Ride Of Faith

Have you ever known someone who inspired you because of their perseverance? Someone who chose never to give up, despite whatever difficult situations they were facing? Someone who knew everything would end up working out great for them despite how things appeared to be? Someone who trusted in God so much they didn’t allow themselves to give into negativity or depression? People like that are amazing and yet God calls each of us to get to that point-the point of faith and perseverance. The story of the Shunammite’s son dying and then being resurrected is a story of faith, trust and perseverance. The Bible does not give us this woman’s name or the names of her family- just that she lived in a town called Shunem with her husband. They noticed a man of God named Elisha passing through their town a lot and persuaded him to eat with them whenever he was able. After some time, this woman told her husband that they needed to set up a room for Elisha when he was passing through, so he could rest from his journey. Elisha agreed to let them do this for him. One day Elisha asked his servant Gehazi to call this woman to him and ask her what he could do for her in return for her kindness to him. He asked her if she wanted him to talk to the King for her or the captain of the army. She refused anything like that and Gehazi told Elisha that this woman had no children and that her husband was old. Elisha then goes on to tell the woman that she will have a child and that it would be a boy. This woman could not believe it and said to Elisha “No, my Lord, O man of God, do not lie to your maidservant.” This woman eventually conceived a child and gave birth to a son at that next season just as Elisha had told her. The Bible then goes on to say that when the child was grown he went to his father and said, “My head, my head.” The father told his servant to take the boy to his mother which he did, and the boy sat on his mother’s lap until noon and then died. This mother then took her dead son to Elisha’s room and placed him upon his bed, closed the door and left. She called to her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may run to the man of God and return.” Her husband didn’t understand why she was doing this and all she said back to him was “It will be well.” She then saddled her donkey and told her servant “Drive and go forward and do not slow down the pace unless I tell you.” As she was riding toward Elisha he saw her in the distance and told his servant Gehazi to go to her and ask her if everything is well with her and her family. Her reply to him was “It is well.” When she finally got to Elisha she grabbed a hold of Elisha’s feet and said “Did I ask for a son from my Lord? Did I not say, do not deceive me?” Elisha then knew something was wrong with her son and he told Gehazi to go up ahead of them and to lay his staff upon the boy’s face. Gehazi did exactly what Elisha had told him to do, and yet no response came from the boy, and he went and told Elisha. When Elisha got to the boy he went into the room alone, closed the door behind him and prayed unto the Lord. Then he went and laid upon the child and put his mouth, eyes, hands upon the boy’s mouth, eyes and hands and stretched himself on the boy and the flesh of the boy became warm. Then Elisha walked in the house once back and forth and went up and stretched himself again on the boy, and the boy sneezed 7 times and opened his eyes. Elisha then tells Gehazi to get the boy’s mother, and when she came in Elisha tells her to “Take up your son.” She then bows herself to the ground and took her son and went out. The resurrection of this child is miraculous, but so is the faith of this woman. Imagine not asking for a child and then to be given a son. She was blessed with a child because of her kindness to Elisha. What an unexpected blessing she received and to then have this child, her only child, die. Her heart had to have been ripped out at that moment. The amazing thing though is she didn’t start to make funeral arrangements or even tell her husband. It does not even say she was weeping or in despair because of her child’s death. What happens is that she tells her husband “It will be well.” And then tells Elisha “It is well.” This woman had great faith and was not going to give up on what God had given her no matter how devastating it looked. She laid her only son down upon the Prophet Elisha’s bed and took off to find Elisha, because she knew that he could help her- which is why she said, “It will be well.” How many of us have been given something from God- a vision, a dream, a promise and then it seems to be dead. That nothing is happening and so it must not be true for us. It seems like it will never happen for us and we completely let it die because we give up. Instead we need to say within ourselves “No matter what this may appear to look like it will be well- it IS well.” To run to God and grab a hold of him and not let go. To know that He will help us and will never let what He has given us die. This woman had no time to waste. She didn’t sit around mourning and fall into a depression preparing him for burial. This woman took a ride of faith that led her to Elisha and got the help she needed. Oh, what an example of faith, trust, and perseverance she is to each of us. God has given each of us a role to perform- a vision, a dream to fulfill for His kingdom and He will bring it to pass in our lives. Despite whatever seemingly has come to destroy that vision- do not give up! Know that “It will be well” because it is from God and He will perform it. We need to have great faith and perseverance running to God because truly that is all we have. We serve a God that nothing is impossible too. So, saddle up and take a ride of faith towards whatever God has given you. Hang on to it and to God and watch Him breath a new on you and the dream He has given you.

Weekly Take Away:

When you know that you know God has made something very clear to you hang onto it. Do not let waiting a long time for it come to pass as a indication that it wont. Sometimes God has to put many things in place first, and perhaps also other people, and most assuredly he will use the waiting time to teach you more about Him and yourself if you let him!!

So ' give up...take that ride of faith and be determined to see it through till the end.