Lessons from Gehazi - Part 1

One day Elisha went on to Shunem, where a wealthy woman lived, who urged him to eat some food. So whenever he passed that way, he would turn in there to eat food. And she said to her husband, “Behold now, I know that this is a holy man of God who is continually passing our way. Let us make a small room on the roof with walls and put there for him a bed, a table, a chair, and a lamp, so that whenever he comes to us, he can go in there.” One day he came there, and he turned into the chamber and rested there. And he said to Gehazi his servant, “Call this Shunammite.” When he had called her, she stood before him. And he said to him, “Say now to her, ‘See, you have taken all this trouble for us; what is to be done for you? Would you have a word spoken on your behalf to the king or to the commander of the army?’” She answered, “I dwell among my own people.” And he said, “What then is to be done for her?” Gehazi answered, “Well, she has no son, and her husband is old.” (2 Kings 4:8-14 ESV). Sometime ago, I had a series on the character Naaman. It was a long series, however there is an additional character in the story that may teach us some wonderful lessons. His name is Gehazi. He was a servant of the great prophet Elisha. When we first meet Gehazi, he is talking to Elisha about the woman who had housed Elisha in her home. Elisha called upon God on behalf of the woman, and God blessed her with a son, having not been able to conceive. This same son dies a few years later, and Elisha sends Gehazi to help the boy. When Gehazi cannot, Elisha goes to the dead boy and brings him back to life. I wonder, as I read this introductory verse about Gehazi, what was going through his mind when he first answered Elisha. Elisha had asked how they could help the woman, and Gehazi tells Elisha that “she has no son and her husband is old”. Was he essentially saying, “I don’t think there is anything you can do for her, since her greatest desire is a son, and she can’t have one?” Many people might have said that. They wouldn’t have been able to trust that God could bring a child through an old barren woman with an even older husband. Doesn’t make much sense, does it? I have often wondered if God used this frequent Biblical miracle, giving birth to barren women, because we are already so fascinated with the miracle of newborn life! To witness the birth of my grandchildren was one of the greatest wonders in my life. Those tiny hands and tiny feet, perfectly formed, caused me to stop in awe of my Creator! It was no wonder that I softly wept with joy when I first saw them in their beds at the NICU! Several times in the Bible God said “no” to the laws of nature and brought forth a child under abnormal conditions! And, we stand in awe! Are you looking for God to do something, which seems impossible to the rational mind? Are you in need of a God-sized miracle? Is there a heart that only God could change? A financial burden only God could reverse? A health problem only God could cure? Do you see the God you serve as being able to meet that need? Do you believe that He can? I’m not sure Gehazi trusted God enough to see the woman pregnant. Elisha did! Will you trust God that much?