I’ve experienced that too.’ They are not being mean at all, and many are really and honestly trying to be of assistance and comfort and encouragement. However, when you have a situation that nobody, but God can fix, do not waste your time listening to the stories about other folks’ tools in their toolbox that they used to fix their situation. No, ignore all distractions and get to God quickly!
And what blesses my soul is not even the son being revived, but listen to the Word of God: “…RUN TO MEET HER AND SAY, IS IT WELL WITH YOU? WELL WITH YOUR HUSBAND? WELL WITH THE CHILD? AND SHE ANSWERED, IT IS WELL…” For the life of me I could not figure out why this woman could respond to the prophet like this, because in my eyes, it was not well at all! No, it was not well with her, she just loss her son; and the husband likewise loss his son as well as his wife just took off to see the prophet and left him back at the house with the dead son; and clearly if the child is dead, there is no way it is well with him! And still she responds: “…IT IS WELL…” Could you respond “…IT IS WELL…” like this even BEFORE the situation changes? Let today be the day that we all increase our words of faith, no matter what we are facing!
One of the things I think really messes us up is our lack of exposing vulnerabilities. Listen to this: “…When she came to the mountain to the man of God, she clung to his feet. Gehazi came to thrust her away, but the man of God said, let her alone, FOR HER SOUL IS BITTER AND VEXED WITHIN HER, and the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. THEN SHE SAID, DID I DESIRE A SON OF MY LORD? Did I not say, do not deceive me?” She stayed on her feet when it first happened, but when she gets to the prophet, her vulnerability and pain are revealed. She clings to his feet. And even the prophet declares that she is bitter and vexed. Yes, we need to speak words of faith, however, do not silence your vulnerable voice either. Yes, get to God, and when you do, do not attempt to put on any airs, be honest with God about everything you are experiencing. All of it! Because there is truthfully no point to coming to God and then not being honest about all you are coming to Him with.
“…The mother of the child said, As the Lord lives and as my soul lives, I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU.” The prophet gave his servant Gehazi an assignment concerning the son, and you would think that the woman would be so happy that the servant had a plan from the prophet to help the son, and so she would cling to servant and head out with him back to the house, but nope! She says, “…I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU.” Listen, you have gone through too much to leave the presence of God now with anyone BUT God! So, what is the prophet’s response? “…And he arose and followed her...”
Now, listen to how all this ends: “…WHEN ELISHA ARRIVED IN THE HOUSE, THE CHILD WAS DEAD AND LAID UPON HIS BED. So, he went in, shut the door on the two of them, and prayed to the Lord. He went up and lay on the child, put his mouth on his mouth, his eyes on his eyes, and his hands on his hands. And as he stretched himself on him and embraced him, THE CHILD’S FLESH BECAME WARM. Then he returned and walked in the house to and for and went up again and stretched himself upon him. AND THE CHILD SNEEZED SEVEN TIMES, AND THEN OPENED HIS EYES. Then [Elisha] called Gehazi and said, Call this Shunammite. So, he called her. AND WHEN SHE CAME, HE SAID, TAKE UP YOUR SON.” (AMPC)
There are times when I am the most impatient person in all the world, especially when I am going through a hard place and need God to fix it! In my head, I left the house, went to the prophet (who represents and speaks on God’s behalf as His mouthpiece), the prophet has returned to my home with me, so surely my son will revive as soon as the prophet walks through the door, but not so! It was a whole process that the prophet went through before the son’s flesh even gets warm. Which is why I love the fact that the prophet went in with the dead son and shut the door on the two of them. Sometimes, not only am I impatient in waiting through the process, but I also want to be in the room so I can micro-manage God! How ridiculous is that?! But what ultimately happens is that at the right time she is called into the room to see that her son is back well, she can once again take up her son. The same son that was carried to her alive, and laid on her and died, would once again be taken up by her hands very much alive yet again. I am so extremely encouraged to know that no matter how WORSE things get, in God’s time He will make ALL THINGS WELL AGAIN, for He still does ALL THINGS WELL!
Embrace the hard times in life, no matter how bad they get. You still serve a particularly good God and there is nothing so bad that He cannot make better…including YOU!
Romans 8:28, “We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose.” (AMPC)
We All Go Through Tough Seasons in Life, Just Remember WHO Is in Charge of The Seasons and Changing Them! When God Speaks Something Is Going to Change!!
Ecclesiastes 3:1-11, “TO EVERYTHING THERE IS A SEASON, AND A TIME FOR EVERY MATTER OR PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN: A time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to pluck up what is planted, A time to kill and a time to heal, a time to break down and a time to build up, A time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, A time to cast away stones and a time to gather stones together, a time to embrace and a time to refrain from embracing, A time to get and a time to lose, a time to keep and a time to cast away, A time to rend and a time to sew, a time to keep silence and a time to speak, A time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace. What profit remains for the worker from his toil? I have seen the painful labor and exertion and miserable business which God has given to the sons of men with which to exercise and busy themselves. HE HAS MADE EVERYTHING BEAUTIFUL IN ITS TIME. He also has planted eternity in men’s hearts and minds [a divinely implanted sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun, but GOD ALONE CAN SATISFY], yet so that men cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” (AMPC)
Jeremiah 30:17, “FOR I WILL RESTORE HEALTH TO YOU, AND I WILL HEAL YOUR WOUNDS, SAYS THE LORD…!” (AMPC)
Let This Be the Year That No Matter What You Face, You Will Face It with the Declaration That it is Already Alright! Even When it Gets Worse, I Know God Will Eventually Make It Well...in His Time, in His Way!
Blessings
J.P. Olson
www.thewordwithjpolson.org
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