It is Well | Pastor Daniel Batarseh

Please meet me in the book of second Kings in the Old Testament in chapter four. Today, I want to just take the time to briefly speak to you about a profound statement that is found in the scriptures made by an unnamed woman that has incredible meaning for believers today. In fact, it is an affirmation that innumerable Christians have made and have declared in song over decades. But more than this statement being found in a well known hymn, what we are about to discover and skim over is, in fact, a statement that has the expression of the security that every single one who has put their faith in Christ has because of his mercy and because he is a good god. And the story where this precious declaration is found is found in second Kings.

But before we go to the particular verse, I want you to understand the background of the story. There was a man named Elisha. He was a prophet. He was a servant of God. And Elisha was a traveling minister.

He would do what he had to do throughout Israel, and he would pass by many towns and cities. And there was a particular place that he would he would travel by called Shunem. And there was a woman there. We don't have her name. All we are told is that she was a wealthy woman, and she was obviously a woman who had great generosity in her heart.

She was a woman who had the gift of hospitality. So she would see this man of God walk by her home from time to time. And so it was impressed on her heart to at least invite him in for a warm meal, a lunch, or a dinner so that he can be fed and fueled as he served the Lord. And what began a thoughtful, lunch grew into this desire for her to actually build a room for him in her house so that this man could come and lodge and relax and just be replenished and refreshed again as he served the Lord. And so Elisha here is experiencing this great love from this woman, this care, this attention.

And it dawns on him, I I long to do something in return for this motherly saint. And as he's there, he calls his assistant to call for her. And there he is relaxing in that room. And as he's relaxing in that room, she comes forward and he says something of the sort of, what can I do for you? You've done so much for me, so how can I return what you have given to me?

And because of her humility and because of her her great sense of service to the Lord, she does not demand anything. She doesn't ask for anything. She doesn't request a thing. She just longs to serve without any interest in mind. And so she stays quiet.

But Elisha would not let her go empty handed and so he looks at his servant, Gehazi, and he says, Gehazi, what can we do for this woman? And and Gehazi made the observation, well, she's childless and her husband is old. Maybe a maybe a son would be nice. And so Elisha makes a prophetic declaration. By this time in spring, next spring, you will hold a baby in your arms.

And her reaction is is is so great because it's almost as though she can't believe what she's hearing. It's too good to be true, but sure enough, this man of God who spoke on behalf of God made it happen. And this barren woman now, not only has a son, but has a legacy to continue for her husband and his name. And with that understanding, we come now to verse 18. And I'm sure I'm sure we can dig so much deeper than this, but with the time that we have left, let us just explore at least a few things.

In verse 18 here of chapter four, when the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers. And he said to his father, oh my head, my head. The father said to his servant, carry him to his mother. And we had lifted him and brought him to his mother. The child sat on her lap till noon and then he died.

Right there in her arms, he gave his final breath as she held that miracle child for the final time. And we look at this and we think, how did this happen? Some time has passed, obviously, since this child has been given because he was clearly old enough to walk with his dad into the fields, And he was of age to express himself and communicate, but he was still young enough for somebody to carry him in their arms and bring him to his mother. We do not know the precise age. But regardless, it's a tragedy to say the least.

For you and I to hear of any child to pass on from this life as such a a a youth and as such a a young plant not fully grown is gut wrenching. It's almost difficult to imagine the pain and the distress and the bitterness that a parent would feel to see their own child slip away from life right before them. And the same woman who was visited by supernatural intervention was also visited by a tragedy, a calamity. It's worth noting when this happened. Notice in verse 18, when the child had grown, he went out one day to his father among the reapers.

That is all that we need to know to get an idea of when this happened and how it applies to us. For there to be reapers means that this unexpected disaster happened during the harvest time for the nation of Israel. And what that means exactly is, first, it was a very busy time. This is when the men and the women would bring themselves to much work in order to gather in all that they have sowed and all that they've watered and planted and protected and watched over for months. Harvest season was not less less taxing than sowing season.

It demanded so much energy to expel, to ensure nothing was missed and nothing would go to waste. So this is a very tight time in terms of schedule, in terms of planning, in terms of efforts. But secondly, it was a joyous time. Whenever there is a harvest, it is often in the scriptures associated with great joy, both spiritually and obviously physically. This is when all the hard work paid off.

