These are turbulent times. It is so easy to get our hearts and minds all stirred up about the current situation which reminds me of a unique woman who also was no stranger to these emotions. We know her as the Shunamite Woman.  Her story is found in the bible, in 2 Kings, chapter 4, verses 8-37. 

What a story! Time doesn’t permit me to print out the passage; but it would do you good to look it up and read the whole thing. Today I want to discuss a few key points.

She gave to the Lord without expecting anything in return. She didn’t have any ulterior motive, she just wanted to bless the Man of God, first when she invited him to dinner, and later, when she made a room for him to stay in whenever he was in the area. When Elisha told her that God would give her a child in a year’s time, she said “don’t get my hopes up.”  She hadn’t even been hoping for a child.

She was content with what she had. When Elisha asked what they could do for her, she said “my family takes good care of me.”

God did bless her with a child; but later when tragedy struck, she did two things:

She immediately went to God (in those days, they went to the priest or prophet; but, praise God we live in the dispensation of grace that we can call on God anytime we need to.) …Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need. Hebrews 4:16

She said nothing negative, but spoke in faith. (This is the crux of what I feel God has for us today.) “It will be all right,” she said to her husband.  Most of us would have immediately dumped everything on our husbands! We’d be whining “this is not fair” or “how could God let this happen?”

She had another chance to tell her troubles to Gehazi but again she said everything is fine.  When we get with our friends, it is so tempting to tell them everything that’s wrong!  I’m not saying it’s a bad thing to talk to our friends, it’s good to vent sometimes, but we must be careful to speak in faith.

It is so important to be careful what we say – especially in times of stress.  Our words need to be spoken in faith and with trust in God, KNOWING that He will use the situation to bring about our good, or we can be sowing words to defeat us.  Here are some things the bible has to say about the words we speak:

“May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer “- Psalm 19:4

… “you have been trapped by what you said, ensnared by the words of your mouth,” Proverbs 6:2

“When words are many, sin is not absent, but he who holds his tongue is wise.” Proverbs 10:19 [If we spout off the minute something happens- our words may end up being sinful – accusatory, hateful, even blasphemous]

“Reckless words pierce like a sword, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Proverbs 12:18

“From the fruit of his lips a man enjoys good things, but the unfaithful have a craving for violence. He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”  Proverbs 13:2-3

“Do you see a man who speaks in haste? There is more hope for a fool than for him.” Proverbs 29:20

Back to our story: 

“But when she came to the man of God at the mountain, she fell to the ground before him and caught hold of his feet. Gehazi began to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone.”

She held on tightly to God. How often when tragedy strikes instead of drawing as near to God as we can get, we back off.  Ever notice when someone used to sit near the front at church, was at the altar all the time, in the thick of things, then when they get offended or hurt, they’re in the back row. (No offense to those of you that sit in the back ALL the time.)  They’re sitting in the back because they are almost out the door!     

Did you notice that Gehazi (a believer) tried to push her away?  Sometimes, well-meaning people, maybe one of your brothers or sisters in Christ, might try to dissuade you from standing in faith for something.  They might think that they are doing it in your best interest – trying to keep you from being hurt if God says no.  Don’t let ANYONE keep you from hanging on to God!   She determined that no matter what, she was going to stick close to God:  But the boy’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and you yourself live, I won’t go home unless you go with me.”

She didn’t get her answer right away.  Elisha had to pray for the boy twice before he came back to life.  What if everyone had given up after the first unsuccessful attempt?

To sum it up, in times of trouble, be careful to speak in faith and hold tight to the Lord.

Adapted from a previous post.

All photos created in PicMonkey by Jerralea using personal, family and stock photos. Please do not copy. 

Thanks for dropping by! I want to always share my post, A Ticket Home, for those who might not know the way Home.

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