August 11 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading:

2 Kings 4:18-37

¹⁸And when the child was grown, it fell on a day, that he went out to his father to the reapers.
¹⁹And he said unto his father, My head, my head. And he said to a lad, Carry him to his mother.
²⁰And when he had taken him, and brought him to his mother, he sat on her knees till noon, and then died.
²¹And she went up, and laid him on the bed of the man of God, and shut the door upon him, and went out.
²²And 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.
²³And he said, Wherefore wilt thou go to him to day? it is neither new moon, nor sabbath. And she said, It shall be well.
²⁴Then she saddled an ass, and said to her servant, Drive, and go forward; slack not thy riding for me, except I bid thee.
²⁵So she went and came unto the man of God to mount Carmel. And it came to pass, when the man of God saw her afar off, that he said to Gehazi his servant, Behold, yonder is that Shunammite:
²⁶Run now, I pray thee, to meet her, and say unto her, Is it well with thee? is it well with thy husband? is it well with the child? And she answered, It is well:
²⁷And when she came to the man of God to the hill, she caught him by the feet: but Gehazi came near to thrust her away. And the man of God said, Let her alone; for her soul is vexed within her: and the LORD hath hid it from me, and hath not told me.
²⁸Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord? did I not say, Do not deceive me?
²⁹Then he said to Gehazi, Gird up thy loins, and take my staff in thine hand, and go thy way: if thou meet any man, salute him not; and if any salute thee, answer him not again: and lay my staff upon the face of the child.
³⁰And 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.
³¹And Gehazi passed on before them, and laid the staff upon the face of the child; but there was neither voice, nor hearing. Wherefore he went again to meet him, and told him, saying, The child is not awaked.
³²And when Elisha was come into the house, behold, the child was dead, and laid upon his bed.
³³He went in therefore, and shut the door upon them twain, and prayed unto the LORD.
³⁴And he went up, and lay upon the child, and put his mouth upon his mouth, and his eyes upon his eyes, and his hands upon his hands: and stretched himself upon the child; and the flesh of the child waxed warm.
³⁵Then he returned, and walked in the house to and fro; and went up, and stretched himself upon him: and the child sneezed seven times, and the child opened his eyes.
³⁶And he called Gehazi, and said, Call this Shunammite. So he called her. And when she was come in unto him, he said, Take up thy son.
³⁷Then she went in, and fell at his feet, and bowed herself to the ground, and took up her son, and went out.

Devotional:

To be long childless, then to have a child, then to lose him! What a deep sorrow! But the Shunammite woman's faith did not waver. She did not sit down and mourn. She knew that the God who could give her this son could restore him to her if He so chose.

She asked her husband for a servant and a donkey. She saddled the donkey. Off they went at full speed to find her prophet-friend.

God gave Elisha the power to restore life to the lad. The mother fell at the prophet's feet and bowed herself to the ground in gratitude. Then she took up her son and went out.

God sometimes sees fit to take our children today. We do not expect Him to raise them from the dead. But we must be as sure of our God as this woman was. We must submit to His wise providence and bow down before Him. In the words of Job, 'The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord' Job 1:21).

The God of Elisha and of the Shunammite woman is the living God, the God of resurrection. He is ever 'the Resurrection and the Life.' Do we have a son or daughter who is dead spiritually? O God, give us the faith and vigor of this woman 'to run' to You for the life of this dead child!