This is when business thrived. This is where profit was made. And so during the harvest time for these ancient people, it was not just something personal, it was a communal thing. People would come over. There would be feast.

There would be celebration. There would be a sharing among one another. And it was in fact more than that. It was a it was a special time of worship where faithful Israelites would take the first fruits of their crops, and they would come by faith into the presence of God and say, this belongs to you. You are the giver of all things.

You are the grower of all things. This is yours, the first. We will not reserve it. We will say by faith, all comes from you and all comes back to you. And what does that mean in light of this?

It means this, though there is never a favorable time for calamity to visit, it seems especially inconvenient for this tragedy and this misfortune to occur during the harvest. Be reminded through this story that trials tend to interrupt our schedules and oftentimes appear when they are least expected. They catch us by surprise, and they don't wait for things to settle down before they seek to test you and me. Trials don't knock on the door of your life and say, can I come in? And it's it's very rare where you and I are mentally prepared for for a calamity or even open to it.

You know, I think this is a good time for a disaster to come in and to ruffle my life. They arrive without warning. They barge in unannounced. And And if we are not strengthened by consistent devotion and discipline in the Lord, then those then those tribulations can knock the wind out of you and cause your faith to be shaken for the worse. That is not what you see with this woman.

That is not what you see with this woman as she caressed this child and his final breath was was breathed out. We read here that once she lies him in a bed, the same bed that Elisha lied in as a guest. Verse 21, she went up and laid him on the bed of the man of God and shut the door behind him and went out. Then she called to her husband and said, send me one of the servants and one of the donkeys that I may quickly go to the man of God and come back again. And he said, why why will you go to him today?

It is neither new moon nor Sabbath. She said, all is well. All is well. That's the statement. That's the affirmation.

That's the declaration. She said with total confidence, with total composure, all is well. And then she goes on her way to find this man of God. The man of God that promised this child, that had a special authority to to even give that that wonderful gift to her by the power of God. And she seeks him.

And as she seeks him, Elisha sees her at a distance. So he sends Gehazi again. Run to her. And as you run to her, do not hesitate to ask, is all well with you? Is all well with your husband?

Is all well with the child? And what is her response as we come down here to verse 26? And she answered at the end of the verse, all is well. All is well. How can that be?

How how can you even utter such words when your only child, the future of your your husband's name, the one who introduced a joy that you've never known before and was suddenly snatched from you within a few hours, how can you even say with a straight face, all is well? Well, it's it's important to understand what that really means. And I think it's good to see that for this woman to declare all is well does not mean that she was insensitive to the severity of the situation nor does it mean that she was disconnected with the turmoil that she experienced as a human being. Look at verse 27. And when she came to the mountain to the man of God, she caught hold of his feet and Gehazi came to push her away.

But the man of God said, leave her alone for she is in bitter distress. And the Lord has hidden it from me and has not told me. Do you see? There is a genuine deep pain and none of us can blame her for it. But to have a faith that says all is well does not mean that you will not know an ache to your soul.

Does it mean that you won't cry, does it mean that you won't be broken in the presence of God. Her distress does not discredit the fact that she really meant it when she said all is well. Because it's a statement of faith. It's a statement coming from a truth that she was convinced by regardless of the turmoil that was torturing her at this moment. You read earlier in this chapter that this woman is referred to as a wealthy woman.

And and it's so obvious that she used her prosperity and she used her property to bless the work of God and and these servants of God, including Elisha. But I don't see a wealthy woman just in the in the physical. I see a wealthy woman in faith. Rich. Rich in faith.

And what's important to see here is that the richness of someone's faith, the the quality of faith that really matters is always discovered in affliction. It's always found in pressing times. Common faith, easy faith, unbelieving faith can say all is well when all is well. But you can be sure that someone possesses a trust in God that is worth something when they can say all is well while they're smelling a little bit of hell in their life. When you can say all is well and and to a world that doesn't understand who you believe in, they would think that that's a contradiction to your circumstances.

But she said it. And she wasn't giving lip service. She wasn't trying to impress her husband by being a spiritual woman that that quotes certain things to seem as though you are superior. She's not trying to impress this minister of God. She really means what she's saying.

