God's Presence Changes Everything! The Shunammite Woman's Story

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Hey friends, you know I love a good story, especially when it's a God story that equips,

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inspires, and encourages us in our walk with the Lord.

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I'm your host, Jodie Chiricosta, Ministry Leader at Somebody Cares America and International,

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author and traveler on this journey of faith, and I'm delighted you've joined us today.

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Now we'll be taking a break for the month of August and have some great stories lined

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up when we resume in September, including Joan Hunter, so you don't want to miss that.

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This August will be a great time to catch up on episodes you may have missed.

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I encourage you to listen with some friends and maybe even form a Her God Story podcast

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club.

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Pick an episode and all listen to the same one.

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Then, gather together and discuss it over some favorite refreshments.

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You can even do it using Zoom or some other online service.

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We've prepared episode questions on hergodstory.org for you to use in your discussion, and it's

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a great way to reach out to friends who might not know Christ yet.

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Read them in the conversation and see what God will do.

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Listening to an episode takes much less time than reading most books, and we think you're

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going to have a lot of takers.

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When you do, email us at prayer at somebodycares.org to let us know so we can be praying for you.

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If you have listened to any of my previous episodes, you probably know that I always

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ask my guests what woman in the Bible they've been encouraged or inspired by or learned

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something from.

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One of my recent guests, Sandra Tracy from Episode 60, talked about the Shunamite woman

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whose story is told in Second Kings.

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Now, I have read that story multiple times, but always focusing on Elisha and his exploits.

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Sandra's mention of the Shunamite woman intrigued me.

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So I decided to read those passages again, listening for what the Lord wanted to say

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to me through the Shunamite woman's story.

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And he showed me a few things I want to share with you.

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As I think about the Shunamite woman's story, Ephesians 3, verses 20 and 21 come to mind.

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The NIV reads, Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine

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according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ

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Jesus throughout all generations forever and ever.

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Amen.

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Let me explain. This woman lived in the village of Shunam, which was located in the Israelite

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territory given to the tribe of Issachar.

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From what I can tell, though, she was not an Israelite.

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Often in the Old Testament, when a person is referenced, the tribe they came from is

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also mentioned.

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Since no tribe is indicated in this story, we can assume she was from another people

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group living in the land, so she was not one of the chosen people.

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Yet her interactions with the Israelites living around her gave her opportunity to hear about

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the Lord their God.

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She liked what she heard, and she wanted in on whatever God was doing.

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Second Kings 4, verses 8 through 36, tell the first part of her story.

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If you haven't read it in a while, I encourage you to do so.

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This unnamed woman was married to an older man, and they were quite wealthy.

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They did not have any children, so she was free to spend her time doing and pursuing

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whatever she wanted.

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Freedom, wealth, sounds pretty good, right?

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But she knew she was missing the most important thing, relationship with God.

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So when she heard that Elisha, the well-known prophet of Israel, was in her area, she persuaded

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him to stop at her house to eat.

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And he did.

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Apparently, none of the Israelites invited him over.

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Maybe they were too intimidated to ask.

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Maybe they were afraid Elisha would speak some harsh word from God to them.

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Or maybe they just didn't want to be bothered, but the woman from Shunam made it a point

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to seek Elisha out and urged him to come.

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This was no casual invitation.

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She did everything in her power to convince him to stop at her house.

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And every time he passed by their town, which apparently was fairly regularly, she wanted

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him to stay at her home.

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And although it doesn't say this overtly in Scripture, we can surmise that her real

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desire was to learn more about God.

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How do we know this?

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Well, Elisha was a miracle worker, but she didn't ask him for anything.

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In fact, she convinced her husband to have a room built for Elisha and furnished it so

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he had a place to stay whenever he was nearby.

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Now, I believe all of this reveals the first key to blessing.

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Make room for the presence of the Lord.

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This unnamed, foreign woman made room for the presence of God in her home.

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Don't get me wrong, Elisha was not God, but he represented the Lord in his day.

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Since the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, as described in Acts 2, all believers in Jesus

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have the Holy Spirit residing in us.

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That was not the case in Elisha's day.

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The Holy Spirit came upon various people, like prophets, but he did not reside in them.

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That was only possible after Jesus paid the penalty for our sins.

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And as 1 John 1-9 says, if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us

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our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

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As we do that, the Holy Spirit is free to reside in us.

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And Ephesians 1-11 tells us that as a child of God with Holy Spirit living in us, we have

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received an inheritance from God.

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The Shunamite woman lived long before Jesus.

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So she invited God's presence into her home by urging Elisha to come for meals and then

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having a room built for him to use whenever he wanted.

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It was in all effects Elisha's room.

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He could do whatever he wanted there.

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She gave him free reign.

