This week we talk about standing in the gap for those whose faith is struggling. Little Maid spoke faith and hope in a dismal situation. We can learn from her and apply this lesson in our lives each day.Contributor: Today we hear from Dana as she shares about how her neighbor witnessed to her.

This week we talk about standing in the gap for those whose faith is struggling. Little Maid spoke faith and hope in a dismal situation. We can learn from her and apply this lesson in our lives each day.Contributor: Today we hear from Dana as she shares about how her neighbor witnessed to her.

Free sharing permitted under the Creative Commons <a rel="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/">BY-NC-ND 3.0 (US)</a> license.

Starting with Jesus

Reflect and Renew March 2023

Heather Bennett

Katie Chitwood

Blessings From Heaven

Our son was 3 and a half when he breathed his last breath in his fight with leukemia.

I struggled wondering where was God when we needed him.

I'm so glad that you'll be joining me today.

We will be learning and growing together in our walk with Jesus.

You will surely be encouraged and challenged as we study week by week and hear from the experiences of others.

Our Bible story this week is an amazing 1.

In fact, it's definitely 1 of my favorites.

There are so many little details that just jump out at me as I read through the story and it really helps to give us insight into the faith of the woman of Shunem.

What does faith look like even in the midst of grief, in the midst of sorrow?

And there are just so many lessons that we can learn today.

But before we get started, I want to encourage you to check out our devotional for this week.

Go to our website, startingwithjesus.com slash renew, and then you can read the devotional.

There's a PDF that you just click and you can read through.

She takes a closer look at the lesson and I know that this week you're really going to enjoy the digging deeper section because she's brought out some amazing parallels from these stories that I had never thought of before.

So go to our website startingwithjesus.com slash renew and you can follow along.

I don't read it word for word, but I use it as a springboard for our discussion today.

Let's go ahead and turn in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 4.

2 Kings Chapter 4, it tells us the story of the woman of Shunem.

It's such a neat story and I can relate to her on so many levels because there have been times where I feel like, oh, I wish I could provide a place for someone to stay.

I wish that I had a place for someone to be able to rest, to be able to relax.

And actually, this year on our property here in Arizona, on the church property, We are actually building a tiny house, like a cabin.

It's not a room on our house, but it is a small place where people can come and be able to stay when they record for our radio program that we are starting here on the Navajo Nation, where they can stay like student missionaries.

And so we have been fundraising and we are in the midst of building it when this podcast will air.

So it's pretty exciting and I can see a lot of things that the woman of Shunem, what she went through with a building project and what we've been going through with our building project.

So here in 2 Kings chapter 4, we have the story of the woman of Shunem.

And she would always, as he would pass through, ask him to stop, feed him, make sure that he had what he needed.

And it ended up that he ends up coming by so much that finally she looks at her husband and she says, you know what, let's build a place for him.

This is kind of the road that he goes on when he goes to the different towns to go and visit let's make a small room for him let's put a bed in it a chair a lampstand so that whenever he comes he has his own space She recognized the need for the man of God to have his own space.

And so 1 day as he comes through, she has built him a room and he is just wow this is amazing.

He wanted to do something for her so he tells his servant to go ask her what does she want for reward something as a thank you and what does she say?

Verse 13 she's like I'm I'm happy I dwell among my people I'm good But Elisha still wants to do something for her and so he talks to Gehazi, his servant, and he says, What can we do?

Elisha gets the hint and so he's like, okay.

So he goes and calls the woman to where he is and he tells her as she's standing there in the doorway of his new room, he says, about this time next year, you shall embrace a son.

No, in fact, verse 16, she says, No, my lord, man of God, Do not lie to your maidservant.

In other words, if it were us today, it'd be like, nah, don't tease me.

There are a few things that stand out to me from this story.

She built a room for the Prophet's comfort.

There are building plans that need to be put together.

There are workers to hire and to oversee.

There's a lot of work that she did, but she did it for the profit.

And something else that stands out to me is the contentment that she had.

I'll even talk to the king or the commander in the army.

Gehazi's perception is just amazing to me.

And he sees that she could use a child, That that would be a beautiful gift for her kindness.

Years go by, she's enjoying the son that she has, and then 1 day he complains about his head and by noon what happens he's gone.

Tragedy strikes in the midst of her sorrow in the midst of this tragedy she picks up her lifeless son carries him up to the prophet's room and closes the door and then leaves.

She asks for a donkey and her husband says, why?

And she said, I'm going to see the prophet.

This is something that we're really going to think about and focus on this week.

There are 2 different times that she says it is well.

So you would expect when she reaches the prophet and falls at his feet, the first words to come out of her mouth would be, why?

I need you to come do something about this kid.

Do something." But she doesn't come in with demands.

Verse 28, she says, "'Did I ask a son of my Lord?

God’s Care for His Servants

But even through the tears and even some mistakes and pitfalls, I trusted God and stayed true to my conviction.

And in the midst of this heartache, God led me to reconnect with a childhood friend, who also happened to be an old crush, who was looking for God just like I was.

Then we eventually studied the Bible together, got baptized the same day, and then later got married.

