Unlikely Friendship: Speaking Over Old Promisesনমুনা

The son the Shunammite Woman and her husband were promised in 2 Kings 4:16 had grown older by the time we get to verse 18. But this isn’t a fairy tale, and the story doesn’t end happily ever after as we have been conditioned to believe.

Unfortunately, her boy fell ill while working in the field with his father one day and passed away on her lap.

What do you do when old promises seem to lead to dead ends? When things you thought were undeniable expressions of favor from the Lord feel hollow?

You take a note from the Shunammite Woman who called her servant, ordered the donkey be brought out, encouraged her husband that all was well, and drove straight to Elisha, the prophet, who had delivered the promise from the Lord that she would have a son.

I'm grateful that she teaches us when the promise comes from the Lord, the solutions to the problems do, too.

The Shunammite Woman could have gone anywhere, defeated that the man of God had failed her. Instead, she recognized that God was the only one who could fulfill the promise, and He was also the only one who could fix it.

I'd like to share that the problem was solved immediately, but it wasn't. When Elisha sent his servant Gehazi to meet her and ask if all was well, she replied politely that it was — until she got to the prophet himself. There, she clung to his feet in desperation because all was not well.

When Gehazi went to push her away, Elisha replied that the Lord had hidden it from him. It's here that my pastor taught me that you must be in relationship for the Lord to reveal some things to you.

She could have easily chosen offense because Elisha’s promise appeared to fail her, and on top of that, he had done nothing about it. Instead, she chose to press past the opportunity to be offended.

She told him about her problem and then persisted that he be the one to attend to it, not his servant. In fact, she even repeated the words Elisha had spoken to his own mentor, Elijah, before Elijah was taken up to Heaven in 2 Kings 2. She told him that as surely as the Lord lives and as he lived, she would not leave him.

Can I admit I've acted petty in my friendships in the past? Offended that my friends didn't realize what I was dealing with or even bother to ask, I built barrier after barrier to block them out.

But it's here we learn Godly friendship fights past offense.

The Word tells us, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8 NIV). It's my prayer that we would learn to do this more intentionally every day. Praise God for the friendships who speak life over promises that look dead.

As we prepare to end our session, I’m grateful to announce that her boy was revived. It was the persistence and power she found in friendship with the Lord and His servant, Elisha, that did that. May we all persist as she did.

Questions for Reflection

• When was the last time you ended a friendship because you were offended?
• Is there an opportunity for reconciliation? If not, what can you do to avoid ending a friendship over offense in the future?
• Who in your life do you feel the Lord leading you to encourage today?

Prayer

Dear God,

I thank You, Jesus, that You came so that I might have abundant life. Today, I praise You for the friendships that remind me of Your faithfulness.

My God, I ask You to soften my heart in the areas where I am easily offended, and I thank You for every person You have blessed me to do life with. Make Your presence known in each of the friendships You’ve positioned me to enjoy, and help me to persist when pursuing Your promise grows tiring.

I thank You for reviving dead areas in my life, and I choose to look to You for every answer to my problems, knowing all power lies in Your hands. Amen.