Topic: Respond To Interruptions With Faith
Text: 2 Kings 4:13-37
Key Verse: And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. – 2 Kings 4:30
Unexpected interruptions require articulate responses. Emotions can becloud our reasoning and make us react incorrectly to the people around us during the event. This is a quick reminder to every believer that you are a tripartite being with a spirit, soul, and body. You are a spiritual man, which implies that you let your spirit drive the response to unexpected events. That way, you will be sensitive to listening to the Holy Spirit as he appropriately guides you to express your faith in the face of trouble or danger.
The woman in our text had received a son in her old age after a long wait for a child because of her benevolence to the Man of God. She didn’t ask of it, as the practice has become, where people are taught to tie specific requests to seeds they sow in the kingdom. She just gave to the Prophet because he was a servant of God, and the Prophet had to look for a need in her life that required heaven’s intervention.
Look for opportunities to meet people’s needs for the kingdom’s sake, and God will take away any source of grief in your life in Jesus’ name.
Suddenly, the enemy struck the child with a headache and ultimately death all in one day. The dead child was upon the knees of the woman, while her knees were at the feet of the Prophet.
Where do you take your dead issues to, man or God? The Prophet was their point of contact with God in their day, not like today when the Lamb of God has opened a way for us into God’s presence to bring our petitions ourselves.
My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us the courage to enter the holiest place in a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself. – Hebrews 10:19-20
Notice the woman’s request to see the Prophet even when the odds were against it. She did not allow anything or anyone to turn her eyes from the place where her faith was rooted.
And she called unto her husband, and said, Send me, I pray thee, one of the young men, and one of the asses, that I may run to the man of God, and come again. And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him today? It is neither the new moon nor the sabbath. And she said, It shall be well. – 2 Kings 4:22-23
When interruptions come, turn your eyes upon Jesus. The song by Helen Lemmel nails it for me: Turn your eyes upon Jesus, Look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, In the light of His glory and grace.
Look for Jesus amid that storm or crisis, and focus your attention on him to receive instruction and clarity on what he wants you to do. Her words reflected her belief system; she believed that everything would be well with God, so she spoke from a place of rest in God’s ability and not in her present circumstances.
She was unconcerned about the why, who was to blame, servants, sickness, demons, etc. She wanted her son back. Your expectation must be rooted in your faith in God.
And the mother of the child said, As the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, I will not leave thee. And he arose and followed her. – 2 Kings 4:30
This is an example of what Hebrews 11:6 means. But without faith, it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him. – Hebrews 11:6
God is a rewarder; her son was restored to her just as she had believed was possible. Sometimes the restoration may not come in the same way we lost it the first time, and many times it doesn’t come as promptly as this woman got hers, remember, the Prophet prayed several times after his deputy had prayed too before the miracle happened. (2 Kings 4:35)
God always has the final say on the outcomes we get in prayer, but we must always respond in faith. They were women who didn’t get their children back, but they never stopped loving or serving God; amid the crisis, what they knew about God\’s goodness, faithfulness, and power did not shake, and they stayed strong in faith to the end.
Some women received their loved ones back from death. Many of these people were tortured, but they refused to be released. They were sure that they would get a better reward when the dead are raised to life. Others were made fun of and beaten with whips, and some were chained in jail. All of them pleased God because of their faith! But still, they died without being given what had been promised. – Hebrews 11:35-36,39
The goal is to please God amid any circumstances. God is faithful to his promises when we trust him; if it does not work out as you expect, it will work out best for you as a child of God.
Prayer
Father, help me keep my eyes on you and not on the issues; help me see Jesus, Emmanuel, present with me in the situation. Deliver me from responding in fear, anger, or sadness but rather make me strong in faith to face the day. I need your help Lord, as l wait to see the outcomes of my faith in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Pastor Ada
Photo by Jordan Whitt on Unsplash