Or maybe you were wondering why things were going the way that they were.

It can be challenging to trust that God is leading, even when everything seems so dark and when we don't understand.

The story from this week is from 2 Kings chapter 6.

It's about some Syrian soldiers who come to capture Elisha.

He's been telling the king of Israel all their secret plans and so they figure you know if we can just take out Elisha then we can stop the information being leaked to the king of Israel.

You know it boggles my mind that they thought to destroy Elisha and they didn't think that he would know.

He's the 1 who knows what the King's planning even into his own bedroom.

So how would he not know that they're coming after him?

They assumed, I guess, that they were just gonna go in and capture Elisha.

So when the soldiers get there to that city, they surround the city.

He goes to Elisha and says, oh no what's gonna happen?

Elisha says, don't worry there's more with us than are against us.

Then he prays that God will strike them with blindness and goes out bravely to talk to the commander.

I'll take you to the man whom you're looking for.

These soldiers who are struck with blindness, can you just like imagine it?

They're tough, they're macho soldiers and now they're having to be led around.

They're stumbling, they're tripping, They're feeling their way.

Then it's Elisha who leads them into the capital city of Samaria where what?

They must have imagined that they would be destroyed, taken out, wiped out, right then, right there.

But is that what Elisha counsels the king to do?

No, he counsels the king to feed these soldiers and then send them home.

In our devotional this week, Merle brings out the lesson that the Syrian soldiers saw the God of Israel as just another god placed on a shelf with all the others.

They had no knowledge of his love or his authority.

But when they left Samaria, their eyes had been opened, both literally and figuratively.

It's in those hard times, it's in the times of our own blindness, that God can still lead us.

He leads us to the place where He wants us.

Going through those hard times helps us to learn.

It helps us to appreciate God for who He is.

There was a time when I was at the end of my rope.

I was frustrated, Feeling guilty, feeling confused, in complete despair and utter hopelessness.

It was at that lowest point that I cried out to God and I asked Him, Why?

It was all I could do to turn to Him and tell Him that He was going to have to do something.

It was in that moment of blindness that I heard God's voice.

He spoke to me and I wrote it down right there as I was listening, as I was hearing it.

He said to me, you will have a story to tell of my faithfulness.

Then the words to this verse came to mind, call to me and I will answer you and show you great and mighty things of which you do not know.

In that moment of darkness, I remember sitting there at the kitchen table, and I clung to the verse.

And I told God, Okay, I'm calling to you.

And now I'm going to trust that you will answer, that you will show me great and mighty things.

I cannot see it now, but I choose to trust." And you know what?

And I'll tell that story at another time.

But today, looking back, looking ahead, my faith is stronger.

I have a story to tell of God's faithfulness.

I have seen and I have experienced that blindness, that helplessness.

And then I experienced the beauty of having my eyes opened and seeing how God was leading me.

She's a mom of 2 little ones and she actually helps us here on our podcasts in different ways, recording and all kinds of different things that whenever we ask she's always willing.

She's going to share with us how she followed and trusted God even when she didn't want to, even when it was hard, but it was in his time that he brought about beauty for her and for her family.

So I went to church now and then with my parents and even joined a few youth groups when I was in high school.

But it wasn't until much later, as a young adult in college, that I truly gave my life to him.

I was living life the way a lot of teens and young people do, but I was so unhappy.

I felt empty, like something was missing.

My recently converted older sister had been patiently praying for me and coaxing me into truly giving God a chance.

But in the midst of learning more about God, I got into a relationship that was leading me away from him.

Over time, as I grew closer to God, I started to feel convicted I needed to end the relationship but I kept pushing that conviction away.

It wasn't until a Bible seminar where the speaker said something along the lines of, if you're in a relationship you know you need to end, do it.

Then I thought to myself, yes, this is what I need to do.

For a whole year, I often cried and asked God, why can't I just stay with this person?

And in the midst of this heartache, God led me to reconnect with a childhood friend, who also happened to be an old crush who was looking for God just like I was.

If I wouldn't have trusted God through the pain of a hard breakup, I wouldn't have ended up with who I'm with today.

Someone who I actually daydreamed about being with as a preteen.

Now, fast forward a few years into our marriage.

Four Lepers Find Food

If I hadn't spent time with God that morning, and if I hadn't paid attention to the prompting of the Holy Spirit while I was driving down the road, I would have missed out on this divine appointment.

1 of the most exciting and rewarding things I've experienced in my life is when I know that God is working and using me to be a blessing to others.

I end up just stopping a moment and thinking deeper.

Often times we see it in media, like social media or on TV.

TV shows make a lot of money using contrasts like a house that's been neglected and it's all run down and then they go through the steps it takes to give that home a makeover that's a complete transformation.

Instagram, TikTok, YouTube all use contrasts to get more views.

It might be that your child is hyper and wound up and you're exhausted and just want to go to sleep.

The last week has been extremely busy because we hosted a very large mission group at both of our churches and some even stayed in our home.

When you go from early morning until late at night, a clean house suffers.

