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The Language of Faith
  • I Am Free
  • Raise A Hallelujah
  • Gonna Be Alright
  • I Speak Jesus
  • I Exalt Thee
  • I have a bad habit of answering people when they ask, “how are you?” with “I’m fine.”
    I think many of us probably answer this way. We don’t want to explain how we are actually doing or we just don’t want to have a long conversation with the person that asked. Other times we are just pretending to be Okay.
    But the Shunammite woman in 2 Kings chapter 4 wasn’t pretending. She knew her son was dead. Yet when asked how things were, she replied, “Everything is all right.”
    She wasn’t speaking denial. She was speaking in genuine faith.
    There is a distinct difference between lying about your situation and trusting God with your situation. Lying says, “Nothing is wrong,” when everything is wrong. Faith says, “Something is wrong, but I know God is greater than what is wrong.” Faith never asks us to ignore reality. It asks us to look beyond reality to the God who has authority over it.
    Let’s look at this story in 2 Kings 4:8-37
    2 Kings 4:8–37 NIV
    8 One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.” 11 One day when Elisha came, he went up to his room and lay down there. 12 He said to his servant Gehazi, “Call the Shunammite.” So he called her, and she stood before him. 13 Elisha said to him, “Tell her, ‘You have gone to all this trouble for us. Now what can be done for you? Can we speak on your behalf to the king or the commander of the army?’ ” She replied, “I have a home among my own people.” 14 “What can be done for her?” Elisha asked. Gehazi said, “She has no son, and her husband is old.” 15 Then Elisha said, “Call her.” So he called her, and she stood in the doorway. 16 “About this time next year,” Elisha said, “you will hold a son in your arms.” “No, my lord!” she objected. “Please, man of God, don’t mislead your servant!” 17 But the woman became pregnant, and the next year about that same time she gave birth to a son, just as Elisha had told her. 18 The child grew, and one day he went out to his father, who was with the reapers. 19 He said to his father, “My head! My head!” His father told a servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 After the servant had lifted him up and carried him to his mother, the boy sat on her lap until noon, and then he died. 21 She went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God, then shut the door and went out. 22 She called her husband and said, “Please send me one of the servants and a donkey so I can go to the man of God quickly and return.” 23 “Why go to him today?” he asked. “It’s not the New Moon or the Sabbath.” “That’s all right,” she said. 24 She saddled the donkey and said to her servant, “Lead on; don’t slow down for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When he saw her in the distance, the man of God said to his servant Gehazi, “Look! There’s the Shunammite! 26 Run to meet her and ask her, ‘Are you all right? Is your husband all right? Is your child all right?’ ” “Everything is all right,” she said. 27 When she reached the man of God at the mountain, she took hold of his feet. Gehazi came over to push her away, but the man of God said, “Leave her alone! She is in bitter distress, but the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me why.” 28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?” 29 Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take my staff in your hand and run. Don’t greet anyone you meet, and if anyone greets you, do not answer. Lay my staff on the boy’s face.” 30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her. 31 Gehazi went on ahead and laid the staff on the boy’s face, but there was no sound or response. So Gehazi went back to meet Elisha and told him, “The boy has not awakened.” 32 When Elisha reached the house, there was the boy lying dead on his couch. 33 He went in, shut the door on the two of them and prayed to the Lord. 34 Then he got on the bed and lay on the boy, mouth to mouth, eyes to eyes, hands to hands. As he stretched himself out on him, the boy’s body grew warm. 35 Elisha turned away and walked back and forth in the room and then got on the bed and stretched out on him once more. The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes. 36 Elisha summoned Gehazi and said, “Call the Shunammite.” And he did. When she came, he said, “Take your son.” 37 She came in, fell at his feet and bowed to the ground. Then she took her son and went out.
    Let’s take a look at some facts from this story.
    Remember, I said there was a distinct difference between lying about your situation and trusting God about your situation.

    Lying ignores the facts. Faith acknowledges the facts.

    The Shunammite woman didn’t deny that her son had died. She laid his body on Elisha’s bed. She saddled a donkey. She traveled to find the prophet. Every action she took acknowledged the seriousness of the situation.
    Faith isn’t blind. It sees the problem clearly.

    Lying stops with the facts. Faith remembers the promise.