And all you have to do is take the time to realize her composure throughout this life shaking event, to see the strength that she has by giving instructions. She she didn't collapse. She didn't fall apart. She didn't raise her fist to the heavens. She's even in her humility submitting to the orchestration of all that is taking place because she really, really trusted in God.

And could say all is well. She proved it. And oh, I would love to say much more than this at this time, but all I wanna say to you at this point is take this truth for yourself and leave this place today by knowing because of the Lord Jesus Christ, you can say at all times, in all things, all is well. You can. You can say all is well because no matter what happens in this flesh and in this world, your soul has been secured by the savior's blood and you're headed towards eternal life.

You can say all is well because the same God who times our blessings like he did for this woman also schedules our trials and the duration of them. You can sing it as well as we will after this because we do not serve a God who plays sadistic gains with our lives. But in all his giving and all his taking away, he has a glorious purpose to do a work in us that would sanctify us, cleanse us, mold us, and purify us in a way that would bring much glory to him and good in us. And you may be wondering, well, what's the purpose of this? Why would God grant this woman a miracle child only to only to take him away and for her to experience a grief that she could have just avoided if he didn't give the child to begin with?

What is this? Here's a child. Now let let me take his life. This would be an example for the great skeptic or the hater of God to say, what kind of God is this? Is it merely to test her faith?

Was it to produce in her even more sanctified character, though she seems so godly to begin with? Was it so that she and others can bear witness to a greater power of God who who not can just give life, but can raise the dead to life? I'm sure it includes all of those things. But there are purposes even in pain that God veils from our eyes, but at the same time gives us examples in the scriptures wisdom of God as he becomes lord of our lives and and guides us even through suffering. Because this is not the last time you hear of this woman.

She's reintroduced to us in chapter eight in verse one, and I would like you to turn there briefly to see. In second Kings eight one, we read, now Elisha had said to the woman whose son he had restored to life, arise and depart with your household and sojourn wherever you can, for the Lord has called for a famine and will come upon the land for seven years. So here's this woman with her with her child raised from the dead, and Elisha comes with with an insight from the Lord. There's a famine that's gonna hit our land, and it's gonna last several years. You need to go wherever you need to go.

She goes to the land of the Philistines. Several years pass by. She comes back home. She abandoned her home, her land, and remember, she was a wealthy woman. She had much.

And something obviously happened during that time because she plans to go to the king of Israel to appeal for her land, for her property, for her home. And as she is prepared to do that, we read later on in this chapter, in the following verses, that Gehazi is actually in the presence of the king, the same servant who witnessed that child that once was dead come to life. And the king of Israel is there stroking his beard, curious, knowing that Gehazi was a close associate to the prophet and asked, tell me some of the things that Elisha has done. And so Gehazi, without hesitation, being an eyewitness, begins to share about the story of how a woman, a rich woman's son, was given miraculously but also died and was raised to life. And in that precise moment, as he's explaining this, the woman, the mother of this child walks in.

And and he looks at her while he's explaining it to him, and he says, that's the one. She's the mother. She's the one that actually had her child raised from the dead. And how does the king react? How does the king react?

Well, verse six tells us. And when the king asked the woman if the story was true, she told him. So the king appointed an official for her saying, restore all that was hers together with all the produce of the fields from the day that she left the land until now. You have to understand that this woman very likely was prepared for a difficult challenge to receive all that she had lost during those seven years. And I believe for the main reason that this king, the king of Israel during this time was not a righteous king.

He was not a holy man. He was not a God fearing man. I believe when he asked what Elisha had done in the name of God, it was just out of curiosity. But God is going to show in this moment that because this woman was walking in obedience to him, he would in providence prepare her so that what she had known would be preserved and what she had known would be protected. And so at the right time, the unbelieving would say this is luck.

This is coincidence. This just happens for the universe to fall things into place. But the believer knows, I know my God and I know that this is providence. This is God orchestrating and moving the people and the pieces to be in the right place at the right time for the sake of the good of one of his servants. And that's exactly what it is.

This is not coincidence. But this teaches us much more than that that as you choose to live under the lordship of Jesus Christ, he promises he promises his shepherding over your life. Realize what's happening here. You read from verse one of chapter eight down to verse six and you'll see how many times the fact that this boy, this woman's child was raised from the dead and it's calling us to make a connection. And here's the connection.

