I was thinking about how do we react when we feel the pressures of life and was reminded of the story in the Bible about a Shumanite woman in 2 Kings 4.
The Shumanite woman had a pure heart of service and was given the promise of a son. She was a humble woman and also a woman of great faith.
The Story unfolds in three parts:
The Promise
There is the promise of a son for her service to the man of God. “About this season, according to the time of life, thou shalt embrace a son.” 2 Kings 4”16.
Jesus gave a promise to Nicodemus in saying if he is not born again, he shall not see the kingdom of God. Jesus also promised His return. One of the most beautiful promises in the Word is the promise of a ministry.
He that abideth in me, and I in Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. John 15:5
We all have the promise of much fruit in Christ and we all have a ministry planned by the Lord for His Kingdom and His work. When we are born again, the Lord starts to use us in His Kingdom. Sometimes, however our minds start to play a part in the ministry of the Lord.
“And he said unto his father, My head, My head.” 2 Kings 4: 19.
When we try to run the ministry of the Lord in our own understanding we stand to lose the promise of much fruit. The Lord then lifts His hand and his anointing from our ministry. The challenge is then how will we react. The Lord wants pure hearts and there needs to be a time of purging so we can come to the promise of much fruit.
The Road
When the Shumanite woman heard of the death of her promised son, she did not stop to talk.
“that I may run to the man of God…” 2 Kings 4:22.
What do we do when the purging comes. When the time comes where the Lords wants to cut of our mind and our flesh from His ministry. Do I stop on the road to talk (or gossip)? Do I tell everyone around me that the promised son has died and how unfair it is. Do I share my feelings of hurt and brokenness with everyone on the road. Do I take the corpse of what was purged by the Lord and show it to my husband and everyone on the road.
So many times we take that which the Lord is purging from our lives and put it on display for the world. We want to talk about our feelings and talk about the corpse of our flesh. When our reaction should be to not even talk to my husband about the dead son and rush back to Jesus.
The Shumanite woman’s reaction to her husband was “It shall be well”. Whenever we are going through a trial of purification and purging, we must rush back to the feet of Jesus with the declaration on our lips:
“It shall be well!”
The Resurrection
When coming to the man of God, the Shumanite woman made a faith-declaration by saying:
“It is well.”
If I rush back to Jesus, I step out in faith believing that it is already done. All is well.
The boy was resurrected by Elisha in the inner room, with the door locked. That is where the Lord will resurrect the promise of much fruit. In our inner room, with the door locked. That which He has before ordained, will be fulfilled in us if we allow Him to resurrect our ministries unto Him. The Fruit is His, not ours. He wants our submission and servant hearts. The rest… He will do. We should allow Him to purge our minds from His ministry and resurrect it through His Spirit unto His perfect will and plan. When we step out in faith during a time of purging, the Lord will reward us with His peace and there will be much fruit in the ministry of the Lord.
Let us not stop to talk on the way back to Jesus, but rush back to His feet to receive the promise.
Let us always walk with a faith-declaration “It is well!” on our lips, no matter the circumstances.
Mariska du Plessis
