Happy Saint Patrick’s day to one and all!
THAT TIME has passed, OR HAS IT? 2 Kings 4
Elisha had his servant, Gehazi, call the Shunamite woman to his upper room (Jesus’ disciples also waited in an upper room for the coming of the Holy Spirit).
12 He said to his servant Gehazi, ‘Call the Shunammite.’ So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, ‘Tell her, “You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?”’
She replied, ‘I have a home among my own people.’
14 ‘What can be done for her?’ Elisha asked.
Gehazi said, ‘She has no son, and her husband is old.’
Elisha, the man of God, offered the woman two similar choices, namely, can we speak to someone in authority on your behalf? LIFE OFFERS US CHOICES AND OUR RESPONSE TO THEM SHOWS OUR HEARTS. A man of God presented this woman, who’d helped him, with a chance to get something for herself, but she refused. There’s no value in taking something offered to us if we don’t need it and the Shunammite lady declined.
Elisha seemed at a loss to know what to do for her, but the answer came through his servant’s practical observation. God often guides us through circumstances and not always by spiritual direction. We shouldn’t overlook the obvious when we’re seeking guidance in our lives; if there’s an obvious way try it and keep looking to God.
This Shunammite woman had a need so deep and personal that she didn’t or wouldn’t even mention it; she had no son.
15 Then Elisha said, ‘Call her.’ So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 ‘About this time next year,’ Elisha said, ‘you will hold a son in your arms.’
‘No, my lord!’ she objected. ‘Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!’ THIS WAS A SORE POINT FOR HER!
17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her.
The woman COULDN’T BELIEVE THE WORDS of Elisha and there’s nothing to tell us what happened after he spoke those words to her, but A YEAR LATER God blessed her with a son. Some of us may have received a genuine offer of something but deep down it’s not really what we want or need. May I suggest that we turn to God, who knows all things and seek that which our hearts truly long for. The Shunammite may not have believed, but God blessed her faithfulness. Hallelujah We can’t put our lives on hold indefinitely and if the answer hasn’t been birthed, BEGUN TO APPEAR AFTER ONE YEAR, give it back to the Lord and move on.
Give some thought to what you’re asking as it could change the course of your life.
May the Lord bless you as He blessed this lady. He has no favourites and you are as important to Him as any of His children.
God bless and keep you today.