Dear Friend,
So I came across the
story of the Shunammite woman some days ago during my quiet time and after studying
it much more, came to see it in a new light. I hope you are able to come to the
point she came to where she could say that ‘It is well’ even in a painful
situation. The story can be
found in 2 Kings 4:8-37 but my focus is on verse 26 (King James Version) which says, "Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well:". Here are
some thoughts/lessons from this story.
I admire the calmness of the Shunem
woman from the moments of her son’s sickness to the moment he died. She didn’t panic.
The Bible does not account for her beginning to doubt the promises of the Lord
concerning her child. She remained calm. Even in the midst of chaos, her faith
remained steady.
It still baffles me that she kept
saying “It is well”, “Everything is alright”, (NLT version) throughout the
entire situation. I mean who does that?! This is a woman who had no child but
then eventually became blessed with a miracle child as a result of her service
to the man of God Elisha, only for her to lose this same child a few years
later. Hmmm!
I think her repeated affirmation that “It
is well” was a sign of faith on her part. She was speaking by faith, believing
that God who gave her that child would bring him back to life again. She did
not bother sending news around that her son was dead. Instead, she immediately
sought for the man of God. And it was only when she got to him that she finally
opened up and exposed her true emotions. What do I do when faced with bad news?
Do I run around crying to human or do I immediately run to my closet and pour
out my heart in prayer?
This woman was a relentless woman. She
insisted that the prophet return with her even when he sent his servant ahead
of him with his staff to lay on the child. Her relentless efforts were rewarded
when her son was brought back to life by God’s mighty power.
The writer of the famous hymn ‘It is
Well’ Horatio
G. Spafford, wrote that hymn after losing his four daughters to a sunken ship. What faith
to still say it is well in such distress! You may read the full story here:
https://www.umcdiscipleship.org/resources/history-of-hymns-it-is-well-with-my-soul
How do I respond to chaotic
situations around me? Am I calm and collected through it or am I busy
complaining and doubting God’s Word? At such moments, I must put aside calling
on any man to help me and run straight to God for help. Most importantly, I must
hold on to my faith firmly during such situations. It is my faith that causes
me to have the courage to say that “IT IS WELL”, even in the well. I must speak
by faith the results I desire even in a chaotic situation because there is
power in the tongue! God is the expert of turning chaotic situations into a
testimony service. He is my unchangeable changer of humanly unchangeable
situations. Halleluyah.
I leave us with words of the hymn ‘It
is Well’:
- When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
When sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well with my soul.- Refrain:
It is well with my soul,
It is well, it is well with my soul.
- Refrain:
- Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,
Let this blest assurance control,
That Christ hath regarded my helpless estate,
And hath shed His own blood for my soul. - My sin—oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!—
My sin, not in part but the whole,
Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,
Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! - For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:
If Jordan above me shall roll,
No pang shall be mine, for in death as in life
Thou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul. - But, Lord, ’tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,
The sky, not the grave, is our goal;
Oh, trump of the angel! Oh, voice of the Lord!
Blessed hope, blessed rest of my soul! - And Lord, haste the day when the faith shall be sight,
The clouds be rolled back as a scroll;
The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend,
Even so, it is well with my soul. - http://library.timelesstruths.org/music/It_Is_Well_with_My_Soul/
#selah
In Christ,
Shanpepe.
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