Faithfulness is Rewarding

Reading Time: 8 minutes

Remember the Shunammite woman who took care of Elisha when he would travel through Shunam and God gave her a son, then the son died and Elisha raised him from the dead? We meet her again in Chapter 8 of II Kings. God is still taking care of her.

II Kings 8
:1 Then spake Elisha unto the woman,
        whose son he had restored to life, saying,
        Arise, and go
            thou and thine household,
        and sojourn wheresoever thou canst sojourn:
            for the LORD hath called for a famine;
            and it shall also come upon the land seven years.
:2 And the woman arose,
    and did after the saying of the man of God:
    and she went with her household,
    and sojourned in the land of the Philistines seven years.

From what we read in chapter 4 we have learned that she was a prominent woman and well off. Now Elisha was telling her to leave it all, her home, friends and lifestyle, and move. She is also a woman faithful to God and she does what Elisha tells her to do even though it meant living in the land of the idolatrous, Israel hating Philistines.

:3 And it came to pass at the seven years' end,
    that the woman returned out of the land of the Philistines:
    and she went forth to cry unto the king for her house and for her land.
:4 And the king talked with Gehazi the servant of the man of God, saying,
        Tell me, I pray thee,
        all the great things that Elisha hath done.
:5 And it came to pass,
    as he was telling the king how he had restored a dead body to life,
    that, behold, the woman,
        whose son he had restored to life,
    cried to the king for her house and for her land.
    And Gehazi said,
        My lord, O king, this is the woman,
        and this is her son,
            whom Elisha restored to life.

This is impeccable timing; this is God's timing. We have the same God.

:6 And when the king asked the woman,
    she told him.
    So the king appointed unto her a certain officer, saying,
        Restore all that was hers,
        and all the fruits of the field since the day that she left the land,
            even until now.

This king is Jehoram King if Israel who did evil in the sight of the Lord like Jeroboam the son of Nebat (whose household was destroyed because he was so evil and made Israel to sin). Jehoram did put away the images of Baal that Ahab had made but he still made Israel to sin. Jehoram King of Israel (II Kings 3:1-3). Even though he did evil, he still recognized the power of God and restored the land and fruits of it for the last 7 years unto the Shunammite woman.

God took care of the Shunammite woman because she was faithful to Him. She believed what God via Elisha had told her and she acted on it and received the benefits.

God has not changed!

God is always with us in good times and rough times. Our challenge is to get beyond the 5 sense circumstances and believe the spiritual realities that God has made us victorious sons and daughters of God with all power. We can rely on Him to meet our need as we stand faithfully on His Word. Put God's Word in your head to the point that it sinks into your heart and make it your rule of faith and practice. You can do two things with the Word of God. You can mentally ascent to it and hope God brings it to pass or you can believe it beyond a shadow of a doubt and reap the rewards.

The following poem was written during the Great Depression in 1931 by Alice P. Moss. It sums up the attitude and confidence that we need to adopt.

What are you going to believe from the Word of God? And, how long are you going to believe it?

Ephesians 3
:16 That he would grant you,
        according to the riches of his glory, [what a standard]
    to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
            [this is the might of God]
:17 That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; [dwell--live there]
    that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,
:18 May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth,
        and length,
        and depth,
        and height;
:19 And to know the love of Christ,
        which passeth knowledge,
            [the love of Christ cannot be analyzed, we simply receive it]
        that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God. [how full is God?]
:20 Now unto him
    that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
        according to the power that worketh in us,
            [That is magnanimous-- exceeding above all that we ask or think!]
:21 Unto him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
    world without end. Amen.

When we believe the Word of God about ourselves and claim the promises God has laid before us we will live as more than conquerors. We will manifest the love of Christ that passes knowledge.

 It takes more than believing it on Sunday and going back to world on Monday and Tuesday and Wednesday and Thursday and Friday and Saturday. Put God's Word in your mind every day. Stand firm on who you are in Christ.

I John 4
:4 Ye are of God, little children,
        and have overcome them:
    because greater is he that is in you,
        than he that is in the world.

Do not let anyone or anything talk you out of who you are!

Romans 8
:31 What shall we then say to these things?
    If God be for us,
    who can be against us?
:32 He that spared not his own Son,
        but delivered him up for us all,
    how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?
        [freely give, not with reservation]
:33 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect?
    It is [shall] God that justifieth.[?]
:34 Who is he that condemneth?
    It is [shall] Christ that died,
        yea rather, that is risen again, 
        who is even at the right hand of God,
        who also maketh intercession for us. [?]
            [These are questions. The italicized words are not in the text and incorrectly supplied]
:35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
        shall tribulation,
        or distress,
        or persecution,
        or famine,
        or nakedness,
        or peril,
        or sword?
:36 As it is written,
        For thy sake we are killed all the day long;
        we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. [Really?]
:37 Nay, [ NO ] in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us.
:38 For I am persuaded, [persuaded beyond a shadow of a doubt]
        that neither death,
        nor life,
        nor angels,
        nor principalities,
        nor powers,
        nor things present,
        nor things to come,
:39   Nor height,
        nor depth,
        nor any other creature,
    shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
    which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Nothing can separate us from the Love of Christ. Look at the figures of speech in verses 34 and 38--paradiastole the repetition of 'neither' or 'nor' or 'or'. These emphasize the culmination not the individual items. We are more than conquerors! Nothing can separate us!

Romans 15
:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that ye may abound in hope, [the hope of the return of Christ]
through the power of the Holy Ghost.

God fills us with joy and peace in believing. That word fill is pleroo filled to capacity, cannot hold anymore. The purpose is so that we may abound in the hope of the return of Christ through the power of the holy spirit--the Christ in us the hope of glory.

This week make a point to walk with your head held high and your shoulders back because you are a son or daughter of God and He is with you every step of the way.