Surrender | 2 Kings 4:8-37

When God makes us a promise, we begin a process of surrendering, believing, hoping, and trusting that He will deliver on the thing He has promised us. Once that thing comes to pass, we must not forget to continue allowing God to have His way with it, laying it down at His feet over and over again.

In this passage, we see a wealthy Shunammite woman open her home to Elisha, a man of God, whom she feeds and gives a place to rest. Her heart is to use what she has to meet his needs when she can. Because of this, Elisha believed God wanted to reward her for the hospitality she had shown him, fulfilling the one great desire she had that no material thing could satisfy: to have a child.

In reading verse 16, you can feel the desperation in the woman’s voice as Elisha makes her the promise that she will have a son, as though her heart can’t bear to hear the promise and not have it come true. Think about something you have wanted that badly in your life, that you can’t bear the thought of unless you’re certain it will happen. But God delivers, and she has a son as Elisha said she would.

While the Shunammite woman’s son is still a child, he becomes ill and quickly passes away, a devastating tragedy. This woman couldn’t have children, but then God gives her a son, and now his life is cut short by illness. Instead of giving up, preparing him for burial, and losing her faith, she lays him on Elisha’s bed and seeks him out to come and raise her son from the dead. Full of faith, she pleads with Elisha to come resurrect her son, trusting that the promise from God that she would have a son is not over, and through Elisha, God literally breathes new life into her son.

There are plenty of promises that God will fulfill in your life that won’t always be perfect. Maybe God promises you that you will work in the job of your dreams, but what happens when you go through a difficult season there? Will you choose to surrender your dream job and trust that God is not done with that promise? Maybe God gives you a spouse and an incredible marriage, but there are inevitable hard times as you do life together. Will you have the courage to surrender your marriage every single day, believing that God will breathe new life into it when you feel most like giving up?

The fulfillment of promises is a process, and we can believe that God is actively involved in the things He’s given to us, making them more and more perfect every day. In our surrendering, we can trust that He will not let us down, He will not disappoint, and He will never let go.

Prayer

Lord, I lay down everything you’ve given me at your feet, knowing that it is all yours anyway. I pray that you would give me the strength and the grace to continually trust you, to continually surrender even after I’ve seen you come through for me. Remind me of the times I’ve seen you meet my greatest needs and satisfy my deepest desires, and give me the perseverance to never give up on the promises you’ve made to me. Amen.
 
Author | Kalli Drake