It was in the rolling hills of Shunem, a village about seven miles south of Nazareth, where the prophet Elisha raised the Shunammite woman’s dead son back to life.
Her son was a promise from God.
An unknown promise to anyone else, but a desire the Shunammite woman must have had buried deeply in her heart. Elisha wanted to thank her for her kindness and hospitality since she had built a room for him to stay in when he passed through Shunem. He told her in one year’s time she would hold a son in her arms. It did not look promising for her to have a child of her own. Her husband was very old and scripture leads us to believe they were content and comfortable in their current situation. However, Elisha’s prophecy came to pass, and the woman’s desire was revealed and fulfilled exactly one year later!
Twelve years passed and one day, suddenly the son of promise became a limp, cold, precious body on his mother’s lap. Being of great strength and faith, the Shunammite woman placed her son on Elisha’s bed, closed the door, and left him there. Normally, she would have taken him to be wrapped for burial and then laid him in a tomb. But this faithful woman was not going to bury her desire and fulfilled promise from God!
Her sure confidence in God restoring what He promised her is displayed in her actions.
She walked away from her son lying on the bed; symbolic of leaving her promise with God, trusting His plan, and standing firm on His word. She says twice, “It is well.” She knew in her heart, this was not how it would end.
I want to personally encourage you this month. Unknown to anyone else and content in my current circumstances, I had a desire in my heart for another child. It was buried among uncertainty of the future, fear of experiencing another loss, and a lack of hope. God restored this desire in a vivid dream in 2017, rocking a child in my arms. I knew a previous miscarriage was not how it was going to end.
In the months ahead, it did not look promising for us to have another child. Numerous high-risk complications mounted a battle against my dream. But God fulfilled His promise exactly one year later. The desire of my heart and promise from God was born at full term! Just as He did for the woman from Shunem, just as He did for me, God will also restore to life what He has promised you!
Activation:
Do you have a promise from God which you laid down?
Are you standing in faith that it will be restored to life again?
Ask God if this is the time to pick your dream back up.
This post written by Amber Colberg was originally posted on Refresh Women, a platform dedicated to helping women awaken & activate their God-given purpose. Read the original post here.
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