    The facts said her son was dead.
    The promise said God had given her that son.
    Faith doesn’t deny the facts; it refuses to believe the facts have the final word.

    Lying avoids reality. Faith takes reality to God.

    Some people think positive thinking is enough. They repeat phrases hoping they become true.
    The Shunammite woman didn’t simply repeat words. She moved toward the man of God. Her declaration, “It is well,” was backed by action. Real faith doesn’t just speak differently; it walks differently.

    Faith is not pretending there isn’t a mountain in front of you. Faith is believing that the God who made the mountain is greater than the mountain.

    How did the Shunammite woman’s faith get to this point in her life?
    This isn’t the kind of faith that just happens overnight.
    Faith is a process in all of us.
    Hebrews reminds us of what faith is.
    Hebrews 11:1 NIV
    1 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.
    I believe that we can look at this story of the Shunammite woman and each of us can allow our faith to grow.
    Here are 3 things about that I want you to grab a hold of this morning and let it work in your life.

    1. Faith Serves Before It Sees

    Before the Shunammite woman ever needed a miracle she was generous.
    What did she do?
    Verse 10.
    2 Kings 4:10 NIV
    10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
    She built a room for the man of God. This was a place that he could rest as he made his journey across the land. He always had a place that he could rest when needed.
    By doing this, not only did she honor Elisha, but she honored God.
    And she did this and expected nothing in return.
    She was a woman of faith and believed in providing and taking care of those that did the Lord’s work. She was generous with what she had.
    This was an act of faith. This faith was activated in her long before there was a crisis that would take place in her life.
    Many people want God when trouble comes but they ignore Him when life is good.
    The Shunammite woman had already build a place for God’s presence before the storm ever arrived.
    The constant about this series is not neglecting the private time that we must build with the father. It is so important that we do not neglect the secret place.
    Faith does not keep you from the battles, it just helps you to get through the battles. Your faith is strengthened in the secret place.
    It is in those times in private, where our faith is lifted, that prepares us for public battles.

    2. Faith Doesn’t Let the Promise Die

    Because of her generosity, Elisha wants to do something for the women. She was content with where God had placed her, but one thing that she had wanted for a while and had given up on was having a son. So, one year from that moment she had a son.
    This was a promised son and one day the son is out in the field with his father and he cries out, “my head, my head.” They take the son to his mother and he ends up dying on her lap.
    I can only image this mother’s grief.
    However, she doesn’t fret. She takes the son and lays him on the prophets bed. She saddles a donkey to go and meet the prophet. As she is preparing to go, her husband asks, “why are you going today?”
    Her response to him is, “It’s all right.” And she leaves.
    Then as she approaches the prophet, Elisha sees her in the distance and sends Gehazi to go and see if all is all right.
    Her response to Gehazi is, “Everything is all right.”
    Notice what the woman doesn’t say. She doesn’t announce defeat. She doesn’t hold a funeral. She doesn’t complain. She doesn’t cry out in anger. She doesn’t just quit.
    She carries the problem to the only One who can solve it.
    Faith isn’t pretending nothing happened. We know something has happened. The Shunammite woman knows something has happened. This was her promised son that has died.
    Even when she sees the prophet, she says in verse 28.
    2 Kings 4:28 NIV
    28 “Did I ask you for a son, my lord?” she said. “Didn’t I tell you, ‘Don’t raise my hopes’?”
    She refused to stop at the bad news. Faith refuses to stop at the bad news.
    Sometimes the enemy wants you to bury what God intends to resurrect. The enemy’s strategy is always to convince you that what God has promised is permanently lost. He whispers, “It’s over. Move on. Give up. Accept it.” But God often says, “Don’t bury it yet. I’m not finished.”
    She didn’t prepare a funeral. She didn’t call the mourners. She didn’t dig a grave.
    Instead, she carried her dead son into the prophet’s room and laid him on the bed. Why? Because she believed the place where the promise began was also the place where God could restore it.
    That’s what faith does. Faith refuses to put a period where God has only placed a comma.
    There are things we bury too quickly.
    Sometimes we bury a calling because of one failure. Sometimes we bury a marriage because of one painful season. Sometimes we bury a dream because of one disappointment. Sometimes we bury a ministry because of criticism. Sometimes we bury a prayer because God didn’t answer on our timetable. Sometimes we bury a relationship because of one misunderstanding.
    The enemy loves premature funerals.
    He wants you to declare dead what God still calls possible.