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And if you have declared Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him

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from the dead, confessing your sins to him, the Holy Spirit resides in you.

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But you must also give him free reign in your life.

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How do we do that today?

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Of course, we don't need to build him a physical room.

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We are the temple of the living God.

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But John 16-13 gives us a clue.

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It tells us when the Spirit of Truth comes, he will guide you into all truth.

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The question is, are you allowing the Holy Spirit to reside in you?

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Who resides in you to guide you into truth?

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Are you regularly reading or listening to God's Word and allowing him to speak through

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it to you?

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If not, it's time to start.

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Without the plumb line of truth found in God's Word, you will, we all will, be tricked by

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faulty philosophies and beliefs that lead us away from truth and into Satan's territory.

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Remember what John 10-10 tells us.

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Satan comes only to steal, kill, and destroy.

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But Jesus came that we have life and have it to the full.

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Being room for the presence of God, the Holy Spirit to be active in your life, leading

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you into truth, is one key to blessing and a full life.

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Let's see how that played out for the Shunamite woman.

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One day, Elisha was in his room resting when he told his servant, Gehazi, to find out what

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he could do for his host.

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The Shunamite had not asked Elisha for anything.

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She just opened her home and made him comfortable there, and God prompted Elisha to bless her.

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The goddess like that wants to bless us.

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And when we invite him in to lead us, his blessings overflow in our lives.

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Romans 8 verses 32 and 33 tell us that God is for us, and because he already gave his

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own son for us, we can be confident he will graciously give us all things.

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Even when Elisha asked the Shunamite woman what he could do for her, she couldn't think

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of anything.

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She basically told him she was happy and well cared for.

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But Gehazi reminded Elisha that the woman did not have a son, which was a really big

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deal in that day.

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Elisha then prophesied that she would have a son by the same time next year.

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The Shunamite woman was blown away by that promise for whatever reason having a son was

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more than she could have hoped for.

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I'm sure she and her husband had tried to have a child for many years but without success,

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so she'd given up that hope.

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But God knew her deep desire and chose to bless her abundantly.

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A year later her son was born.

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But that's not the end of her story.

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A few years later, her son was in the field with his dad when he grabbed his head and

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started crying out in pain.

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His father had a servant quickly take the boy to his mother, but the boy died in her

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arms around noon.

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This seems like a cruel joke.

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She'd made peace with being childless years before when God surprised her with the gracious

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gift of a son.

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Now just a few years later he died?

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What a devastating event!

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She surely felt pain, anger, and sorrow, but she did not let them paralyze her.

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Somehow faith rose up in her instead.

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Well it does not say specifically in the Bible.

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I'm sure as Elijah came and went from her home over the years, she heard tales of what

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God had done through him as well as through his mentor Elijah.

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She must have remembered the story of how God used Elijah to raise the son of a widow

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in Zarephath from the dead.

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That story is found in 1 Kings 17.

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So the Shunamite woman laid her son on Elijah's bed in the room she had built for him.

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Then she had her husband summon a servant and a donkey to take her to Elijah.

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She did not even tell her husband about the boy's death, but she urged the servant to

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take her on the donkey as quickly as possible to Mount Carmel some fifteen miles away where

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Elijah was at the time.

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That was roughly a journey of five hours on a donkey.

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Elijah recognized her coming from a distance and sent Gehazi to find out what was wrong.

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Is your husband all right?

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Is your child all right?

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Gehazi asked.

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The Shunamite woman said, everything's all right.

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Now that's faith.

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When she reached Elijah, the man of God, she fell down into cold of his feet.

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At that point she pours out her heart.

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Did I ask you for a son, my Lord?

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Didn't I tell you don't raise my hopes?

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You may be thinking where's your faith now.

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But here is another key to blessing.

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She cast her cares, her anxiety on the Lord as it tells us to do in 1 Peter 5, 7.

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Even in her pain she had set her heart to seek the Lord.

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The only way she knew to do that was to go to the man of God who spoke for the Lord in

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that day.

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Elijah quickly gave his staff to Gehazi, his servant, and told him to run back to her

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home, 15 miles, and lay the staff on the boy, which Gehazi did.

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But the Shunamite woman would not leave Elijah.

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So they set off too.

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When Elijah reached the house, the boy was still dead.

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This is likely the next day.

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So Elijah went into the room, closed the door, and prayed.

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After some time, 2 Kings 4, 25 says, The boy sneezed seven times and opened his eyes.

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God raised him from the dead.

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I've wondered though why the Bible would be so specific about him sneezing seven times.

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As I've pondered this, I believe the Lord gave me some insight.

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The number seven in the Bible is used to signify completeness and perfection.

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If you want to know more about that, you can read more in a link in our show notes.

