This Boy’s Life“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 4:26) In the 1993 movie This Boy’s Life starring Robert De Niro and the young Leonardo Di Caprio, a mother and her young son left an abusive boyfriend to find a new life in Seattle, only to marry a garage mechanic who turned out to be an abusive alcoholic. That may be Hollywood’s version, and Hugh Grant may have done something About a Boy, but the Bible has a much better story of this boy’s life in the Book of Second Kings. The prophet Elisha often would travel through Shunem, and in that town there was a notable woman who extended hospitality to him. At first, she offered Elisha food when he came through town. Then, seeing that Elisha needed a place to stay and study the Word of God, she told her husband to build an upper room for him above their house with a bed, table, chair and lampstand so that each time he came through town, he had a place to stay and to read. Elisha was so appreciative of their kindness that one day he asked the Shunammite woman what he could do for her. She didn't ask for anything but Elisha's servant Gehazi informed him that she was childless and her husband was old. Elisha then told her, “About this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” (2 Kings 4:16) And as prophesied by the man of God, the woman conceived and a year later the boy arrived. One day the father was reaping in the field, and the boy became ill with a severe head pain and died. The woman ran to meet Elisha and when he asked what was wrong, she did not panic and react in fear. Her response to Elisha was eerily unnatural. “It is well,” she said, it’s all good even though her boy just died. Elisha went to the boy, laid on him and raised him from the dead. (2 Kings 4:34-35) It was a glorious miracle that demonstrated the resurrection power of God. Faith looks at situations through God’s eyes, not the eyes of our limited human understanding. The woman did not retreat to the Panic Room like Jodie Foster, for she looked through the eyes of faith and not her circumstance. Faith does not panic, but realizes that what looks like devastating circumstances is actually God’s plan to bring glory to Himself by demonstrating His power. When Jesus walked on the water to the disciples in the fourth watch of the night, they thought he was a ghost (Matthew 14:26) They were so scared they couldn’t even call Ghostbusters. First appearances can bring such fear upon us even to the point of paralyzing us. Instead of doing something fishy like Finding Nemo, we need to find God in our circumstances. The lesson here is we need to exercise our faith as we spend time in the Word of God and trust God for His outcome in the situation no matter how painful it may be.Copyright © 2003 Eddy Ministries. All rights reserved. Subscribe/Unsubscribe: eddyn@earthlink.net
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