Who would have known that several years before this moment, how the testimony of this woman's child dying and being raised would contribute to her future being secure and kept for her and her family. In other words, it would be very difficult to believe that this woman from Shunam, when she was visited by this crisis, thought to herself, all is well because seven years from now, a king is gonna hear the story of this miracle, and it's gonna so move his heart that he's gonna actually crown me with favor when I probably wouldn't receive it. There's no way she knew that because she's not omniscient. There's no way she knew that, but there is every reason to believe that God knew that. That God knew that.

That if you want to see the multifaceted purpose of God, yes, he was doing a work in her. He was doing a work to glorify his name. But this God who loved this servant because she loved him and served him foresaw there is going to be a famine in this land. And my servant has much, and she's going to have to relocate. And she's going to have to come back, and she's going to have to make an appeal to a king who's not righteous.

And so I will prepare a testimony that will be presented to this king and his heart will be moved and he will dispense mercy to her. God knew. God knew how that miracle, though it didn't make sense in the moment and didn't seem to provide any benefit for that time, would bring about a good many years from then. So that's why you and I can say all is well because we serve the same God. That when we cannot reconcile how this pain has a purpose, God has already had something determined before it even came about.

That we can rest in that truth, that we can trust in that truth, that we can, as James says, not only be stable and steadfast and unshaken, but what does James say? Count it all joy. Count it all joy. It's not just neutral. You can actually have reason to praise God for the various sufferings that you may be enduring because there is a purpose behind that.

And this woman would know it four chapters later from when she experienced that inconvenient that inconvenient tragedy. Now many students of the bible, as I close now, make the inspirational association between all is well with the woman from Shunem. But in my personal reading of this book in second Kings, I've come to realize that she was not the only one that said all is well. Somebody used that same terminology. Somebody used that same phraseology.

But he had a whole different circumstance. Gehazi. Gehazi in chapter five, after he served Elisha for some time, witnessed another miracle and that was a man covered in leprosy from Syria. He was miraculously healed. And this man Naaman came to Elisha and says, I'll give you whatever you want.

You want gold? You want clothing? And Elisha refused. He would not take payment from this foreigner unless he come under the idea that these servants of the true God do things for God for profit. Elisha was a very wise man.

But Naaman, rather, Gehazi saw Naaman walk away. And there was there was a disturbance in him to think, we're gonna just let this rich this rich man walk away, this this man of profit and of prestige just leave when we can have more? And so he conjures up a plan. He conjures up a plan to run towards Naaman without Elisha's knowledge. And what does he wanna do?

He wants to receive something for himself. And so in chapter five in verse 21, look what happens. So Gehazi followed Naaman and when Naaman saw someone running after him, he got down from the chariot to meet him and said, is all well? Sound familiar? Is all well Gehazi?

Verse 22 and he said, all is well. All is well. My master has sent me to say they have just come now to me from the hill country of Ephraim, two young men of the sons of the prophets. Please give him a talent of silver and two changes of clothing. Gehazi, is everything okay?

It is well. Same wording, confident. Couldn't be more wrong. And there are people today in this place who can say all is well because Jesus Christ saved you and he's Lord of your life. And you have this assurance as you heard from these testimonies that you have a relationship with the living God that he made possible because of what he's done on the cross.

You can say all is well. You can worship him in tragedy and in triumph. And it's very likely today that in this room that there are some people who are visiting that Jesus Christ is he's an idea. He's just another historical figure. You're just here soaring support to a friend or a relative.

And you can say like Gehazi, all is well. Your life is good. You're you're healthy. You're you're healthy. You're you're healthy.

You have a good job. You you have a stable home. Your future is planned, and you're good. And so if somebody were to come to you and say, how's life? You can say, all is well.

And it is my duty to say to you in love, how can all be well when your soul is not saved? How can all be well when like Gehazi, your soul is riddled with greed and the cancer of lust is eating away at you day after day, night after night? How can all be well when you know in the deepest corridors of your conscience that if you were to stand before a holy god, you would not have eternal life. And even if you were to offer him some good, it would be like filthy rags in his sight because he is just so brilliant and holy and pure. How can you say all is well?

How can Gehazi say all is well when he is in this moment lying and coveting and misrepresenting the God that he said he would serve at one point? If you say all is well and Jesus Christ is not your Lord and savior, then you are just as mistaken as Gehazi was. All is not well because the author of life is not the Lord of your life. And your sins will give you a bill one day and you will have to pay for them for yourself. All might be well on the surface for the mere sixty, seventy, eighty years of your mist of an existence on this planet, but there is another world more real than this one and it is eternal.

