It might be harder for you, if you’re not an adult. You may feel like it’s not your job. You may wonder why adults aren’t doing their job, and letting you be a teen or a kid. I understand; and, so does God.
You want things to be better, right? If God could bless your house with more peace and security and such, you’d like that, right?
I know, it might be hard in some situations. We’ll deal with that. But, first, let’s jump ahead to see where this woman’s heart was.
Beginning in verse 18, we see that this couple’s child became deathly ill. He likely suffered heat stroke. The child died, and God used Elisha to raise the child back to life. (One of those signs that showed he was a prophet.)
The father should have known to call the man of God. He should have at least known to pray to God for help. (In which case, God might have sent Elisha.) But, when the mother insists on going to find Elisha, her husband can’t understand why.
He could have been in shock – but two things indicate otherwise. First, his wife sensed Elisha was a man of God at first. He should have been the one to know.
Second, if he were in shock, it’s unlikely he would have thought about when a man of God would be seen. A more likely reply, if grieving, would have been a blank stare, maybe with a mumbled, “I guess.” And yet, he knew that God would be worshipped, and she would see Elisha, during the feasts, the new moon or the Sabbath.
He could also have been angry at God, not thinking God would do any good. This would be similar to Lazarus’ sisters in John 11, before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. It’s easy to get mad at God when we don’t see the whole picture. But, if this were the case, he likely would have said to forget about God altogether.
This father was probably not heartless, only faithless. That was a big problem. However, the mother had the faith to know that God, working through His prophet, could work a miracle. Instead of feeling there was no hope, she went to God and sought His help. Her heart was with her child, and her heart was with God.
God’s answer is not always “yes,” of course. Sometimes it’s “no,” because He knows what is best in each situation. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts higher than our thoughts. At other times, His answer is “wait.” We’ll discuss that more later, but for now, suffice to say that His answer was “yes” here.
