Hopelessly Well-Off?

One day Elisha came for a visit; he went into the upper room and rested. He told his servant Gehazi, “Ask the Shunammite woman to come here.” So he did so and she came to him. Elisha said to Gehazi, “Tell her, ‘Look, you have treated us with such great respect. What can I do for you? Can I put in a good word for you with the king or with the commander of the army?’” She replied, “I’m quite secure.” (Second Kings 4:11-13)

In this past Sunday’s sermon, Pastor Richie shared with us a profound insight on the face of hopelessness: When we have had a dream unfulfilled for a long period of time, we opt to abandon the dream.

Like the Shunammite, we can say we are quite secure-- even though we have lost hope.

And, to her credit, she was quite secure. She was a property owner. She had a prominent position in the community. She and her husband had the means and ability to build an addition to their home, giving the prophet a place to rest when passing through their town. She had enough food to be able to, as we are told in Second Kings 4:8, “insist” that Elisha have his meals at her home. On the surface, all was well.

The prophet, though, knew there was an unfulfilled dream buried in the heart of the Shunammite woman.

Pastor Richie asked us a question that I would like us to reflect on today: What is your unfulfilled dream? What is the thing you long for that, to date, God has not provided? What is the petition that, to date, God has not answered? What is the desire that you hold deep inside, that you have not even shared with your best friend? What is the thing you have given up on ever seeing, or doing, or experiencing? Where have you resigned yourself to hopelessness?

Today, we can trim the wick and re-light the flame of our abandoned dreams. It is not an easy thing to do, especially in the face of having lived through decades of unfulfilled dreams. We may even think that, because God has blessed us in so many other areas, we can let go of our heart’s desire. But Scripture says, “Trust in the LORD and do what is right! Settle in the land and maintain your integrity! Delight yourself in the LORD, and He will give you the desire of your heart.” (Psalm 37:3-4) We see these verses fulfilled in the life of the Shunammite woman. And God, who is no respecter of persons, can fulfill these verses in us.

Yes, Lord! That is where some of us stand today. We are doing well, but at our core is one unanswered prayer, one unfulfilled dream, one unmet desire. We have resigned ourselves to hopelessness; but You are the God of hope! Please give us Your Grace, the power of Your Spirit, so that we will trust You, do good, and honor You in the way we care for our property and ourselves. Make us men and women of integrity. Pour into us a delight of You. You have promised that as we delight in You, You will give us what we desire most. The dream You planted in us will not die, but live. We thank You for Your word and we receive it today. We love You, Lord.