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But I believe the seven sneezes was the Lord's way of telling the Shunamite that the boy's

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healing was complete and perfect.

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Remember seven signified completion and perfection.

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I believe the Lord wanted her to know everything was going to be okay so she would not be plagued

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by fear of this ever happening again.

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God loves us so much.

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He meets our every need.

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He returned the woman's son to her and addressed the unspoken fear that could have troubled

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her for the rest of her life.

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God is so good.

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That is still not the end of the Shunamite story.

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If we continue reading 2 Kings 4, 5, 6, and 7, we find out that Israel was struck by famine,

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war, and turmoil.

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We read how God used Elijah to do other miracles and speak truth to kings, and we might not

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give another thought to the Shunamite woman.

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But in 2 Kings 8, we find out that she was always in God's thoughts.

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She had made room for the presence of God in her life and he had protected her.

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2 Kings 8 verses 1 and 2 says, Now, Elijah had said to the woman whose son he had restored

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to life, Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can because the Lord

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has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.

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The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said.

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She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.

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God spared her the seven years of hardship that Israel faced.

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You see, Israel had in large number turned away from God.

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So God allowed them the experience of what life is like when you turn away from Him.

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But the Shunamite woman had pursued God and God protected her.

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That does not mean that those who pursue God will never face or experience hardship.

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We talked about the trial she experienced when her son died, but this trial that Israel

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had to face was not one she needed to experience.

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What if she'd chosen to disregard Elisha's warning thinking, I'm rich, what she was?

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So I'll make it through this just fine.

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I'm sure God would have preserved her out of his love.

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But she would have experienced the difficulties of the famine and war right along with everyone

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else.

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Instead, she chose wisely.

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She listened to the Lord's instruction and found safety elsewhere.

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After the seven years of famine were over and the invading army of the Aramaeans were thoroughly

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defeated, she came home.

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But she discovered someone else had moved into her house and took over her land.

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Now because she had obeyed God in leaving, he paved the way for her to have it all restored,

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plus more.

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When she arrived at the king's palace to plead her case, Gehazi, Elisha's servant, was there

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regaling the king with the many amazing things God had done through Elisha.

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He was just telling the king how God had used Elisha to raise this woman's son from the

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dead when she walked in.

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The king asked her for the full story and then assigned an officer to make sure her

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home and land will return to her, plus all the income from her land from the day she

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left the country seven years of profit.

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God did exceedingly, abundantly above all she could ask or imagine because she invited

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God's presence into her life and home and sought him alone in her time of trouble.

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She sought the Lord in good times and bad and God responded with blessing.

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I am so glad there is no other prerequisite for God's blessing.

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We don't have to be born of a chosen people.

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We're all chosen.

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We don't have to observe ritualistic rules and laws.

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In fact, God hates those.

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As Christians, which we become out of God's grace and not by our own position or because

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of our works, we just have to seek Him, follow Him, give Him our cares.

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That's it.

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Psalm 512 in the New Living Translation says, For you bless the godly, O Lord, you surround

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them with your shield of love.

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The NIV says it this way, Surely, Lord, you bless the righteous.

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You surround them with your favor as with a shield.

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God loves you as much as He loves the unnamed, shunamite woman.

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He is eagerly waiting to shower you with His love and favor.

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As you pursue Him and pour out your cares to Him, He will amaze you with His love and

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blessing.

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Let me take a moment and pray for you.

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Heavenly Father, thank you for taking notice of the unnamed, shunamite woman.

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You saw her heart.

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You understood her desire to know you and you made a way for her over and over again,

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where there seemed to be no way.

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And you do the same for each one of us when we draw near to you and invite you to draw

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near to us.

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I ask now, Father, that you would draw near to every listening friend.

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Show yourself strong on their behalf.

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Show yourself faithful to them as you show yourself faithful to the shunamite woman and

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to me over and over again.

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I ask for your healing power, your restorative work, your amazing grace to carry these dear

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friends forward.

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Bless them now with more of you, I ask, in Jesus' name.

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Amen.

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Thank you for tuning in.

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Check out our show notes at hergodstory.org for scripture, links, and other information,

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and sign up there for our emails and to get a free six-week devotional on Women of the

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Bible that you can download for free or purchase a 12-week devotional on Women of the Bible

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for just $12 knowing that all proceeds go to our Wido and Orphan Fund.

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We'd love to pray with you on our 24-7 prayer and text line, so give us a call or text anytime

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at 855-459-CARE or email us at prayer@somebodycares.org.

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And now dear friends, I bless you from Ephesians 3.20.

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May the Lord do immeasurably more than you could ask or imagine, according to his power

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that is at work within you.

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Her God Story is a ministry of Somebody Cares America and International.

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To find out more about or support the ministry, go to somebodycares.org.