It is Well

I was reading my morning devotion and came across the familiar passage of the Shunammite woman that had her husband build a little chamber for the man of God, Elisha, to rest in on his travels.  This passage always shows me something new every time I read it.

Have you ever noticed what this lady said to her husband after the lad died?  She said "It shall be well." (II Kings 4:23)  What faith in God!  Notice again what she said to the Gehazi, Elisha's servant:  "It is well."  (verse 26).

Have you ever wondered what caused this lady to change her opinion?  Something happened to cause her opinion to turn from hopeful, to decided; from hesitant, to confident.  When she started her journey, God must have seemed so far away.  Her future must have seem uncertain, her reality turned upside down.  What happened to that dear lady in this apparently short journey?

I think several things happened.  First, she didn't wait.  Have you ever paid attention to what her husband said to her?  In verse 23, he asks why she wants to go to the man of God as it was not the new moon nor the sabbath.  He was basically saying, it isn't church time, why are you going to church?  The Shunammite woman had a problem that couldn't wait!  Many of us wait to take our problems to the Lord and that works against us.  The boy was dead!  That is a pretty urgent issue.  She was not going to wait to take her petition to the Lord, and neither should we.

Secondly, she exercised her faith.  In this passage, we never find that Elisha invited her to his home.  In fact, the only interactions they have is at the Shunammite's home.  This dear lady put her faith in action and decided to grab the bull by the horns.  I can almost picture the stubborn set of her jaw, the fire in her eyes, and the determined way she gazed at the horizon. She was going to see Elisha and nothing was going to get in her way.  Too many times, we allow our faith to lapse and we accept defeat at the hand of the enemy.  Do you realize what this woman did?  She left her son, dead, on the bed.  She didn't take time to mourn or weep or rail at God.  She was too busy exercising her faith!

Thirdly, she was persistent.  She only had three words for Gehazi.  "It is well."  I can almost hear her saying "Get out of my way."  She did not stop halfway, she did not stop at the door, she went in to the man of God and gave her petition.  Elisha sent the servant to the child.  This dear lady said something that spoke volumes to her faith and her persistence--"As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee."  What commitment!  She could have given up both on the man of God and on God, but she didn't!

We know the rest of the story; Elisha comes to the home of the Shunammite and and raises the boy from the dead.  What victory!  What glory!

What do you have in your life that is dead?  Have you put off dealing with something that has caused your faith to wither?  The only way to deal with problems and issues that face us is to be like this dear lady.  Be quick to act, be faithful and be persistent.

Is it no wonder that the scriptures tell us to "come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need." (Hebrews 4:16) 

Nothing would aggravate my Mom more than someone coming to a complete stop before turning to the right off of the main road.  She would always say, "What are you waiting for, an engraved invitation?"  We have been given an engraved invitation; why are we waiting to use it?

It is well.