Trust God
2nd Kings 8
Learning to trust in God can be hard at some points in our life. We may think that we can not endure what the future has but God says, “You will.” We come again to the story of the Shunammite woman who showed kindness to the prophet of God, Elisha. They built him a house to stay in when he was in town. The woman was without a child and God gave her a child. That child one day became sick and died. God used Elisha to bring the child back to life. She has had her tough times as well as good times. In this chapter we see that Elisha warned her and her family that there was going to be a famine in the land and they may want to think about moving for a few years.
The book of 2nd Kings can be a little confusing because it is not always in chronological order. The events in this chapter take place before chapter 5 but after chapter 4.
Trust in God:
The Shunammite woman took the advice of Elisha and left town. She waited seven years for the famine to be over. When she returned she went to the king and asked for her house and property to be given back. We do not know if there was a struggle or if she had to protest a lot to get her stuff back but what we do see is the stuff that Elisha did was going to help her situation out.
The king asked Elisha’s servant for him to tell him all about the stuff Elisha has done. This was a chance for the servant to brag about all the miracles of God. I am sure all the stuff that was recorded in chapter 4 was talked about as well as things that we do not know about. When Gehazi the servant was telling him about how he brought a woman’s son back to life, that woman and son came into the king’s court. THis was a “Why don’t you ask them” moment. They were able to first hand explain what God did through Elisha. Because of their testimony they were able to have their land and house back. Because of God working through a faithful man, they were able to trust in Him and receive their stuff.
Do you trust in God? We can look at the life of this woman. She was wealthy, she was kind, compassionate, and hospitable. She saw that Elisha was a man of God and wanted to serve God by taking care of his prophet. She went from being childless to fruitful with a son. All of that was going to change. The son became sick and died. But, God was not done he had more to show her. The son was brought back to life and life continued. We do not know how long of time went from chapter 4 to this chapter. We could say, “Haven’t they been through enough?” Why do they have to leave their home and possessions, “Can’t God take care of them there?” The truth is, God had been taking care of them from the beginning. He was taking care of them from the time of having no son to having one, from losing him for a moment to leaving town.
God was not going to leave them high and dry. God works out everything for good (Romans 8:28). God has a future and a hope (Jeremiah 29:11). I truly trust God that he is working out everything for my wife and I. I truly trust God that even when the bad stuff happens, God is still in control. I truly trust that God will show himself to the world and people will see his glory and realize Jesus is the Savior of the world. Trust the Lord (Proverbs 3:5-6). In you God do we put our trust (Psalm 7:1). We trust in the name of the Lord and not in the works of men (Psalm 20:7). We trust the promises of God (Proverbs 30:5).
