Four-Calendar Café

Scripture

2 Kings 8:1-2 (NIV)

Now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, “Go away with your family and stay for a while wherever you can, because the Lord has decreed a famine in the land that will last seven years.” 2 The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines [for] seven years.

Observation

There are a lot of people in the Bible that we can identify by name. People of great faith and wicked people. However, there are far more people in the Bible whose identities are unknown to you and me. In the book of Hebrews, we see quite a list of people known only by their great faith. Those who were tortured, flogged, imprisoned, stoned, sawed in two, and subject to abject poverty because of their faith in God (Hebrews 11:35-37). In the New Testament, we read of thousands of people who attended the sermons of Jesus and were fed by Him, and yet, of all those who heard His message and of those who were healed, only 120 were counted as being faithful believers (Acts 1:15) and we have so few names to place with that 120.

When I read this account of the Shunammite woman, for we don’t know her name, what stands out to me is that she left her home with her family to go to the land of the Philistines for seven years. We have this intelligence through the sentence, “The woman proceeded to do as the man of God said. She and her family went away and stayed in the land of the Philistines seven years.” I wonder about those seven years. I don’t, for a moment, think that those seven years living in a land of gentiles was easy, but all we know is that this woman did it in faith. From a single sentence.

It’s so important to us sometimes to be known. How often, I wonder, do we do the things that we do in the hope that someone will know our name? That we will stand out in the crowd? Blogging comes to mind. I wonder how many people would continue to blog if they rarely got likes or followers? I expect that those relying on it for a living would find something else to do. When I think on that I think back on all years working when there’s sometimes been little or no recognition. I think of all the reasons to do anything that we do and I wonder why? Why do we do the things that we do? It occurs to me that, if we do anything to be known then we’re probably going to be disappointed.

When I think about the desire to be known and to be recognized I’m reminded of the roses that I passed by this morning. A beautiful bunch of yellows knitted together beaming at the sun. As I admired these, so few for this time of the year, I thought of their scent. Breathing it in, intoxicating and sweet, still lingering from yesterday, and I walked on. As I continued, I thought on that act, the choice to not smell the roses and it struck me. They bloom and wilt, freely give. Knowing nothing, but the touch of the wind, the glory of the sun, and the pleasure of God.

Do you know God? God knows you and He loves you. He sees you as significant because you are. Nothing is insignificant to Him. He’s with you today, right now, and He wants you to know Him. Jesus died for your sins and mine so that we could be free of guilt, be freed from death, and live eternally with Him. Eternal salvation is just a prayer away.

Pray this prayer with me to accept the gift of salvation today:

Dear Lord Jesus, I know that I am a sinner, and I ask for Your forgiveness. I believe You died for my sins and rose from the dead. I turn from my sins and invite You to come into my heart and life. I want to trust and follow You as my Lord and Savior. Amen.

If you prayed that prayer then congratulations! You are on the first step of a brand new life. Allow me to be the first to welcome you to my family, the family of God. There are abundant resources available online for new Christians. You can visit here for more information on what to do next. You can also leave me a comment and I’ll do my best to help you on the next step of this incredible journey.