Inspirational Thought of the Day:
Stubborn hope gives us grace to thrive in the harshest of environments.
Scripture of the Day:
2 Kings 4:16-26
“16 And he said, “At this season, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.” And she said, “No, my lord, O man of God; do not lie to your servant.” 17 But the woman conceived, and she bore a son about that time the following spring, as Elisha had said to her. 18 When the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. 19 And he said to his father, “Oh, my head, my head!” The father said to his servant, “Carry him to his mother.” 20 And when he had lifted him and brought him to his mother, the child sat on her lap till noon, and then he died. 21 And she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. 22 Then she called to her husband and said, “Send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys, that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again.” 23 And he said, “Why will you go to him today? It is neither new moon nor Sabbath.” She said, “All is well.” 24 Then she saddled the donkey, and she said to her servant, “Urge the animal on; do not slacken the pace for me unless I tell you.” 25 So she set out and came to the man of God at Mount Carmel. When the man of God saw her coming, he said to Gehazi his servant, “Look, there is the Shunammite. 26 Run at once to meet her and say to her, ‘Is all well with you? Is all well with your husband? Is all well with the child?’” And she answered, “All is well.”
Spring has sprung and the dismal winter blahs are drifting away as we yearn for the sun’s rays to brighten our days and spirits. There is something about the flowers bursting through the hard earth that remind me of the beautiful stubbornness of hope.
Stubborn hope gives us grace to thrive in the harshest of environments. It does not sway when the winds blow because it is steadfastly focused on the One Who created the wind.
The Shunammite woman stands out as such an example of this stubborn hope. She does not bear a name, symbolic to me that she represents any one of us. The pain is palpable when she confesses that she does not want to even hope for a son. She just couldn’t. But God gave her the desire of her heart, anyway.
Have you ever had a hope you longed for desperately, that you just could not dare to think on the possibility? That’s where this woman was. And God saw her. What really intrigues me about the Shunammite woman, though, is her response when her son was dying. As humans, we tend to want to hold onto what God provides, afraid to lose our hope again. We can become disillusioned and paralyzed in our pain. But this Shunammite woman did not waste any time doubting. She went directly to the source of the promise and hastened to go directly to the man of God, Elisha. And she said – “It Is Well”. It is well? How could she say that when her son was dead? She had something within her that would not die. Hope. And this hope was rewarded.
Maybe you have been hoping so long for something and each step forward your goal seems to move off in the distance. I feel ya. It would seem hopeless except for the fact that our hope is not dependent upon achieving it. Huh? Did I just say that? Yep. The famous hall of faith is paved by people who hoped beyond hope and never saw their hopes fulfilled. At least not on earth. But stubborn hope has a way of leading us toward our ultimate hope and without this internal hope our lives would be pointless.
Still afraid to hope? Trust in God. He has a hope for us that never dies and is always fulfilled.
Lord, thank You for the gift of hope. Help us to trust in You always. You are faithful at all times.
Need hope? God’s got that.
Below are some resources on discovering a living hope that never fails us.
Here is a 31-day devotional ebook I wrote called, “Hope Reinvented”. This book is also available in softcover and as a PDF. Get your hope on!