    Don’t confuse delay with death.

    Just because you haven’t seen movement doesn’t mean God isn’t moving.
    A seed is buried before it produces life. Lazarus spent four days in a tomb before Jesus called him out. The valley in Ezekiel’s vision was full of dry bones until God breathed life into them. The cross looked like the end on Friday, but Sunday proved God specializes in resurrection.
    Ask yourself these questions this morning.
    What have you already buried in your heart?
    What promise have you stopped praying about?
    What dream have you decided is impossible?
    What relationship have you concluded can never be restored?
    Maybe what you’ve labeled “dead” is simply waiting for God’s timing.
    Don’t bury what God is still breathing on. Don’t write the obituary for a promise that God has every intention of bringing back to life.

    3. Faith Refuses to Let God Until God Moves

    When she reaches the man of God Elisha, she grabs hold of him and doesn’t let go. Gehazi tries to push her away. But Elisha lets her stay. Then she says.
    2 Kings 4:30 NIV
    30 But the child’s mother said, “As surely as the Lord lives and as you live, I will not leave you.” So he got up and followed her.
    Her miracle wasn’t in the servant. It wasn’t in the staff. It was in staying close to God’s presence.
    When the death of her son came instead of withdrawing from God, she drew closer to God. She wanted nothing more than to be in the presence of God. Elisha wasn’t God, but he represented the presence of God.
    Don’t let disappointment separate you from God.
    How often do we get to the edge of a miracle and then we just quit?
    The place where most people quit is often where miracles begin.
    She never gave up on the fact that her son was dead. She moved towards the presence of God. She knew that God was the only one that could save her son.

    4. Faith Sees Resurrection Where Others See an Ending

    Elisha sends Gehazi ahead of them with his staff. That doesn’t work.
    Elisha comes personally, stretches himself over the child and life returns to the child.
    This Shunammite woman falls before God in worship and she leaves carrying the very thing she thought she had lost forever.
    God doesn’t always work instantly. Sometimes He works personally. Sometimes He works progressively. But one thing is definitely for certain, He is always faithful.
    See the miracle in this story isn’t only that a boy lived again. The miracle was that a mother never stopped believing.
    Never once did the woman confess defeat. When asked, she would always say, “it is all right.”
    She never abandoned hope. She always knew that if she could get into the presence of God there is always hope.
    She never quit pursuing God. While everyone else saw death, she kept saying, “everything is all right.”
    And it wasn’t because everything was right. But she knew the One who could make it right.
    Where are you at today?
    Has your faith been rocked lately? Have you found yourself knocking at death’s door? Are you facing some setbacks? Where are you at?
    Today is the day to start again. Today is the day to build your faith before the crisis comes.
    It is so important that we as believers don’t let temporary setbacks rewrite all of God’s promises.
    I promise you there will be times when life doesn’t make sense. It is in those times that you must stay close to God.
    It is important that you speak faith before you ever see the miracle. Because God’s final word is greater than your current circumstance.
    Let me close this morning with this.
    What promise have you stopped believing? Only you can answer this question.
    What situation have you already declared hopeless? What are you going through in your life that you have already placed the last nail in the coffin and you believe that it is completely hopeless.
    Also, what would change if you began speaking faith instead of fear?
    I don’t know what God has planned for you. I don’t know what will happen tomorrow or the next day, but I do know the one that will be with you tomorrow or the next day.
    We can learn a lot from the Shunammite woman. Think about your circumstances.
    You can acknowledge the reality of your circumstances while trusting the God who has the final word.
    Faith doesn’t deny the problem, it declares that the problem is not the end of the story.
    When God has made a promise, you can keep moving toward Him and confidently say, “everything is all right,” because His faithfulness is greater than your present reality.

      • 2 Kings 4:8–37NIV2011

      • Hebrews 11:1NIV2011

      • 2 Kings 4:10NIV2011

      • 2 Kings 4:28NIV2011

      • 2 Kings 4:30NIV2011

      • John 3:16NIV2011

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