2 Kings 4:28 

New International Version (NIV)

“Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”

For Meditation

Yes, she was a woman of substance, yet she had a heart for hospitality, and a discerning spirit to inform and protect it. She did what she had to do for the traveling prophet – a room equipped for rest and study without expecting anything back. But the prophet insisted, and God gave her a son she came to delight in.

So, why has God taken him away? Why has God broken the Shunammite woman’s heart over the death of her only son at such a tender age? Did she ask for the boy? Didn’t she tell Elisha not to raise her hope?

Why is she not crying? Why so calm, controlled, and calculating?

Where is she going now with the servant on the mule? What can the prophet on Mt Carmel do? Why bother him (2 Kings 4:24-25)?

But, have you considered her faith, like that of her father Abraham, who “reasoned that God could even raise the dead, and so in a manner of speaking he did receive Isaac back from death” (Heb. 11:19)? Look how insistent she is, that Elisha come with her to her dead son on his bed. How could Elisha resist such a plea? Why wouldn’t God listen to the cry of the woman and the intense intercessory prayer of Elisha over the boy (2 Kings 4:32-35)?

Maybe you have a similar experience to share, so let me ask you. What did you do when the news hit? How are you dealing with it? Maybe, yours is not a child that has been so cruelly taken from you. Nevertheless, it’s equally painful and disappointing. It may be a marriage you patiently waited for a long time that has suddenly turned sour and folded as quickly as it happened. It could be a dream job you finally landed, but suddenly the company has folded, and your dream for a good and stable future has quickly faded away. It could even be a promise you virtually tasted but has quickly slipped away because somebody got transferred or lost their job. Whatever your experience, it’s equally shocking, and you think God has dealt you with an unfair hand. You’re lost about yourself and can’t listen to any comforting word from a friend.

May I suggest you consider the attitude of the Shunammite woman when her son died and draw some encouragement from it? Consider her steady arms and unflinching faith. Try her persistent plea to God through Elisha, the man through whom God blessed her with the child. See how God answered her prayer and restore her dead son to life. How can God look away from you concerning your similar situation if you hold your faith up in prevailing prayer for His intervention? Yet, consider God’s sovereignty, and give Him praise whatever happens.

He’s faithful and kind.

Shalom