Then you add in it was wet and snowy weather and we have lots and lots of mud here so it was pretty much impossible for me to keep my house clean.

Last night I looked around and it looked like something exploded in my kitchen and my living room.

So we took some time before we put the boys to bed and we said, you know what, let's just clean up.

We started putting things away 1 at a time, doing it nice and quickly.

But then when we went to bed, it was a clean house.

The difference that just a few minutes took all of us working together, cleaning up the house, it made for a restful evening.

When I woke up in the morning, it was like, oh, okay, this is nice.

This week in our devotional, Merle focuses on contrasts, both in a thought-provoking illustration from World War I, as well as from our Bible story that we are studying together.

If you want to read the devotional for yourself, just go to our website startingwithjesus.com slash renew or you can write to us renew at startingwithjesus.com and you can let us know to sign you up for the devotional so that it can be sent straight to your inbox every Sunday morning.

You can read through it and then join me as we talk about the lesson.

There were 4 lepers and they were desperate.

The city was under siege and everyone was suffering.

Actually, the enemy that was camped outside that city, they sure weren't suffering.

They had food, they had drink, they had supplies delivered whenever they needed it and they were living the good life Just a stone's throw away from the lepers who had nothing What a contrast, right?

So these 4 lepers they decide you know what if we're going to die by starvation, then we might as well risk going to the enemy and seeing if they'll help us.

Yes, yes, it's a long shot and not even a 50-50 chance, but a slow starving death or dying at the hand of the enemy.

The enemy will probably bring about a quicker death.

Can you just imagine the conversation as they go and start off toward the enemy camp, what do they find?

They left everything, I mean everything behind.

So these lepers eat their fill, they drink all they can, they hide some valuables, and then they stop.

They realize that in the city the people are dying.

And here they are enjoying all the blessings for themselves.

They have a choice to make at that very moment, and they choose to share.

You know, that's what we're called to do.

Whether you realize it or not, being a Christian gives you, it gives me, untold blessings.

When we follow what God has called us to do, We live a happier, more peaceful life.

There are blessings that come from following God.

Do we share the life with those around us?

There are people in our sphere of influence suffering, people who are starving for Jesus and the life that only he can give.

Just like those lepers had an opportunity they had the choice what were they going to do?

Are we going to reach out to those around us?

Are we going to share the blessing of Jesus today with them?

Looking for opportunities to share Jesus is a habit that we can cultivate just like you get in the habit of brushing your teeth every day or you get in the habit of always buckling your seatbelt when you get in the car.

We have a habit that we can cultivate and that is sharing Jesus.

The more that we practice sharing, the easier it will become.

But you know, sometimes we're a little uncomfortable.

Sometimes we feel awkward and sometimes we don't know how to bring it up.

This week we're going to hear from my very own husband, Jonathan Chitwood, who is going to share with us about a time when he spoke with a woman about the radio program she was listening to at the rest stop.

1 morning on a road trip, I had prayed that if God wanted me to do something for Him, to please show me what He wanted me to do.

So I was driving down the highway when I saw a sign for a rest area just up ahead.

Even though I didn't really have to use the restroom, something told me that I needed to stop there.

So I turned off the highway and found a parking spot.

As I opened my door to step out, it sounded like someone in a truck nearby was listening to the same Adventist radio station that I had been listening to a moment before.

If that was the case, this could be a great opportunity to talk to them.

I spotted a trash can near the truck and decided to walk up to it as though I needed to throw something away.

But I couldn't tell if it was the same radio station.

So I walked across the parking lot and sat down on a bench.

But I still couldn't tell if it was the same station.

Most people would just get back in their car and drive off.

A Faithful Slave

For 2 years, my neighbor ministered to me, always in love and kindness and never holding judgment.

She heard my voice raised in anger as I complained about the suffering of the world.

Through her ministry and little ways to me, God brought me home to Him.

Our story this week is probably a familiar 1 to many of us.

It's the story of Little Maid and Captain Naaman.

I don't know about you, but I have read this story from the book My Bible Friends probably a hundred times to my boys when they were little.

Such a simple story, such a sweet story, but there's so much more depth to it, showing us hope, forgiveness, and faith.

Have you been able to read the devotional that Merle Poirier wrote?

Each week we use her devotional as a springboard for our discussion and the experiences that are shared by Christians from all around the country.

You can find that devotional at our website, startingwithjesus.com slash renew, or you can always email us at renew at starting with Jesus.com and let us know to send you the devotional each week.

You can sign up so that it comes straight to your inbox every single week so you can read it and join us for our discussion.

Let's turn in our Bibles to 2 Kings chapter 5.

This tells us the story of little Maid and Naaman.

This story is just absolutely incredible and we don't have time to go really in-depth to get into all the little things that we can see, but I want to challenge you to study it and read it for yourself, maybe in a quiet moment that you can find during the week.

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Series

Reflect and Renew March 2023

A Faithful Slave

Transcript

Description

Parent Series

Sponsor

Recorded

Parts

Blessings From Heaven

24m

God’s Care for His Servants

13m

Four Lepers Find Food

18m

A Faithful Slave

17m

Sound Doctrine