30/08/2023
SAY “IT IS WELL”
So it was, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to his servant Gehazi, “Look, the Shunammite woman! Please run now to meet her, and say to her, ‘Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband? Is it well with the child?’” And she answered, “It is well.” 2 KINGS 4:25–26
She had given up all hope that she would ever have a child.
But everything changed the day prophet Elisha looked at her and said, “About this time next year you shall embrace a son.”
Surprised by the prophet’s words, the woman forgot all decorum and blurted, “No, my lord. Man of God, do not lie to your maidservant!”
But just as Elisha had prophesied, she soon conceived and a year later held her miracle child.
The beloved boy grew up and was the joy of the household.
But one morning, while accompanying his father who was working with the harvesters, the young boy suddenly cried out that his head was hurting.
So the father instructed a servant to carry him home, where his mother held him on her lap.
Then the unthinkable happened.
As his mother gently stroked his head, the boy fell unconscious and died.
The woman was deeply distressed by the sudden and inexplicable turn of events, but she did not tell anyone what had happened.
Instead she carried her little boy to the upper room that she and her husband had constructed for Elisha and laid him on the prophet’s bed.
She then asked her husband for a donkey so that she could hurry to the man of God and come back.
When her husband asked, “Why are you going to him today?” she simply replied, “IT IS WELL.”
As she approached Elisha’s home on Mount Carmel, the prophet saw her in the distance and sent Gehazi to run to her and ask her, “Is it well with you? Is it well with your husband?
Is it well with the child?”
Once again, she said, “IT IS WELL.”
But the moment she came before Elisha, she fell at his feet.
Elisha followed her back to her home, prayed to the Lord, and supernaturally raised her precious boy back to life (see 2 Kings 4:8–37).
LESSON:
Confronting the toughest challenge of her life, the Shunammite woman held back the turmoil in her heart over the death of her child and spoke contrary to her natural circumstances.
Outwardly everything was not well. Yet she kept saying to herself and the people around her, “It is well. It is well.”
She didn’t speak what she saw; she spoke what she wanted to see.
She kept her eyes and her faith on God, and believed with all her heart that in God, all things were well and would work out for her good.
And indeed, the Bible records how the Lord moved in her circumstances through Elisha and she received her son back—very much alive.
My friend, you may be going through some adversity in your life even as you are reading this.
It is my prayer that you be encouraged by these stories and start speaking well over your current challenge.
Refrain your lips from speaking evil.
Declare, “It is well, in Jesus’ name.”
Many times, the simplest prayers are the most powerful prayers.
If you have suffered a great loss, or are going through a very challenging season in your life, please know that I am by no means dismissing what you are going through.
I have personally suffered the loss of a loved one and I know how unbearable the pain can be.
But I humbly encourage you to strengthen yourself in the Lord and declare, “It is well. It is well. It is well.”
Know that because you are the Lord’s, you can stand firm and stand strong upon His faithfulness to bring healing and restoration in your life.
God bless you! 😊🙏