And so I invite you to sit all as well on a different premise, on a different foundation and that is because Christ has entered in. And he has washed you from your sin and he has filled you with his spirit. And he has allowed you to know the joy of fellowship with him, fellowship with the people of God, and a future fellowship with his presence that can never be taken from you because he is a savior that completes his saving work in you. And so if you're here today and you heard testimonies and you heard a brief message, believe that this is God in his providence just like this woman who came in at the right time in the right place to receive good for her future. This is God bringing you at the right time at the right place to hear the right words for you to know salvation.

And it's free. And it's extended to you today as we heard from one of our sisters. Not because you're perfect, not because you impress God, nothing of the sort, But because you are a sinner and because you are broken and because you know that you have violated God's law, you come as you are to him. You come in your filth. You come in all your failed attempts to try to even impress God.

You come to him even though prior to this moment you've ignored God and you've shunned him. You've probably even mocked him. With all of that into consideration, Christ still bids you to come. And he's ready to forgive you this instant. He's ready to change you and to transform you and to make you his child.

And the way in which that is experienced, the access to that is laid out in the bible, repent and believe. Realize what your sin has done to Christ on the cross. Realize the great depth of the payment that was made. Something that we laugh about and we joke about. Something that might prick our conscious from time to time.

It put the sinless savior on a cross, And he did it for you. And he did it for you. You turn from that sin, and you put your faith and trust in the finished work of Jesus Christ as you heard so many times today. I mean, you got an extraordinary service. You didn't just hear a preacher come up here with his bible to preach you, though that is sufficient.

The word of God is sufficient. The testimony of the gospel is sufficient. But on top of that, you got real life stories of people saying Christ changed me. How much more do you need? What is it that you require for him to get your attention?

Know that he is with total confidence. He is in this moment calling you to be safe today. And you can walk out of here, not just meeting nice people, not just seeing somebody do something with good moral conviction today, a friend or a family member. You can leave here today with the assurance that you are his and that you have the same hope that was declared by so many today. I invite you today.

You don't have to go through a a preacher. You don't have to go through any booth. You don't have to sit in any session. We believe in a risen Christ who in this moment is more real than anybody else. And you can speak to him in your contrition, in your brokenness, and confess that sin, and at the same time, confess that Christ did die.

He was buried. He was raised, and that he is the savior of the world including you. Or why would you why would you reserve yourself from such a gift? Why would you hold back? What do you have?

What do you have that is greater than this news? What do you have that is greater than this life? Christ said I've come that they might have life and have it more abundantly. Somebody asked me two days ago, curious, is making Jesus Christ Lord something that only affects where I spend eternity, or does it does does it do something for me now? What a question.

I said, oh, he does so much more than you can imagine. He breaks the shackles of sin. He infuses you with a peace. There is something of a joy of knowing that you are in right standing with him. And then on top of that, he gives you a purpose on this planet, broken, shattered, dark, depraved, to be a light among many lights, to make an impact on other people for his glory.

Why would you say no to that? Say yes today. He is awaiting for you to give him your heart. Let's pray. Lord, we thank you for this wonderful time together in your presence.

And we ask Lord that as we sing it is well with my soul, that we can all really mean what we say. Thank you that in that in that statement, we can say it at all times in all things. And we pray for those who cannot say it confidently, who cannot say it beyond the moment, beyond the day to day, but even for eternal life, that today would be the day where they can say it with total trust and joy and assurance that it is really well with them. So, Lord, we've done what we can. The testimonies have been declared.

The word has been has been preached. But, Lord, only your holy spirit can change the human heart. Please, Lord, have your way with those that you've called to be in this place for this purpose, to hear of your love for them. And Lord, we glorify you for all these testimonies. We pray for every person that was baptized, that you would empower them to be faithful servants, that, lord, they would continue on in a life of obedience, that they would glorify you beyond the time that they did today, that you would protect their families, that you would protect their children, their spouses, oh god.

And if they don't know you, that what happened today might affect their hearts to realize that this is real. Christ is real. Be blessed as we close the service singing because of you, it is well. In Jesus' name, amen.